I wonder what Rias' plan is. Is she planning to arrange a date between Issei and Asia?
On The Bench (AOT/DxD)
- Thread starter ReadingDangerous
- Start date
This Eren Yaeger is fascinating, honestly.
I don't think Issei would be receptive to any sort of romantic adventures until his trauma with women hurting him all the time is… assuaged.
I don't think Issei would be receptive to any sort of romantic adventures until his trauma with women hurting him all the time is… assuaged.
I think it might be a bit different in Asia's case specifically. Remember, she is a natural dragon tamer, and one who Issei is very close to who has never done wrong by him. I feel like Asia is the only person who he would still be receptive to at this point, and she is also likely exactly what he needs to recover and grow from this.
A Warm Light in the Midst of Pain
There was silence on the bench.
Both young men were lost in their own thoughts. One of them stared sightlessly at a sky he couldn't see through thick bandages.
The other stared at his left hand, held up in front of his face with a complicated expression.
Not a word had been exchanged in over five minutes.
Issei, usually the one to talk when he visited the sickly boy, hadn't even felt the time pass.
To be fair to the pervert, he had a voice in his head he could talk to—a real one.
[Partner. The boy is trying to talk to you.]
"Sorry," Issei said, snapping out of his funk to look at Eren, who, in an uncharacteristic move, had been the one to break the silence. "I didn't hear that Yaeger-senpai."
"Don't call me that," the blind boy said for the dozenth time, but there was no heat to it anymore.
That was something Issei still didn't understand.
Eren allowed Kiba to call him senpai without comment but tried to stop everyone from doing the same. The Red Dragon Emperor didn't know why. Even after reading his file and talking to the others, much about the dying boy was still a mystery to the high school student.
They had talked a few times in the last couple of weeks, primarily Issei trying to get to know his Peerage's friend.
It mostly devolved into the pervert talking about women and harems and providing in-depth descriptions of various girls' breasts since Eren couldn't see them.
(It should be noted that once she found out, Sona bribed Issei to lie about her cup size to the older boy.
Issei steadfastly refused.
To lie about Oppai was blasphemous of the highest order. He might be a devil now, but he wasn't evil.
Turning down the student council president's offer of all previously confiscated contraband was one of the hardest things the Rook had ever done in his life. Issei really missed his limited edition copy of Milky Paradise 3: Olympus Mons. He never collected all the scenes.
But doing God- ow- Satan's work was often unrewarding, even if it was the right thing to do.)
Today, the younger boy had picked up where he left off last time, comparing the merits of size, firmness, perkiness, and bounce versus body types. As Issei rambled, Eren had listened, even though he was not very engaged.
Sometimes, Issei thought Eren just liked the company. But once Issei had finished proselytizing about the merits of the 'Oppai Loli,' the Rook didn't continue.
Instead, he started to talk to Ddraig in his mind.
"I asked if you were all right."
"Ah," Issei awkwardly rubbed the back of his hair, trying to devise an excuse. "Sorry. I, uh, got lost in thought. I'm fine."
Eren didn't say anything, but his lips did press slightly in a frown.
"Really!" Issei said with cheer. "I'm great!"
[Partner.]
Issei ignored Ddraig's sigh in favour of keeping a focus on the older boy, who looked even more displeased than before. But rather than calling Issei out on whatever he wasn't happy about or continuing to press him about his silence, Eren shifted the conversation.
"You talk about girls a lot."
Even Issei knew that was an understatement of the century, but he stared at the other boy in confusion, wondering where he was going with this.
Eren was speaking slower than usual, even if it was in his regular, plain voice. Was he... embarrassed?
"Have you, um, been with a girl? Do you have a lover, I mean?"
The questions were so out of character that Issei stared, mouth slightly agape in surprise. Only when Eren smacked his leg with his cane did the student stutter out an answer.
"Uh, no. No, I don't."
"Why not?" Eren frowned. "You want one, don't you? Or do you not have a girl you like?"
"I like all girls! Big girls and small girls. Milfs and Lolis. There are no girls I don't like! No Oppai is wrong!" Issei declared passionately before deflating. "But... it's complicated."
Would you die for me?
Akeno. Do it.
Phantom pain pulsed through Issei's chest. Only part of it was physical.
Nobody achieved Balance Breaker without strong emotions.
"Why is it complicated?"
"Well, um, I, ah," Issei stuttered, trying to think of what to say. Direct questions like this were not really common among Japanese social norms, where feelings and circumstances were usually kept quiet. Throw in the secrecy of magic, and Issei was seriously panicking. "I'm not very well-liked, you see."
"And?"
"And girls don't want to date a pervert."
It somewhat hurt to admit it out loud, but Issei knew what people thought of him and his friends. But he didn't regret it. He might be a pervert and an idiot, but he was true to himself. He refused to hide who he was.
It just made finding a date difficult.
"But you want to make a harem?" Eren asked doubtfully.
"Of course! I am going to be a Harem King!"
[Partner.]
This time, Ddraig's sigh was less of sympathy and more of exasperated exhaustion.
Eren surprised Issei then. Unlike everyone else who had heard his dream, he didn't mock Issei or laugh at him. Instead, the older boy asked a simple question.
"What are you doing to become a 'Harem King?'"
"Uh," Issei stuttered once again, unsure how to handle the frank question. Too used to derision, the student was caught flat-footed. Even his fellow Peerage members, who didn't deride his dream, still didn't seem to get it and often joked about it to him. Koneko was especially brutal. "What do you mean?"
"How are you advancing toward your goal," Eren asked. "Having a dream is good, but you must work at it. Souna wants to be a teacher and is practicing with me. Yuuto is walking his path. Even Rias and Akeno have their own goals and ambitions they work towards, though I don't know what they are. So, I will ask you again. What are you doing to become a 'Harem King?'"
Issei floundered once more.
He did, in fact, have an answer. It just wasn't one he could tell Eren.
High-class devils received their own Evil Pieces, and it was common for those not interested in climbing the ranks of the Rating Games to fill them with lovers and make their Peerage into their own personal harem.
More than that, both Ddraig and Buchou had told him multiple times that dragons and their Sacred Gear holders tended to attract members of the opposite sex because of their power and presence.
The short answer to Eren's question was Issei was training to get stronger.
Every day, Issei worked with Kiba, Koneko, Akeno, and Rias to take advantage of his Rook traits. With Asia on hand, they didn't need to worry about permanent damage, so they could go all out.
Every day, Issei grew stronger and tougher and could last just a little longer in his Balance Breaker Armour.
So he'd never be that weak, that helpless, again.
And Issei wasn't the only one to feel the hunger after the fight with the Phenex peerage. Everyone was training harder than ever.
They bled, they fought, and they grew.
But with the older boy's ignorance of the supernatural, Issei couldn't say 'training' and have it make sense.
Instead, to buy time, Issei asked a question of his own.
"Why are you asking?" Issei's eyes lit up as an idea came to him. "Have you decided you want a harem as well?"
"No," Eren said plainly, and the Red Dragon Emperor deflated. "I'll be dead soon. It's no secret. I won't start a relationship with a girl for it to end in tragedy. Even if I had the chance."
"Oh," Issei wilted further. "Right. Sorry."
There had been something in Eren's voice, a regret maybe, but Issei didn't know the older boy well enough to say for sure.
"I am asking because you have been off all night," Eren said, not bothered by Issei's lack of tact. "And don't give me that 'I'm fine' bullshit. I've used that one enough to know when someone is faking it." Issei closed his mouth. Sometimes, he wondered if Eren really was blind. "You are not a complicated boy, Issei. That is not a bad thing. If you have a problem, it's most likely about girls."
Issei wanted to say that wasn't true but paused as he gave it some serious thought.
Yuum- Would you die for me? - Raynare had been the one to kill him, leading to his reincarnation.
Asia had been the one he had been defending when they tried to take her back.
And the Yakitori fight was because of Buchou's -Akeno. Do it.- forced engagement.
Come to think of it, baring Kiba, all the supernatural beings he knew of were female.
[Attracting attention, especially from the opposite sex, is typical for dragons.] Ddraig rumbled within his soul. [That isn't always a good thing.]
"Will you tell me what is wrong?" Eren asked.
Issei knew then that, whether he answered or not, Eren would accept his decision. So long as he acknowledged something was wrong, Eren wouldn't ask any further questions if Issei didn't want him to.
There was just one issue.
"I don't know," Issei said helplessly, looking at the older boy. Eren couldn't see the confusion, hesitancy, or fear in the brown eyes. "I don't know what the problem is. I don't know if there is a problem. I've been having... nightmares."
The young devil said the words slowly as if admitting it was a weakness, a sin he shouldn't speak of.
"I don't remember most of them, but they're bad. Really bad. I woke the whole house a few times. Asia has started sleeping with me so she can wake me up when I start... screaming."
Eren looked ready to say something, but he closed his mouth, gave his words more thought and eventually asked a simple question in his usual monotone.
"What do you remember?"
A spear of light pierced his chest. Red blood. Red hair.
Lightning. Fire. Pain. Red hair and green eyes filled with tears.
"Girls," Issei eventually said. "Familiar ones."
"Rias? She said she hurt you again."
"And others," Issei said lowly.
"Do you hate them?"
"NO!" Issei shouted in surprise at the question, looking at Eren in horror. "Buchou saved me. And she didn't want to hurt me. She didn't have a choice! I can't hate her for... what she did." He had almost let the circumstances slip but caught himself at the last second.
"And the other women?"
Issei couldn't answer.
He honestly didn't know.
It should have been easy.
Raynare had lied to him. Betrayed him. Killed him. Tried to kill him again. She hurt his friends and hurt Asia. Issei knew she had been a monster, and the world was probably better with her death.
It should have been easy to hate her.
Yet, Issei couldn't find it in himself to hate Yuuma Amano.
No matter what the circumstances, she had been the first positive experience with the opposite sex he had ever had outside his mother. For a few hours, while the fallen's mask had been on, Issei had thought about giving up his dream of a harem if it meant making this girl happy.
It was naive. It was stupid. But, for those few hours, Issei could understand why his father had given up on the same dream in order to be with his mother. Issei wouldn't do it after one date, but he could understand his father's choice for the first time.
To the fallen angel, it had been a fun game. Make pretend. A higher being toying with a hapless mortal.
To Issei?
It had been real.
"There's your problem," Eren sighed. "It is easy to hate. So easy. To rage and fight and kill. People say killing is hard. It isn't. Not when you hate your enemy. But when you don't? When you understand them, know about them, care about them, or love them? When you know why they are that way and why they do the things they do? Hatred is easy. To care is so much harder."
They were both quiet for a long moment.
Then Issei broke the silence in the most 'Issei Hyoudou' way possible.
"I want a harem."
"You've mentioned," Eren said dryly.
"It's been my dream for most of my life. I used to think it was going to be easy," Issei said softly, staring at his left arm again. "A previously all-girl school? It was like an anime or eroge. Even if most girls hated me, one or two would like me, right? I'd give it my best, and everything else would fall into place. In some way, I thought it was inevitable."
Becoming a devil had only made that feeling grow. A society with a system tailor-made for harems, accepted his perversion, saw him as valuable, and provided him a path to walk to his dream?
Issei had almost considered his inevitable harem as set in stone. He had entertained fantasies about who would be in it. Rias. Akeno. Koneko. Maybe even Asia, once she was more worldly. Maybe some classmates or other supernatural races.
Issei had imagined it. Fantasised about it.
Dreamed about it.
For a while, Issei Hyoudou had lived in a world where he was the protagonist.
Then it collapsed in a flash of light, a clap of thunder, and the searing of flesh.
Issei had spoken the truth when he said he didn't blame Rias. In some way, he didn't even blame Raynare.
Issei Hyoudou blamed himself.
He blamed himself for being a naive, perverted, too-honest, and too-trusting boy. Someone more intelligent, wiser, or better than him would not have fallen for Raynare's facade.
They wouldn't have gotten captured by a defeated enemy and used as a hostage against his friends. Someone else would not be this week and pathetic.
Buchou claimed that the Rating Game had shown the world Issei was one of the most promising Red Dragon Emperors to ever live.
Issei disagreed.
All it showed was a young, dumb, weak pervert in over his head.
"Now, I am not sure I will ever have a girlfriend again, let alone a harem."
"You might not," Eren nodded.
Issei stared at the boy.
That... was not encouraging. Far from comfort or advice, as the Rook had expected, the sickly boy had responded instantly and brutally.
And Issei couldn't deny the truth of the statement.
"But that will be for you to decide," Eren continued. "You have to decide what you want and what you fight for."
"I'm not that bright," Issei said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head. "But I don't think that's how love works. I think I don't get to decide whether girls like me."
Eren frowned, opened his mouth, leaned back, and looked at the sky. Issei wondered if he had put his foot in his mouth again and accidentally said something wrong when the sickly boy spoke.
His voice was heavy, slow, and deliberate, as if every word was worth its weight in gold.
"I knew a couple, once. Younger than you are now," Eren started. "Trained with them for years. They danced around each other's feelings forever. When they got together, they were inseparable. We always joked about their inevitable marriage. Teased them. If two people were made for each other, it was them." Eren grit his teeth as he spat the following words. "He died the first day on the job. We found Hannah cradling what was left of Franz, refusing to face reality. Refusing to acknowledge that he was dead."
Issei froze. It was one thing to read about Eren's history as a mercenary; it was another to hear stories directly from him.
There was a weight to them. Like Issei was being entrusted with something precious. But they were also far from what a boy who, only a few months ago, was a regular teen had any frame of reference for.
For all the conflict and trauma Issei had dealt with since becoming a devil, he had never lost anyone he cared about. He didn't know what to say.
Thankfully, Eren didn't expect him to say anything just yet.
"My experience with romance isn't great either," Eren's voice deadened as if all emotions had drained from his body, yet his words were as impactful as ever. "I never really thought about love. Too busy chasing my goals. Too busy running ahead. I never noticed her feelings. In my defence, I had always considered her an overprotective sister and never considered her a romantic partner. Still," Eren paused as if lost in thought.
Even if Issei didn't know Eren as well as the others, he still could hear the regret thick in his voice.
"I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had understood her better. If I had known what she always felt for me. If I had known what I could feel for her. If we had more time together, would we have been happy? Or would it have been a greater tragedy?"
This time, when Eren paused, he did not continue to talk. He was lost in his memories, staring at a sky he couldn't see.
Issei had a lot of questions, but one floated up, interrupting the older boy's reverie.
"Who was she?"
"She was," Eren paused again, voice thick with emotion. Longing. Regret. Love. "She was quiet. Private. Protective. She would do anything for those she cared about. She was the strongest person I ever met. In body and in heart. But she never wanted to use that strength. She would have much preferred a quiet life than one of battle. But she chose to follow me. To protect me. She saved my life. So many times. Too many times."
Eren choked back something. Maybe a grunt. Maybe a sob.
"She was my sister. My family took her in after hers were killed by slavers. She was one of my best friends—someone I could always trust to have my back. I had always loved her. Not in that way. Not initially. She had been in love with me for years, but I was too dense to notice. To caught up in my own pain and rage. I didn't fall in love with her till later. Till it was too late."
"What happened?" Issei asked, fear making his voice tremble.
"She didn't die, if that's what you are asking," Eren said as he shook his head. "It was a close thing, though. That was how I fell in love with her, believe it or not. I had done something stupid and got myself captured. Again. People died to get me back. Too many people. And one of them was really dear to us, almost an uncle. We watched as he was torn apart. We almost died, too. We were about to. We were sure it was going to happen."
Eren raised his own left hand over his head as if to stare at it, unknowingly echoing Issei's previous position.
"All I could do was scream. Scream at myself for being helpless. For failing. For everything. It was all my fault. More than I realized at the time, it was all my fault. And yet..."
For the first time, Issei saw something else on Eren Yeager's face.
It was only a shadow, a hint of expression lost in his words, but Issei would swear up and down that Eren almost smiled.
"She smiled. She didn't care about my guilt, uselessness, or anything else. We were about to die, and she smiled as she thanked me. For being with her. For rescuing her from those slavers. For teaching her how to live. For wrapping that scarf around her neck. We were about to die, and all I could think about was how beautiful she was when she smiled."
Enraptured by the story and the emotions that so mirrored his circumstances, Issei couldn't help repeating his question.
"What happened next?"
"We survived," Eren nodded. "But things changed. My feelings had changed. Maybe she sensed it, but she no longer was as overprotective. And I no longer resented her concern, seeing it in a new light. It took me a while to sort out my feelings. I am not good with that sort of thing. But I realized what they were pretty quickly. But we had a final mission to do. After that, I would talk to her if we survived."
"Did she? Survive, I mean?" Issei asked eagerly before realizing how insensitive that question would be if she hadn't.
"We did," Eren thankfully nodded, but his face was set in a heavy frown. "Two hundred scouts died that day. Nine survived. The mission was a success, but my thoughts were... occupied. I put off confessing till we had a plan on what to do from there. But then I had one. A plan that would get me almost everything I ever wanted."
Despite his words, Eren did not sound happy. If anything, he sounded furious.
"I wanted it. I wanted that future so bad." Eren bit out, teeth clenching. "But it would cost me so much. The lives of my friends. And I would never be with her. Even if we loved each other, we'd never be together. I searched desperately for an alternative. A way to avoid that plan. To save lives. The lives of strangers and of my friends. To save the life I wanted to live with her. Even when I resigned myself, I was prepared to throw it all away if it meant spending those few years with her."
The fury that filled the blind boy fizzled out as he slumped against the bench in defeat.
"But that never happened," Eren sighed sadly. "Instead, I went ahead with the plan. We never so much as kissed. She probably moved on. I hope she moved on. I hope she is happy, even if it is not with me. I don't know what happened after I... left."
A creaking sound tore Issei's gaze from the older boy's bandaged face, and for the first time, the Rook noticed Eren's hands.
He had gripped his cane tightly, so tightly it had creaked under his white-knuckled grasp.
Unused to the overt display of emotion from the boy, Issei scrambled for a way to change the subject to something more positive, something that might bring back the hint of a smile he saw.
"What was the scarf you mentioned?" Issei asked hurriedly. "The one she thanked you for?"
It thankfully worked, and Eren's frown fell from his face for a softer expression as his fists unclenched. He took a deep breath as if to compose himself before he answered.
"I rescued her from slavers, and she saved me right after. But it was the middle of the night in the mountains. It was cold out." Eren idly raised a hand to his neck as if to adjust a scarf that wasn't there.
"I wrapped my scarf around her. It was a simple thing to me. She seemed cold, almost in rags, and I still had my clothes. She kept the scarf. For years, she never went anywhere without it. I didn't realize what it meant to her till that day. It meant much more to her than it did to me. I promised I would always wrap it around her."
Eren softly lowered his hand back to his cane as he whispered the last words, almost to himself.
"I hope she got rid of it."
"Do you regret it?" Issei couldn't help but ask, morbidly curious, as he remembered a small scrunchie.
A small gift purchased to commemorate his first-ever date.
"Since you can't be together, do you regret giving her the scarf?"
It was the wrong thing to ask.
"Listen to me, Issei Hyoudou," Eren said, voice quiet but intense as he suddenly leaned forward, turning to face Issei as if to look him in the eye.
All the Rook saw were bandages and a mouth set into a determined line.
"I am a monster. The Devil in every sense of the word. I have killed. I have murdered. I have more blood on my hands than anyone ever before or since. Throughout all my life, everything I have done has ended in tragedy. I have many regrets, far too many."
Eren stabbed at Issei with a finger, right in the heart, and the Rook flinched in surprise.
"There is one thing I have never regretted. It is the only purely good thing I have ever done. The only time I was ever a hero. No matter what happens, I will never, ever regret wrapping that scarf around her. Do you understand?"
Startled by the intensity of the blank gaze and the fervour in his voice, Issei hurried to answer as he nodded frantically.
"I do. I do. I understand."
Eren maintained his position for a few heartbeats after Issei's frantic answer as if daring him to take back his words. When Issei said nothing else, he relaxed back into his chair with a grunt.
"I got off topic," Eren said as he resettled. "I wasn't telling that story for memory's sake. There was a point. Did you get it?"
"Uh," Issei stuttered. He had honestly been too absorbed to think about the more profound implications or possible morals. "No. Sorry."
"The point was that there is no such thing as a fated love," Erin grunted. "If life were like Rias' manga, I would have ended up with her. I am not unaware that my past can be considered fantastic enough to qualify for entertainment. But this is real life, not fiction."
Issei remembered a few weeks ago when he thought that his life had become a light novel.
Had he always assumed he was the protagonist? Or had it just been the exceptional circumstances getting to him?
"There is no such thing as destined love or soulmates," Eren bit out. "If there was, I would have settled down and married my childhood friend whom I loved and who loved me. My friends would not have died as soon as they got together. Another of my friends would not have had to find love in a marriage she never wanted. We would have lived happily ever after." Eren grunted in derision. "But that didn't happen. Because nobody is certain to end up with anyone else."
"I get it," Issei said morosely. Eren had a point, but it still hurt to have his naive dreams thrown in his face like that.
"I don't think you do," Eren said. "Because if you did, you would not sound so sad."
Issei blinked, unsure why he shouldn't be sad.
"Didn't you just say I am not fated to be with anyone?"
Eren smacked the boy on the back of his head.
"You aren't destined to be with anyone," Eren said roughly. "But that applies to others as well. They are not fated for anyone else, either. That is the freedom of it. I know nothing about your love life, about harems, or romance. All I know is that no romantic or otherwise relationship happens if you don't work for it."
Issei almost bit out something sarcastic about Sona but held it in.
Maybe Eren did know about the devil's crush and chose not to say anything because he did not want to start something doomed to a tragic end.
"Do you have a problem with someone? Fight! Do you like someone? Ask them out! Do you want a harem? Work for it! You will stumble, fall, and get hurt as you move forward. I can't promise you will achieve your dream or even have one girl, let alone many. All I will promise is that you will have none if you stay still."
Issei took a deep breath and looked at the older boy. Sickly, dying, and regretful.
Yet still living, still fighting in his own way.
"You're right," Issei said, smacking himself in the cheeks with both hands as he stood from the uncomfortable bench. "Your right! I've been too lazy. If I want to be a Harem King, I need to be better. I have to pursue more girls. I've been rejected a thousand times. I can handle a million rejections if I achieve my dreams. Even if it hurts, I can't just sit still!"
"Before you run off to get yourself hurt again," Eren said dryly. "I have some advice I wish I had received myself. It might help you get started with your... harem."
"What is it?" Issei asked eagerly, still fired up.
"Look to the ones beside you," Eren said gravely. "Instead of running ahead, slow down. You will reach the same destination, but you will have fewer regrets. Those who want to travel your path with you will thank you."
Issei left the clearing with the bench, pondering the older boy's parting words.
He left Eren Yeager alone on the bench with his memories of a love that never was.
Issei would continue to have nightmares, but they lessened over the coming months.
It might have been thanks to Eren's words, or it might be because, a week after that talk on the bench and turning the words over, Issei puzzled out what the dying boy meant.
A few days after that, when he gathered his courage and after a hefty amount of pep talk from Ddraig, Issei Hyoudou asked Asia Argento out on a date.
Asia's smile, as she agreed, was angelic.
Maybe Issei would get his harem, or perhaps he wouldn't. He'd been hurt. He would be hurt again, Issei was sure.
He had a long road to become the Harem King of his dreams. He didn't know the future.
All Issei knew was that for that smile, for that light in his life, he'd name his first child after the boy on the bench.
********
Beta: Old Man of the Mountain
Issei isn't an edge lord, vengence-driven type of man. That is his problem. He blames himself for most things that go wrong. That is half his trauma, always wondering if it was him and not Raynare that was the issue. The closest you get to that type of Issei in canon is when he goes Jugernaught Drive, and even then he is explicitly not in control then. Issei went through trauma, yes, but he is still Issei.
One of my pet peeves in Fanfiction has always been characters going OOC for no reason. AUs are fine, excellent even, but there needs to be a thread of logic I can follow, or I lose my investment and see the hand of the author. It can be subtle, but it has to be there. Ironically, AOT is one of the best examples of quiet character growth.
One of the most common complaints I've heard about the end of AOT is that 'Eren suddenly loves Mikasa? Where did that come from?' I respond that Eren didn't at the show's start, but he changed. Mikasa did, too. I can point to the exact moment where Eren fell in love. You can, too. Just read Chapter 50, 'Scream.' They are pages 21 to 26. That's what I always point to. I dare anyone who knows the ending of AOT to read that and say Eren didn't fall in love with Mikasa.
Between that point, throughout the entire ordeal with Historia's family and the battle to retake Maria, Eren never lashes out at Mikasa, and she never babys him, yet she is still concerned about him. It is a subtle realization of love without the 'daisuki' or overt displays of affection so common in anime. Neither of their characters is the type to be overt with that kind of emotion. After Maria, Eren sees the Rumbling and spends years searching for a way to stop it. When he can't, and Mikasa is too shy to say she loves him, he goes on to what we see post-time skip.
Do not get me wrong, AOT is not without fault. I have many issues with it myself. But the Eren/Misaka love thing was never one of them because I saw that love grow throughout the entire series. I just never understood why others couldn't see it, either.
Characters have reasons for their actions, or they aren't compelling characters. I hope to get that across with my writing.
I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, and I will meet you all next time on the bench.
Both young men were lost in their own thoughts. One of them stared sightlessly at a sky he couldn't see through thick bandages.
The other stared at his left hand, held up in front of his face with a complicated expression.
Not a word had been exchanged in over five minutes.
Issei, usually the one to talk when he visited the sickly boy, hadn't even felt the time pass.
To be fair to the pervert, he had a voice in his head he could talk to—a real one.
[Partner. The boy is trying to talk to you.]
"Sorry," Issei said, snapping out of his funk to look at Eren, who, in an uncharacteristic move, had been the one to break the silence. "I didn't hear that Yaeger-senpai."
"Don't call me that," the blind boy said for the dozenth time, but there was no heat to it anymore.
That was something Issei still didn't understand.
Eren allowed Kiba to call him senpai without comment but tried to stop everyone from doing the same. The Red Dragon Emperor didn't know why. Even after reading his file and talking to the others, much about the dying boy was still a mystery to the high school student.
They had talked a few times in the last couple of weeks, primarily Issei trying to get to know his Peerage's friend.
It mostly devolved into the pervert talking about women and harems and providing in-depth descriptions of various girls' breasts since Eren couldn't see them.
(It should be noted that once she found out, Sona bribed Issei to lie about her cup size to the older boy.
Issei steadfastly refused.
To lie about Oppai was blasphemous of the highest order. He might be a devil now, but he wasn't evil.
Turning down the student council president's offer of all previously confiscated contraband was one of the hardest things the Rook had ever done in his life. Issei really missed his limited edition copy of Milky Paradise 3: Olympus Mons. He never collected all the scenes.
But doing God- ow- Satan's work was often unrewarding, even if it was the right thing to do.)
Today, the younger boy had picked up where he left off last time, comparing the merits of size, firmness, perkiness, and bounce versus body types. As Issei rambled, Eren had listened, even though he was not very engaged.
Sometimes, Issei thought Eren just liked the company. But once Issei had finished proselytizing about the merits of the 'Oppai Loli,' the Rook didn't continue.
Instead, he started to talk to Ddraig in his mind.
"I asked if you were all right."
"Ah," Issei awkwardly rubbed the back of his hair, trying to devise an excuse. "Sorry. I, uh, got lost in thought. I'm fine."
Eren didn't say anything, but his lips did press slightly in a frown.
"Really!" Issei said with cheer. "I'm great!"
[Partner.]
Issei ignored Ddraig's sigh in favour of keeping a focus on the older boy, who looked even more displeased than before. But rather than calling Issei out on whatever he wasn't happy about or continuing to press him about his silence, Eren shifted the conversation.
"You talk about girls a lot."
Even Issei knew that was an understatement of the century, but he stared at the other boy in confusion, wondering where he was going with this.
Eren was speaking slower than usual, even if it was in his regular, plain voice. Was he... embarrassed?
"Have you, um, been with a girl? Do you have a lover, I mean?"
The questions were so out of character that Issei stared, mouth slightly agape in surprise. Only when Eren smacked his leg with his cane did the student stutter out an answer.
"Uh, no. No, I don't."
"Why not?" Eren frowned. "You want one, don't you? Or do you not have a girl you like?"
"I like all girls! Big girls and small girls. Milfs and Lolis. There are no girls I don't like! No Oppai is wrong!" Issei declared passionately before deflating. "But... it's complicated."
Would you die for me?
Akeno. Do it.
Phantom pain pulsed through Issei's chest. Only part of it was physical.
Nobody achieved Balance Breaker without strong emotions.
"Why is it complicated?"
"Well, um, I, ah," Issei stuttered, trying to think of what to say. Direct questions like this were not really common among Japanese social norms, where feelings and circumstances were usually kept quiet. Throw in the secrecy of magic, and Issei was seriously panicking. "I'm not very well-liked, you see."
"And?"
"And girls don't want to date a pervert."
It somewhat hurt to admit it out loud, but Issei knew what people thought of him and his friends. But he didn't regret it. He might be a pervert and an idiot, but he was true to himself. He refused to hide who he was.
It just made finding a date difficult.
"But you want to make a harem?" Eren asked doubtfully.
"Of course! I am going to be a Harem King!"
[Partner.]
This time, Ddraig's sigh was less of sympathy and more of exasperated exhaustion.
Eren surprised Issei then. Unlike everyone else who had heard his dream, he didn't mock Issei or laugh at him. Instead, the older boy asked a simple question.
"What are you doing to become a 'Harem King?'"
"Uh," Issei stuttered once again, unsure how to handle the frank question. Too used to derision, the student was caught flat-footed. Even his fellow Peerage members, who didn't deride his dream, still didn't seem to get it and often joked about it to him. Koneko was especially brutal. "What do you mean?"
"How are you advancing toward your goal," Eren asked. "Having a dream is good, but you must work at it. Souna wants to be a teacher and is practicing with me. Yuuto is walking his path. Even Rias and Akeno have their own goals and ambitions they work towards, though I don't know what they are. So, I will ask you again. What are you doing to become a 'Harem King?'"
Issei floundered once more.
He did, in fact, have an answer. It just wasn't one he could tell Eren.
High-class devils received their own Evil Pieces, and it was common for those not interested in climbing the ranks of the Rating Games to fill them with lovers and make their Peerage into their own personal harem.
More than that, both Ddraig and Buchou had told him multiple times that dragons and their Sacred Gear holders tended to attract members of the opposite sex because of their power and presence.
The short answer to Eren's question was Issei was training to get stronger.
Every day, Issei worked with Kiba, Koneko, Akeno, and Rias to take advantage of his Rook traits. With Asia on hand, they didn't need to worry about permanent damage, so they could go all out.
Every day, Issei grew stronger and tougher and could last just a little longer in his Balance Breaker Armour.
So he'd never be that weak, that helpless, again.
And Issei wasn't the only one to feel the hunger after the fight with the Phenex peerage. Everyone was training harder than ever.
They bled, they fought, and they grew.
But with the older boy's ignorance of the supernatural, Issei couldn't say 'training' and have it make sense.
Instead, to buy time, Issei asked a question of his own.
"Why are you asking?" Issei's eyes lit up as an idea came to him. "Have you decided you want a harem as well?"
"No," Eren said plainly, and the Red Dragon Emperor deflated. "I'll be dead soon. It's no secret. I won't start a relationship with a girl for it to end in tragedy. Even if I had the chance."
"Oh," Issei wilted further. "Right. Sorry."
There had been something in Eren's voice, a regret maybe, but Issei didn't know the older boy well enough to say for sure.
"I am asking because you have been off all night," Eren said, not bothered by Issei's lack of tact. "And don't give me that 'I'm fine' bullshit. I've used that one enough to know when someone is faking it." Issei closed his mouth. Sometimes, he wondered if Eren really was blind. "You are not a complicated boy, Issei. That is not a bad thing. If you have a problem, it's most likely about girls."
Issei wanted to say that wasn't true but paused as he gave it some serious thought.
Yuum- Would you die for me? - Raynare had been the one to kill him, leading to his reincarnation.
Asia had been the one he had been defending when they tried to take her back.
And the Yakitori fight was because of Buchou's -Akeno. Do it.- forced engagement.
Come to think of it, baring Kiba, all the supernatural beings he knew of were female.
[Attracting attention, especially from the opposite sex, is typical for dragons.] Ddraig rumbled within his soul. [That isn't always a good thing.]
"Will you tell me what is wrong?" Eren asked.
Issei knew then that, whether he answered or not, Eren would accept his decision. So long as he acknowledged something was wrong, Eren wouldn't ask any further questions if Issei didn't want him to.
There was just one issue.
"I don't know," Issei said helplessly, looking at the older boy. Eren couldn't see the confusion, hesitancy, or fear in the brown eyes. "I don't know what the problem is. I don't know if there is a problem. I've been having... nightmares."
The young devil said the words slowly as if admitting it was a weakness, a sin he shouldn't speak of.
"I don't remember most of them, but they're bad. Really bad. I woke the whole house a few times. Asia has started sleeping with me so she can wake me up when I start... screaming."
Eren looked ready to say something, but he closed his mouth, gave his words more thought and eventually asked a simple question in his usual monotone.
"What do you remember?"
A spear of light pierced his chest. Red blood. Red hair.
Lightning. Fire. Pain. Red hair and green eyes filled with tears.
"Girls," Issei eventually said. "Familiar ones."
"Rias? She said she hurt you again."
"And others," Issei said lowly.
"Do you hate them?"
"NO!" Issei shouted in surprise at the question, looking at Eren in horror. "Buchou saved me. And she didn't want to hurt me. She didn't have a choice! I can't hate her for... what she did." He had almost let the circumstances slip but caught himself at the last second.
"And the other women?"
Issei couldn't answer.
He honestly didn't know.
It should have been easy.
Raynare had lied to him. Betrayed him. Killed him. Tried to kill him again. She hurt his friends and hurt Asia. Issei knew she had been a monster, and the world was probably better with her death.
It should have been easy to hate her.
Yet, Issei couldn't find it in himself to hate Yuuma Amano.
No matter what the circumstances, she had been the first positive experience with the opposite sex he had ever had outside his mother. For a few hours, while the fallen's mask had been on, Issei had thought about giving up his dream of a harem if it meant making this girl happy.
It was naive. It was stupid. But, for those few hours, Issei could understand why his father had given up on the same dream in order to be with his mother. Issei wouldn't do it after one date, but he could understand his father's choice for the first time.
To the fallen angel, it had been a fun game. Make pretend. A higher being toying with a hapless mortal.
To Issei?
It had been real.
"There's your problem," Eren sighed. "It is easy to hate. So easy. To rage and fight and kill. People say killing is hard. It isn't. Not when you hate your enemy. But when you don't? When you understand them, know about them, care about them, or love them? When you know why they are that way and why they do the things they do? Hatred is easy. To care is so much harder."
They were both quiet for a long moment.
Then Issei broke the silence in the most 'Issei Hyoudou' way possible.
"I want a harem."
"You've mentioned," Eren said dryly.
"It's been my dream for most of my life. I used to think it was going to be easy," Issei said softly, staring at his left arm again. "A previously all-girl school? It was like an anime or eroge. Even if most girls hated me, one or two would like me, right? I'd give it my best, and everything else would fall into place. In some way, I thought it was inevitable."
Becoming a devil had only made that feeling grow. A society with a system tailor-made for harems, accepted his perversion, saw him as valuable, and provided him a path to walk to his dream?
Issei had almost considered his inevitable harem as set in stone. He had entertained fantasies about who would be in it. Rias. Akeno. Koneko. Maybe even Asia, once she was more worldly. Maybe some classmates or other supernatural races.
Issei had imagined it. Fantasised about it.
Dreamed about it.
For a while, Issei Hyoudou had lived in a world where he was the protagonist.
Then it collapsed in a flash of light, a clap of thunder, and the searing of flesh.
Issei had spoken the truth when he said he didn't blame Rias. In some way, he didn't even blame Raynare.
Issei Hyoudou blamed himself.
He blamed himself for being a naive, perverted, too-honest, and too-trusting boy. Someone more intelligent, wiser, or better than him would not have fallen for Raynare's facade.
They wouldn't have gotten captured by a defeated enemy and used as a hostage against his friends. Someone else would not be this week and pathetic.
Buchou claimed that the Rating Game had shown the world Issei was one of the most promising Red Dragon Emperors to ever live.
Issei disagreed.
All it showed was a young, dumb, weak pervert in over his head.
"Now, I am not sure I will ever have a girlfriend again, let alone a harem."
"You might not," Eren nodded.
Issei stared at the boy.
That... was not encouraging. Far from comfort or advice, as the Rook had expected, the sickly boy had responded instantly and brutally.
And Issei couldn't deny the truth of the statement.
"But that will be for you to decide," Eren continued. "You have to decide what you want and what you fight for."
"I'm not that bright," Issei said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his head. "But I don't think that's how love works. I think I don't get to decide whether girls like me."
Eren frowned, opened his mouth, leaned back, and looked at the sky. Issei wondered if he had put his foot in his mouth again and accidentally said something wrong when the sickly boy spoke.
His voice was heavy, slow, and deliberate, as if every word was worth its weight in gold.
"I knew a couple, once. Younger than you are now," Eren started. "Trained with them for years. They danced around each other's feelings forever. When they got together, they were inseparable. We always joked about their inevitable marriage. Teased them. If two people were made for each other, it was them." Eren grit his teeth as he spat the following words. "He died the first day on the job. We found Hannah cradling what was left of Franz, refusing to face reality. Refusing to acknowledge that he was dead."
Issei froze. It was one thing to read about Eren's history as a mercenary; it was another to hear stories directly from him.
There was a weight to them. Like Issei was being entrusted with something precious. But they were also far from what a boy who, only a few months ago, was a regular teen had any frame of reference for.
For all the conflict and trauma Issei had dealt with since becoming a devil, he had never lost anyone he cared about. He didn't know what to say.
Thankfully, Eren didn't expect him to say anything just yet.
"My experience with romance isn't great either," Eren's voice deadened as if all emotions had drained from his body, yet his words were as impactful as ever. "I never really thought about love. Too busy chasing my goals. Too busy running ahead. I never noticed her feelings. In my defence, I had always considered her an overprotective sister and never considered her a romantic partner. Still," Eren paused as if lost in thought.
Even if Issei didn't know Eren as well as the others, he still could hear the regret thick in his voice.
"I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had understood her better. If I had known what she always felt for me. If I had known what I could feel for her. If we had more time together, would we have been happy? Or would it have been a greater tragedy?"
This time, when Eren paused, he did not continue to talk. He was lost in his memories, staring at a sky he couldn't see.
Issei had a lot of questions, but one floated up, interrupting the older boy's reverie.
"Who was she?"
"She was," Eren paused again, voice thick with emotion. Longing. Regret. Love. "She was quiet. Private. Protective. She would do anything for those she cared about. She was the strongest person I ever met. In body and in heart. But she never wanted to use that strength. She would have much preferred a quiet life than one of battle. But she chose to follow me. To protect me. She saved my life. So many times. Too many times."
Eren choked back something. Maybe a grunt. Maybe a sob.
"She was my sister. My family took her in after hers were killed by slavers. She was one of my best friends—someone I could always trust to have my back. I had always loved her. Not in that way. Not initially. She had been in love with me for years, but I was too dense to notice. To caught up in my own pain and rage. I didn't fall in love with her till later. Till it was too late."
"What happened?" Issei asked, fear making his voice tremble.
"She didn't die, if that's what you are asking," Eren said as he shook his head. "It was a close thing, though. That was how I fell in love with her, believe it or not. I had done something stupid and got myself captured. Again. People died to get me back. Too many people. And one of them was really dear to us, almost an uncle. We watched as he was torn apart. We almost died, too. We were about to. We were sure it was going to happen."
Eren raised his own left hand over his head as if to stare at it, unknowingly echoing Issei's previous position.
"All I could do was scream. Scream at myself for being helpless. For failing. For everything. It was all my fault. More than I realized at the time, it was all my fault. And yet..."
For the first time, Issei saw something else on Eren Yeager's face.
It was only a shadow, a hint of expression lost in his words, but Issei would swear up and down that Eren almost smiled.
"She smiled. She didn't care about my guilt, uselessness, or anything else. We were about to die, and she smiled as she thanked me. For being with her. For rescuing her from those slavers. For teaching her how to live. For wrapping that scarf around her neck. We were about to die, and all I could think about was how beautiful she was when she smiled."
Enraptured by the story and the emotions that so mirrored his circumstances, Issei couldn't help repeating his question.
"What happened next?"
"We survived," Eren nodded. "But things changed. My feelings had changed. Maybe she sensed it, but she no longer was as overprotective. And I no longer resented her concern, seeing it in a new light. It took me a while to sort out my feelings. I am not good with that sort of thing. But I realized what they were pretty quickly. But we had a final mission to do. After that, I would talk to her if we survived."
"Did she? Survive, I mean?" Issei asked eagerly before realizing how insensitive that question would be if she hadn't.
"We did," Eren thankfully nodded, but his face was set in a heavy frown. "Two hundred scouts died that day. Nine survived. The mission was a success, but my thoughts were... occupied. I put off confessing till we had a plan on what to do from there. But then I had one. A plan that would get me almost everything I ever wanted."
Despite his words, Eren did not sound happy. If anything, he sounded furious.
"I wanted it. I wanted that future so bad." Eren bit out, teeth clenching. "But it would cost me so much. The lives of my friends. And I would never be with her. Even if we loved each other, we'd never be together. I searched desperately for an alternative. A way to avoid that plan. To save lives. The lives of strangers and of my friends. To save the life I wanted to live with her. Even when I resigned myself, I was prepared to throw it all away if it meant spending those few years with her."
The fury that filled the blind boy fizzled out as he slumped against the bench in defeat.
"But that never happened," Eren sighed sadly. "Instead, I went ahead with the plan. We never so much as kissed. She probably moved on. I hope she moved on. I hope she is happy, even if it is not with me. I don't know what happened after I... left."
A creaking sound tore Issei's gaze from the older boy's bandaged face, and for the first time, the Rook noticed Eren's hands.
He had gripped his cane tightly, so tightly it had creaked under his white-knuckled grasp.
Unused to the overt display of emotion from the boy, Issei scrambled for a way to change the subject to something more positive, something that might bring back the hint of a smile he saw.
"What was the scarf you mentioned?" Issei asked hurriedly. "The one she thanked you for?"
It thankfully worked, and Eren's frown fell from his face for a softer expression as his fists unclenched. He took a deep breath as if to compose himself before he answered.
"I rescued her from slavers, and she saved me right after. But it was the middle of the night in the mountains. It was cold out." Eren idly raised a hand to his neck as if to adjust a scarf that wasn't there.
"I wrapped my scarf around her. It was a simple thing to me. She seemed cold, almost in rags, and I still had my clothes. She kept the scarf. For years, she never went anywhere without it. I didn't realize what it meant to her till that day. It meant much more to her than it did to me. I promised I would always wrap it around her."
Eren softly lowered his hand back to his cane as he whispered the last words, almost to himself.
"I hope she got rid of it."
"Do you regret it?" Issei couldn't help but ask, morbidly curious, as he remembered a small scrunchie.
A small gift purchased to commemorate his first-ever date.
"Since you can't be together, do you regret giving her the scarf?"
It was the wrong thing to ask.
"Listen to me, Issei Hyoudou," Eren said, voice quiet but intense as he suddenly leaned forward, turning to face Issei as if to look him in the eye.
All the Rook saw were bandages and a mouth set into a determined line.
"I am a monster. The Devil in every sense of the word. I have killed. I have murdered. I have more blood on my hands than anyone ever before or since. Throughout all my life, everything I have done has ended in tragedy. I have many regrets, far too many."
Eren stabbed at Issei with a finger, right in the heart, and the Rook flinched in surprise.
"There is one thing I have never regretted. It is the only purely good thing I have ever done. The only time I was ever a hero. No matter what happens, I will never, ever regret wrapping that scarf around her. Do you understand?"
Startled by the intensity of the blank gaze and the fervour in his voice, Issei hurried to answer as he nodded frantically.
"I do. I do. I understand."
Eren maintained his position for a few heartbeats after Issei's frantic answer as if daring him to take back his words. When Issei said nothing else, he relaxed back into his chair with a grunt.
"I got off topic," Eren said as he resettled. "I wasn't telling that story for memory's sake. There was a point. Did you get it?"
"Uh," Issei stuttered. He had honestly been too absorbed to think about the more profound implications or possible morals. "No. Sorry."
"The point was that there is no such thing as a fated love," Erin grunted. "If life were like Rias' manga, I would have ended up with her. I am not unaware that my past can be considered fantastic enough to qualify for entertainment. But this is real life, not fiction."
Issei remembered a few weeks ago when he thought that his life had become a light novel.
Had he always assumed he was the protagonist? Or had it just been the exceptional circumstances getting to him?
"There is no such thing as destined love or soulmates," Eren bit out. "If there was, I would have settled down and married my childhood friend whom I loved and who loved me. My friends would not have died as soon as they got together. Another of my friends would not have had to find love in a marriage she never wanted. We would have lived happily ever after." Eren grunted in derision. "But that didn't happen. Because nobody is certain to end up with anyone else."
"I get it," Issei said morosely. Eren had a point, but it still hurt to have his naive dreams thrown in his face like that.
"I don't think you do," Eren said. "Because if you did, you would not sound so sad."
Issei blinked, unsure why he shouldn't be sad.
"Didn't you just say I am not fated to be with anyone?"
Eren smacked the boy on the back of his head.
"You aren't destined to be with anyone," Eren said roughly. "But that applies to others as well. They are not fated for anyone else, either. That is the freedom of it. I know nothing about your love life, about harems, or romance. All I know is that no romantic or otherwise relationship happens if you don't work for it."
Issei almost bit out something sarcastic about Sona but held it in.
Maybe Eren did know about the devil's crush and chose not to say anything because he did not want to start something doomed to a tragic end.
"Do you have a problem with someone? Fight! Do you like someone? Ask them out! Do you want a harem? Work for it! You will stumble, fall, and get hurt as you move forward. I can't promise you will achieve your dream or even have one girl, let alone many. All I will promise is that you will have none if you stay still."
Issei took a deep breath and looked at the older boy. Sickly, dying, and regretful.
Yet still living, still fighting in his own way.
"You're right," Issei said, smacking himself in the cheeks with both hands as he stood from the uncomfortable bench. "Your right! I've been too lazy. If I want to be a Harem King, I need to be better. I have to pursue more girls. I've been rejected a thousand times. I can handle a million rejections if I achieve my dreams. Even if it hurts, I can't just sit still!"
"Before you run off to get yourself hurt again," Eren said dryly. "I have some advice I wish I had received myself. It might help you get started with your... harem."
"What is it?" Issei asked eagerly, still fired up.
"Look to the ones beside you," Eren said gravely. "Instead of running ahead, slow down. You will reach the same destination, but you will have fewer regrets. Those who want to travel your path with you will thank you."
Issei left the clearing with the bench, pondering the older boy's parting words.
He left Eren Yeager alone on the bench with his memories of a love that never was.
Issei would continue to have nightmares, but they lessened over the coming months.
It might have been thanks to Eren's words, or it might be because, a week after that talk on the bench and turning the words over, Issei puzzled out what the dying boy meant.
A few days after that, when he gathered his courage and after a hefty amount of pep talk from Ddraig, Issei Hyoudou asked Asia Argento out on a date.
Asia's smile, as she agreed, was angelic.
Maybe Issei would get his harem, or perhaps he wouldn't. He'd been hurt. He would be hurt again, Issei was sure.
He had a long road to become the Harem King of his dreams. He didn't know the future.
All Issei knew was that for that smile, for that light in his life, he'd name his first child after the boy on the bench.
********
Beta: Old Man of the Mountain
Issei isn't an edge lord, vengence-driven type of man. That is his problem. He blames himself for most things that go wrong. That is half his trauma, always wondering if it was him and not Raynare that was the issue. The closest you get to that type of Issei in canon is when he goes Jugernaught Drive, and even then he is explicitly not in control then. Issei went through trauma, yes, but he is still Issei.
One of my pet peeves in Fanfiction has always been characters going OOC for no reason. AUs are fine, excellent even, but there needs to be a thread of logic I can follow, or I lose my investment and see the hand of the author. It can be subtle, but it has to be there. Ironically, AOT is one of the best examples of quiet character growth.
One of the most common complaints I've heard about the end of AOT is that 'Eren suddenly loves Mikasa? Where did that come from?' I respond that Eren didn't at the show's start, but he changed. Mikasa did, too. I can point to the exact moment where Eren fell in love. You can, too. Just read Chapter 50, 'Scream.' They are pages 21 to 26. That's what I always point to. I dare anyone who knows the ending of AOT to read that and say Eren didn't fall in love with Mikasa.
Between that point, throughout the entire ordeal with Historia's family and the battle to retake Maria, Eren never lashes out at Mikasa, and she never babys him, yet she is still concerned about him. It is a subtle realization of love without the 'daisuki' or overt displays of affection so common in anime. Neither of their characters is the type to be overt with that kind of emotion. After Maria, Eren sees the Rumbling and spends years searching for a way to stop it. When he can't, and Mikasa is too shy to say she loves him, he goes on to what we see post-time skip.
Do not get me wrong, AOT is not without fault. I have many issues with it myself. But the Eren/Misaka love thing was never one of them because I saw that love grow throughout the entire series. I just never understood why others couldn't see it, either.
Characters have reasons for their actions, or they aren't compelling characters. I hope to get that across with my writing.
I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas, and I will meet you all next time on the bench.
After reading the emotional scene about death and trauma. This came out of nowhere and left me empty. Good job.
Church's Soldiers
The familiar voice cut through the red haze of rage and pain.
"What is going on here?"
Everyone froze, Excalibur Destruction inches from Kiba's neck.
""EREN!"" From his place on the ground, the Knight heard Akeno and Rias shout in surprise. It was the King who continued. "Sona! Get him out of here!"
"A human?" Kiba heard the executor with the sword at his neck mutter in confusion.
"Have you tried talking him out of something," the student council president asked rhetorically with more than a little bit of anger. "We heard a commotion, and he insisted on checking it out."
"I recognize a fight when I hear one. Especially one with metal blades." Kiba heard Eren say dryly.
Only the Knight's long experience with the dying boy let him understand that much of his tone.
Eren was speaking in that dead way of his, like nothing in the world mattered. From his position, the Knight couldn't see the boy's face to know his expression.
"Now, will someone explain what is going or will I have to start hitting things with my cane?"
"What have you done, Sitri?" Xenovia snarled, finally pulling the hateful blade from Kiba's neck and pointing it at Sona. "A hostage? What have you done to him? Torture? Is there no low your kind will not sink to?"
"Sitri? And Rias called you Sona?" Eren asked, and Kiba could finally look at the boy and notice him tilting his head in question.
The blind boy was off the bench, standing with the Sitri heiress on the far side of the clearing they had their fight in. Sona had kept him clear of the fallen trees and holes they had torn through the dirt.
Of all the exorcist said, only the names had given the former mercenary pause.
"I told you my family is foreign, right," Sona hurried to explain, a note of panic in her voice. "When I moved to Japan, I went by a Japanese version of my name. Souna Shitori, rather than Sona Sitri."
"Huh," Eren grunted. "That explains a lot. You should have told me. I'd have called you Sona."
"I'd like that," Sona said, relief in her voice at Eren's easy acceptance of her words, but she still glared at the exorcist. "And no. He is not a hostage. He was simply resting on a nearby bench when we heard your fight. If you are done, we will leave."
"Ah, Lord." All the devils winced in pain as the other exorcist, Irina, recited a prayer. "Please save this lost lamb from the devil's clutches and return him to the flock."
Eren's face was still set in his placid expression as if all emotion had drained from him. Still in a daze, Kiba noted that his friends hurriedly looked at each other, trying to communicate silently.
This was bad. They needed to get the boy out of there. If things devolved even further, they wouldn't be able to keep Eren safe if the exorcists attacked.
"If nobody will explain what is happening, I will have to get involved." Eren started to draw his blade, but Kiba's ragged and rough voice stopped him.
"Senpai," he croaked. "These are my juniors. They have my goal. It is right here."
All eyes looked at the fallen Knight.
"Yuuto!" Rias resumed her rush to his side, paused by the arrival of the unexpected guests, and began worrying over him and checking for injuries.
Even a little nick from an Excalibur was fatal to most devils.
"I see," Eren said, returning his blade to his cane with a click. He poked around a bit with his cane till he found an exposed stump and then, unmindful of the dirt, sat down. "Are you going to kill them?"
The casual way he asked the question, the complete disregard for human life, sent a shudder through the spine of the newer members' backs.
Both exorcists focused more intently on the older boy, reevaluating him.
"Who are you?" Xenovia asked bluntly. "Are you also a survivor of the project?"
"I have no idea what project you are talking about," Eren denied. As he spoke, Kiba was glad to see Akeno, Koneko, and Sona circle around the boy, ready to protect him in case things went bad.
"The Holy Sword Project," Kiba spat out as Rias lifted him over her shoulder. "It took in orphans. Ran experiments on us. And when they were done with us? They killed us. Guns. Gas. They killed us all. Except for me."
Kiba was laughing bitterly, even as tears fell from his eyes.
He felt weak.
Impotent.
His vengeance was right here!
And not a single blade of his survived a clash.
Rias tightened her hold on her Knight even as Asia gasped and Issei's gauntleted fist clenched. The others already knew about it, but they all still looked angry. Even the executors looked uncomfortable.
"They're from the church," Kiba rambled. "All the pain we went through? They got the reward for that. This is my chance for vengeance."
Eren snorted.
"There's no such thing as a holy sword," he denied, unable to see the blades glowing power. "All swords exist to kill. It is as simple as that. But the church doing something like that, I can believe. Religion is for the mad, the desperate, and the cattle."
"Who are you?" Xenovia asked again, anger filling her voice. "Who are you to question God and his followers?"
"The Devil," Eren deadpanned as the actual devils winced in pain again from the exorcist's use of the word. "And I've never seen proof of god or that he cares about his followers. I have seen a few churches, though. I saw one collapse, killing all the 'followers' inside like bugs. No god saved them. I've destroyed a few myself. So who are you, followers of a god that isn't there?"
Sona and Rias hurried to share a few looks, and the redhead sent a few subtle directions at her Peerage.
The devils were tense, ready to act at the first sign of actual conflict, but they were also quiet. More than anyone else, they understood that Eren had a way with words.
For good and bad.
So long as everyone kept talking, killing time wouldn't be too bad.
More than that, it gave Asia time to heal the fighters and for them to recover. Every second that passed, the devil's side was in a better position if it did come to a fight.
Irina Shidou didn't seem to care.
"Shidou Irina," she introduced herself cheerfully, waving her whip-sword around. "Nice to meet you, Heretic-kun."
"Xenovia Quarta," Xenovia said with displeasure, much less exuberant than her companion. "I should not be surprised by your blasphemy, given your company. Swine lays with swine."
The devils bristled, but Eren simply hummed in thought. He still didn't express any emotion. Like he was going through the motions rather than feeling anything.
It was incredibly off-putting.
The last time he had been like this for so long was almost a year ago.
"Quarta? And with the church?" He tilted his head, idly tapping his cane. "Any relation to Griselda Quarta?"
Everyone stared at the blind boy in shock.
Except for Issei, who whispered into Koneko's ear.
"Who's that?"
"Exorcist," Koneko whispered back. Low enough that Eren couldn't hear, but Kiba was still a devil. "Top five."
"How do you know her?" Xenovia bit out, hands tightening around her sword handle. Irina looked from the blind boy to her companion in confusion.
"We've met. At a church, believe or not," Eren deadpanned. "How's her leg?"
Kiba was the fastest person there.
He had been on guard ever since the exorcists had appeared. His eyes tracked the Excalibur's like a hawk watching a mouse.
He was still almost too late.
CLANG!!
Eren didn't flinch as Excalibur Destruction was deflected less than a foot from his face.
The devils lept into action, surrounding the boy even as Xenovia retreated from her failed blow.
"Xenovia!" Irina cried in surprise as the blue-haired girl snarled.
"That's him!" The exorcist spat. "Eren Yeager! The Child of Evil!"
Irina's eyes widened, and Excalibur Mimic returned to its sword form.
Kiba didn't see any of it. He was too busy staring in shock at the black sword in his hands.
He had summoned it on instinct.
It hadn't shattered.
"Griselda should have survived," Eren said blandly, still not emoting. "If she got help quick enough, she should have even been able to save the leg. If she died, it was not my fault."
"She's still alive," Xenovia spat. "No thanks to you. You left her for dead."
"She shouldn't have gotten in my way."
"She was protecting people!"
"The people she was protecting were mercenaries and sex traffickers."
"They had surrendered! They were asking for sanctuary! From you!"
"I'm sure that matters to their victims."
"You blew up a church!"
"It should have been better protected if it didn't want to get destroyed."
Was he dreaming?
Was this real?
It was too surreal that Kiba wondered if he had actually died under Destruction's blade.
On one side was the shouting girl, waving a sword larger than herself and shouting accusations.
On the other was the blind boy sitting on a stump, answering blandly without any emotions.
It was like a twisted parody of Kiba's recent outburst of hysteric rage.
And the subject matter was even more unbelievable.
Eren, young, sickly and blind, knew Griselda Quarta? Had fought her? Beaten and injured her?
It was like Kiba was in a world where up was down, left was right, and his swords could suddenly stand up to an Excalibur.
Nothing made sense anymore.
But his body moved all the same.
CLANG!!
Excaliber Destruction bounced. Kiba did it again.
His sword deflected Excalibur.
This time, the attack didn't go without response.
"ENOUGH!" Rias shouted, glowing with power as Issei placed himself in front of Kiba and Eren. "You got what you wanted. Leave. Now! Another attack like that, and we will respond with lethal force."
Xenovia looked like she was ready to argue or even put up a fight, but she wasn't the first to respond.
"Why don't you?" Eren asked Rias. He was still speaking in that cold, plain monotone. "They're here. You outnumber them. I can help with the bodies. So why don't you kill them? They're Kiba's enemies, aren't they? Targets of vengeance who hurt him? So kill them."
Everyone looked at the boy, some in horror and others with consternation.
"Just as I would expect from the Child of Evil," Xenovia spat as she lept back towards her partner, facing the group side by side. "Bring it on. We are not scared of any of you."
"We are not killing anyone," Rias insisted as she glared at her friend. "If they were the ones who hurt Yuuto, I would. But they aren't. They're no older than us. So long as they leave us alone, I promised not to interfere and will not break my word."
Eren didn't know anything about the politics involved, Kiba could understand. He couldn't even see who he was threatening to kill.
As far as the blind boy was aware, there was a fight. He approached and found out it was the target of the Knight's vengeance. Everything Kiba knew about Eren Yeager told him that Eren would not hesitate.
But...
"I..." Kiba said, voice low with realization. "I didn't want to kill them. I just wanted to destroy their swords. Those cursed things. They're the reason all my friends died."
Both exorcists looked at the Knight in surprise, and Rias' eyes glowed with pride.
"Mmmh," Eren nodded. Then he pulled out his sword again. A sense of familiarity once again struck Kiba, like he had seen the flat blade somewhere before.
Eren held the thin sword before him, parallel to the ground.
Then he brought his elbow down on it.
It snapped.
The thin sword could not hold up to even the sickly boy's strength.
Bending down, the blind boy pawed around momentarily before finding the broken blade and picking it up. Without a handle, the razor-thin sword cut into his fingers and palm.
"Eren!" Sona shouted in shock, reaching down to get the boy to drop the blade even as his fingers bled. By the time she held his wrist, Eren had already thrown the sword at Kiba.
It missed. By a wide margin.
Eren was still blind, after all.
But it sank into the ground in the middle of the clearing, feet away from the Knight.
"If you are going to be stupid enough to believe that, use that sword. It will do you just as well as anything you might have," Eren said as the others fretted over him. He ignored them, pulling a roll of bandages from his pocket to wrap his hand.
Asia was already healing it, but he could not see the green glow.
"If that one breaks, I have dozens of the things," he said. "They're sharp. Made to cut through flesh. They'll cut you just as easily as any other blade."
"That will shatter in a second in a real fight," Xenovia said derisively.
"A sword is not meant to break swords," Eren replied. "A sword is made to kill. Ask Griselda. That blade is sharp enough to kill your actual target."
Then, the blind boy faced Kiba again, who was staring from his white blade to the razor in the ground.
"Hating inanimate objects is stupid. I know. I hated those walls for years. I still do. But your vengeance should never be against the walls but against the people who built them. It doesn't matter if you tear a thousand walls down if they are rebuilt."
Kiba started laughing.
He laughed and laughed and laughed.
Of course.
Of course, Eren was right.
So Kiba laughed and cried.
Excalibur had been broken before. That's why there were multiple swords now. Made from its fragments.
Kiba could break them and break them and break them, and there would still be fools who would torture children to reforge them.
Killing their wielders wouldn't even accomplish anything, either. There were always more slaves to the church to pick up the pieces.
It was all so pointless.
"Senpai," Kiba choked out through a sob. "What am I supposed to do?"
"That is your choice," Eren said simply. "I can't see your Path. I don't know what you will do or how it will end. All I see is my own. I had my vengeance. And I ended up alone for it. I would do it again, but I have regrets. Will you?"
Kiba looked at the exorcists. These girls had everything he had been promised. He looked at their swords. Those blades he and his friends had died for.
Then he looked at Rias, the girl who took him in even though he might not have anything to offer.
Akeno, who took care of him, taught him and cared for him like a sister.
Koneko, who looked up to him and held his hand on the first day of school because she had been scared.
Issei, the clumsy junior he took under his wing. Yuuto hadn't been called a Damn Handsome in weeks.
Asia, also betrayed by the church, yet so devoted to caring for others still.
And then he looked at the sickly boy on the stump.
At his Senpai.
At a twisted mirror of what he could become.
The black sword dissolved into motes of light.
"Now that this... disturbance has ended," Sona said with a sigh as she adjusted her glasses. "You can take your leave. We will not interfere with your search."
"Ah," Irina gasped and bowed in farewell as she spoke cheerfully. "It was nice to see you again, Issei-kun. Take care of yourselves, you filthy heathens."
Xenovia looked like she had swallowed a lemon, but she understood that further conflict would not help her mission. Still, she had a question she needed answering.
"How did you do it?" She asked, looking at Eren. Since he didn't respond, probably because he didn't know she was talking to him, the exorcist continued. "How'd you beat her? She never said."
"Beat her?" Eren asked. "Griselda? I didn't. I was nine. Nobody expects a child to stab them. I tricked her. It's why I went for her leg, to stop her from being able to fight in the first place. You can fight with one arm but not one leg. She was in the way of my mission, and I got rid of her threat. As simple as that."
"Why didn't you kill her?"
"Why would I? She hadn't wronged me. She wasn't even my enemy. I might have if she had a gun, but all she had was that stupidly oversized sword. She wasn't worth the loss of time it would take to kill her when my prey could run at any second."
Despite himself, Kiba couldn't help the snort of amusement that left his lips, mirrored by Akeno.
The idea that Griselda Quarta, famed exorcist and terror to devils everywhere, had been tricked by a human child and left to die because she 'wasn't worth killing' was too damn funny.
Xenovia's fingers twitched, but she swallowed her words and turned on a dime to stomp her way out of the forest. Irina hurried to follow with one last cheerful wave towards Issei.
There was a beat of silence as everyone waited for them to gain some distance.
"Dramatic." Koneko deadpanned.
"I only understood half of what just happened," Issei said, raising his hand as if in question.
"That's more than I expected."
"Hey!" Issei cried in self-defence as he whirled. Then he froze as he realized who had spoken. "Did you... Did you just make a joke?"
"Help me back to the bench," Eren said in his monotone, utterly unaware of the looks of disbelief he was receiving. "You haven't told me how the date went yet."
"Ah," Issei gasped and hurried to pull the boy up, slinging an arm over his shoulder. His face, as well as Asia's, was flushed completely red. "Hehehe." He laughed nervously as he led the boy back the way he came. Asia hurried to follow.
Those who remained watched them leave with a mixture of emotions.
"That boy," Akeno muttered, placing her hand on her cheek as she shook her head in silent laughter. "I can't tell if he's a good influence or not."
"Should I bake a cake?" Rias asked out of nowhere. When they looked at her, she explained. "For Eren's first joke with us. He's opening up. We should celebrate."
"He just told us to kill a couple of girls he had never met before," Kiba snorted, but he was smiling.
"I think it was sweet," Akeno giggled. "He was defending his Kohai."
"What do you think, Sona," Rias asked her rival, who continued staring after the departed boy. "Chocolate, vanilla, or ice cream?"
"I am not interested in cake flavours, Rias," Sona said as she removed her glasses to rub her eyes tiredly. "What I am interested in is how a nine-year-old human boy was able to injure one of the most dangerous women in the world enough that she couldn't fight anymore?"
"Anybody can be defeated if they are taken by surprise," Akeno shrugged. "I wouldn't expect a kid to stab me in the leg, either."
"...Sneaky," Koneko said with a thumbs up.
"Maybe," Sona said lowly, looking thoughtful.
"What is it?" Rias asked.
"Don't you think Eren is being too... blase about all this?" Sona asked, looking around. "He hears a sword fight and goes toward it instead of away. In that entire conversation, only my name gave him pause. I think..." She trailed off, worrying her lower lip.
"Eren's life hasn't been normal by any stretch," Akeno pointed out wryly.
"But that's just it," Sona pursed her lips as she adjusted her glasses. "Everything about him is slightly off. Names that don't fit. Events we can't trace. A timeline that doesn't line up."
"Lying?" Koneko asked with a frown.
"No way," Rias denied instantly. "There is no way I will believe what he... That what he told us is a lie. There was too much emotion, too many details, and over too long a period of time. Maybe your family's agents missed some stuff, that's all."
"It's possible, but everything on that file was verified. We are missing something. Some key fact. Some clue that will make everything make sense. And..." She paused, giving the matter another moment of thought. "And I think he knows something is going on."
"What do you mean?" Yuuto asked.
"I don't think he knows about the supernatural, or at least not fully, but he didn't even flinch when Asia started healing him."
"If he fought Griselda Quarta, he probably ran into other supernatural beings while he was active," Akeno nodded in agreement with Sona's words. "He probably saw things he couldn't explain but never got a full explanation of how the world really works."
"Should we tell him," Rias asked eagerly.
"Eren... probably already knows something is up with us," Sona continued, worrying her lip. "He's sharp enough and known us long enough that I can't imagine he doesn't know we aren't regular students. Today would just be proof. But he hasn't brought it up. It might be best to leave it for now. Until he asks, at least."
"Fine," Rias pouted. "But I get to be the one to tell him. I already have a speech and everything."
"Fufufufu," Akeno giggled behind her hand, eyes twinkling in mischief.
"There is another thing, though," Sona said, her smile muted as she shook her head at her rival's antics. "We might need to be more careful from now on. Eren has enemies. And now, they know he is here. Or at least the church does. We need to get those exorcists out of our territory immediately. I will have my Peerage send out their familiars to search for the Excaliburs."
"Trouble," Koneko nodded as she punched her fist into her palm.
"Hm," Rias gave the matter some more thought. "I know we said we would leave those exorcists alone, but we can do that and keep an eye on them. Maybe subtly point them in the right direction if we find the swords first." She looked at Koneko, who nodded, and then to Yuuto. "Can you do this?" She asked softly. "I don't want to leave Koneko alone when Excaliburs are involved. Can I trust you to keep calm and back her up?"
"You can," the Knight said as he saluted with one of his swords. The black blade glinted in the light.
"Hopefully, we all get out of this intact," Sona muttered as she eyed the blade curiously.
The next day, Kokabiel, cloaked from surveillance and scouting the local leylines under Kuoh Academy, found a blind boy sitting on a bench.
********
Beta: Old Man of the Mountain
There's a lot I want to say with this one, but at the same time, I think this is one of the cases where I am better off letting the readers form their own opinion, so I'll keep mum on most of it.
All I will say is that my experiment with tones continues. The hard-hitting emotional moments shifting to light-hearted jokes, to serious concern. It is a whiplash, but I hope it flows well enough.
I wish everyone a very happy new year, and I will meet you all, in 2024, on the bench.
"What is going on here?"
Everyone froze, Excalibur Destruction inches from Kiba's neck.
""EREN!"" From his place on the ground, the Knight heard Akeno and Rias shout in surprise. It was the King who continued. "Sona! Get him out of here!"
"A human?" Kiba heard the executor with the sword at his neck mutter in confusion.
"Have you tried talking him out of something," the student council president asked rhetorically with more than a little bit of anger. "We heard a commotion, and he insisted on checking it out."
"I recognize a fight when I hear one. Especially one with metal blades." Kiba heard Eren say dryly.
Only the Knight's long experience with the dying boy let him understand that much of his tone.
Eren was speaking in that dead way of his, like nothing in the world mattered. From his position, the Knight couldn't see the boy's face to know his expression.
"Now, will someone explain what is going or will I have to start hitting things with my cane?"
"What have you done, Sitri?" Xenovia snarled, finally pulling the hateful blade from Kiba's neck and pointing it at Sona. "A hostage? What have you done to him? Torture? Is there no low your kind will not sink to?"
"Sitri? And Rias called you Sona?" Eren asked, and Kiba could finally look at the boy and notice him tilting his head in question.
The blind boy was off the bench, standing with the Sitri heiress on the far side of the clearing they had their fight in. Sona had kept him clear of the fallen trees and holes they had torn through the dirt.
Of all the exorcist said, only the names had given the former mercenary pause.
"I told you my family is foreign, right," Sona hurried to explain, a note of panic in her voice. "When I moved to Japan, I went by a Japanese version of my name. Souna Shitori, rather than Sona Sitri."
"Huh," Eren grunted. "That explains a lot. You should have told me. I'd have called you Sona."
"I'd like that," Sona said, relief in her voice at Eren's easy acceptance of her words, but she still glared at the exorcist. "And no. He is not a hostage. He was simply resting on a nearby bench when we heard your fight. If you are done, we will leave."
"Ah, Lord." All the devils winced in pain as the other exorcist, Irina, recited a prayer. "Please save this lost lamb from the devil's clutches and return him to the flock."
Eren's face was still set in his placid expression as if all emotion had drained from him. Still in a daze, Kiba noted that his friends hurriedly looked at each other, trying to communicate silently.
This was bad. They needed to get the boy out of there. If things devolved even further, they wouldn't be able to keep Eren safe if the exorcists attacked.
"If nobody will explain what is happening, I will have to get involved." Eren started to draw his blade, but Kiba's ragged and rough voice stopped him.
"Senpai," he croaked. "These are my juniors. They have my goal. It is right here."
All eyes looked at the fallen Knight.
"Yuuto!" Rias resumed her rush to his side, paused by the arrival of the unexpected guests, and began worrying over him and checking for injuries.
Even a little nick from an Excalibur was fatal to most devils.
"I see," Eren said, returning his blade to his cane with a click. He poked around a bit with his cane till he found an exposed stump and then, unmindful of the dirt, sat down. "Are you going to kill them?"
The casual way he asked the question, the complete disregard for human life, sent a shudder through the spine of the newer members' backs.
Both exorcists focused more intently on the older boy, reevaluating him.
"Who are you?" Xenovia asked bluntly. "Are you also a survivor of the project?"
"I have no idea what project you are talking about," Eren denied. As he spoke, Kiba was glad to see Akeno, Koneko, and Sona circle around the boy, ready to protect him in case things went bad.
"The Holy Sword Project," Kiba spat out as Rias lifted him over her shoulder. "It took in orphans. Ran experiments on us. And when they were done with us? They killed us. Guns. Gas. They killed us all. Except for me."
Kiba was laughing bitterly, even as tears fell from his eyes.
He felt weak.
Impotent.
His vengeance was right here!
And not a single blade of his survived a clash.
Rias tightened her hold on her Knight even as Asia gasped and Issei's gauntleted fist clenched. The others already knew about it, but they all still looked angry. Even the executors looked uncomfortable.
"They're from the church," Kiba rambled. "All the pain we went through? They got the reward for that. This is my chance for vengeance."
Eren snorted.
"There's no such thing as a holy sword," he denied, unable to see the blades glowing power. "All swords exist to kill. It is as simple as that. But the church doing something like that, I can believe. Religion is for the mad, the desperate, and the cattle."
"Who are you?" Xenovia asked again, anger filling her voice. "Who are you to question God and his followers?"
"The Devil," Eren deadpanned as the actual devils winced in pain again from the exorcist's use of the word. "And I've never seen proof of god or that he cares about his followers. I have seen a few churches, though. I saw one collapse, killing all the 'followers' inside like bugs. No god saved them. I've destroyed a few myself. So who are you, followers of a god that isn't there?"
Sona and Rias hurried to share a few looks, and the redhead sent a few subtle directions at her Peerage.
The devils were tense, ready to act at the first sign of actual conflict, but they were also quiet. More than anyone else, they understood that Eren had a way with words.
For good and bad.
So long as everyone kept talking, killing time wouldn't be too bad.
More than that, it gave Asia time to heal the fighters and for them to recover. Every second that passed, the devil's side was in a better position if it did come to a fight.
Irina Shidou didn't seem to care.
"Shidou Irina," she introduced herself cheerfully, waving her whip-sword around. "Nice to meet you, Heretic-kun."
"Xenovia Quarta," Xenovia said with displeasure, much less exuberant than her companion. "I should not be surprised by your blasphemy, given your company. Swine lays with swine."
The devils bristled, but Eren simply hummed in thought. He still didn't express any emotion. Like he was going through the motions rather than feeling anything.
It was incredibly off-putting.
The last time he had been like this for so long was almost a year ago.
"Quarta? And with the church?" He tilted his head, idly tapping his cane. "Any relation to Griselda Quarta?"
Everyone stared at the blind boy in shock.
Except for Issei, who whispered into Koneko's ear.
"Who's that?"
"Exorcist," Koneko whispered back. Low enough that Eren couldn't hear, but Kiba was still a devil. "Top five."
"How do you know her?" Xenovia bit out, hands tightening around her sword handle. Irina looked from the blind boy to her companion in confusion.
"We've met. At a church, believe or not," Eren deadpanned. "How's her leg?"
Kiba was the fastest person there.
He had been on guard ever since the exorcists had appeared. His eyes tracked the Excalibur's like a hawk watching a mouse.
He was still almost too late.
CLANG!!
Eren didn't flinch as Excalibur Destruction was deflected less than a foot from his face.
The devils lept into action, surrounding the boy even as Xenovia retreated from her failed blow.
"Xenovia!" Irina cried in surprise as the blue-haired girl snarled.
"That's him!" The exorcist spat. "Eren Yeager! The Child of Evil!"
Irina's eyes widened, and Excalibur Mimic returned to its sword form.
Kiba didn't see any of it. He was too busy staring in shock at the black sword in his hands.
He had summoned it on instinct.
It hadn't shattered.
"Griselda should have survived," Eren said blandly, still not emoting. "If she got help quick enough, she should have even been able to save the leg. If she died, it was not my fault."
"She's still alive," Xenovia spat. "No thanks to you. You left her for dead."
"She shouldn't have gotten in my way."
"She was protecting people!"
"The people she was protecting were mercenaries and sex traffickers."
"They had surrendered! They were asking for sanctuary! From you!"
"I'm sure that matters to their victims."
"You blew up a church!"
"It should have been better protected if it didn't want to get destroyed."
Was he dreaming?
Was this real?
It was too surreal that Kiba wondered if he had actually died under Destruction's blade.
On one side was the shouting girl, waving a sword larger than herself and shouting accusations.
On the other was the blind boy sitting on a stump, answering blandly without any emotions.
It was like a twisted parody of Kiba's recent outburst of hysteric rage.
And the subject matter was even more unbelievable.
Eren, young, sickly and blind, knew Griselda Quarta? Had fought her? Beaten and injured her?
It was like Kiba was in a world where up was down, left was right, and his swords could suddenly stand up to an Excalibur.
Nothing made sense anymore.
But his body moved all the same.
CLANG!!
Excaliber Destruction bounced. Kiba did it again.
His sword deflected Excalibur.
This time, the attack didn't go without response.
"ENOUGH!" Rias shouted, glowing with power as Issei placed himself in front of Kiba and Eren. "You got what you wanted. Leave. Now! Another attack like that, and we will respond with lethal force."
Xenovia looked like she was ready to argue or even put up a fight, but she wasn't the first to respond.
"Why don't you?" Eren asked Rias. He was still speaking in that cold, plain monotone. "They're here. You outnumber them. I can help with the bodies. So why don't you kill them? They're Kiba's enemies, aren't they? Targets of vengeance who hurt him? So kill them."
Everyone looked at the boy, some in horror and others with consternation.
"Just as I would expect from the Child of Evil," Xenovia spat as she lept back towards her partner, facing the group side by side. "Bring it on. We are not scared of any of you."
"We are not killing anyone," Rias insisted as she glared at her friend. "If they were the ones who hurt Yuuto, I would. But they aren't. They're no older than us. So long as they leave us alone, I promised not to interfere and will not break my word."
Eren didn't know anything about the politics involved, Kiba could understand. He couldn't even see who he was threatening to kill.
As far as the blind boy was aware, there was a fight. He approached and found out it was the target of the Knight's vengeance. Everything Kiba knew about Eren Yeager told him that Eren would not hesitate.
But...
"I..." Kiba said, voice low with realization. "I didn't want to kill them. I just wanted to destroy their swords. Those cursed things. They're the reason all my friends died."
Both exorcists looked at the Knight in surprise, and Rias' eyes glowed with pride.
"Mmmh," Eren nodded. Then he pulled out his sword again. A sense of familiarity once again struck Kiba, like he had seen the flat blade somewhere before.
Eren held the thin sword before him, parallel to the ground.
Then he brought his elbow down on it.
It snapped.
The thin sword could not hold up to even the sickly boy's strength.
Bending down, the blind boy pawed around momentarily before finding the broken blade and picking it up. Without a handle, the razor-thin sword cut into his fingers and palm.
"Eren!" Sona shouted in shock, reaching down to get the boy to drop the blade even as his fingers bled. By the time she held his wrist, Eren had already thrown the sword at Kiba.
It missed. By a wide margin.
Eren was still blind, after all.
But it sank into the ground in the middle of the clearing, feet away from the Knight.
"If you are going to be stupid enough to believe that, use that sword. It will do you just as well as anything you might have," Eren said as the others fretted over him. He ignored them, pulling a roll of bandages from his pocket to wrap his hand.
Asia was already healing it, but he could not see the green glow.
"If that one breaks, I have dozens of the things," he said. "They're sharp. Made to cut through flesh. They'll cut you just as easily as any other blade."
"That will shatter in a second in a real fight," Xenovia said derisively.
"A sword is not meant to break swords," Eren replied. "A sword is made to kill. Ask Griselda. That blade is sharp enough to kill your actual target."
Then, the blind boy faced Kiba again, who was staring from his white blade to the razor in the ground.
"Hating inanimate objects is stupid. I know. I hated those walls for years. I still do. But your vengeance should never be against the walls but against the people who built them. It doesn't matter if you tear a thousand walls down if they are rebuilt."
Kiba started laughing.
He laughed and laughed and laughed.
Of course.
Of course, Eren was right.
So Kiba laughed and cried.
Excalibur had been broken before. That's why there were multiple swords now. Made from its fragments.
Kiba could break them and break them and break them, and there would still be fools who would torture children to reforge them.
Killing their wielders wouldn't even accomplish anything, either. There were always more slaves to the church to pick up the pieces.
It was all so pointless.
"Senpai," Kiba choked out through a sob. "What am I supposed to do?"
"That is your choice," Eren said simply. "I can't see your Path. I don't know what you will do or how it will end. All I see is my own. I had my vengeance. And I ended up alone for it. I would do it again, but I have regrets. Will you?"
Kiba looked at the exorcists. These girls had everything he had been promised. He looked at their swords. Those blades he and his friends had died for.
Then he looked at Rias, the girl who took him in even though he might not have anything to offer.
Akeno, who took care of him, taught him and cared for him like a sister.
Koneko, who looked up to him and held his hand on the first day of school because she had been scared.
Issei, the clumsy junior he took under his wing. Yuuto hadn't been called a Damn Handsome in weeks.
Asia, also betrayed by the church, yet so devoted to caring for others still.
And then he looked at the sickly boy on the stump.
At his Senpai.
At a twisted mirror of what he could become.
The black sword dissolved into motes of light.
"Now that this... disturbance has ended," Sona said with a sigh as she adjusted her glasses. "You can take your leave. We will not interfere with your search."
"Ah," Irina gasped and bowed in farewell as she spoke cheerfully. "It was nice to see you again, Issei-kun. Take care of yourselves, you filthy heathens."
Xenovia looked like she had swallowed a lemon, but she understood that further conflict would not help her mission. Still, she had a question she needed answering.
"How did you do it?" She asked, looking at Eren. Since he didn't respond, probably because he didn't know she was talking to him, the exorcist continued. "How'd you beat her? She never said."
"Beat her?" Eren asked. "Griselda? I didn't. I was nine. Nobody expects a child to stab them. I tricked her. It's why I went for her leg, to stop her from being able to fight in the first place. You can fight with one arm but not one leg. She was in the way of my mission, and I got rid of her threat. As simple as that."
"Why didn't you kill her?"
"Why would I? She hadn't wronged me. She wasn't even my enemy. I might have if she had a gun, but all she had was that stupidly oversized sword. She wasn't worth the loss of time it would take to kill her when my prey could run at any second."
Despite himself, Kiba couldn't help the snort of amusement that left his lips, mirrored by Akeno.
The idea that Griselda Quarta, famed exorcist and terror to devils everywhere, had been tricked by a human child and left to die because she 'wasn't worth killing' was too damn funny.
Xenovia's fingers twitched, but she swallowed her words and turned on a dime to stomp her way out of the forest. Irina hurried to follow with one last cheerful wave towards Issei.
There was a beat of silence as everyone waited for them to gain some distance.
"Dramatic." Koneko deadpanned.
"I only understood half of what just happened," Issei said, raising his hand as if in question.
"That's more than I expected."
"Hey!" Issei cried in self-defence as he whirled. Then he froze as he realized who had spoken. "Did you... Did you just make a joke?"
"Help me back to the bench," Eren said in his monotone, utterly unaware of the looks of disbelief he was receiving. "You haven't told me how the date went yet."
"Ah," Issei gasped and hurried to pull the boy up, slinging an arm over his shoulder. His face, as well as Asia's, was flushed completely red. "Hehehe." He laughed nervously as he led the boy back the way he came. Asia hurried to follow.
Those who remained watched them leave with a mixture of emotions.
"That boy," Akeno muttered, placing her hand on her cheek as she shook her head in silent laughter. "I can't tell if he's a good influence or not."
"Should I bake a cake?" Rias asked out of nowhere. When they looked at her, she explained. "For Eren's first joke with us. He's opening up. We should celebrate."
"He just told us to kill a couple of girls he had never met before," Kiba snorted, but he was smiling.
"I think it was sweet," Akeno giggled. "He was defending his Kohai."
"What do you think, Sona," Rias asked her rival, who continued staring after the departed boy. "Chocolate, vanilla, or ice cream?"
"I am not interested in cake flavours, Rias," Sona said as she removed her glasses to rub her eyes tiredly. "What I am interested in is how a nine-year-old human boy was able to injure one of the most dangerous women in the world enough that she couldn't fight anymore?"
"Anybody can be defeated if they are taken by surprise," Akeno shrugged. "I wouldn't expect a kid to stab me in the leg, either."
"...Sneaky," Koneko said with a thumbs up.
"Maybe," Sona said lowly, looking thoughtful.
"What is it?" Rias asked.
"Don't you think Eren is being too... blase about all this?" Sona asked, looking around. "He hears a sword fight and goes toward it instead of away. In that entire conversation, only my name gave him pause. I think..." She trailed off, worrying her lower lip.
"Eren's life hasn't been normal by any stretch," Akeno pointed out wryly.
"But that's just it," Sona pursed her lips as she adjusted her glasses. "Everything about him is slightly off. Names that don't fit. Events we can't trace. A timeline that doesn't line up."
"Lying?" Koneko asked with a frown.
"No way," Rias denied instantly. "There is no way I will believe what he... That what he told us is a lie. There was too much emotion, too many details, and over too long a period of time. Maybe your family's agents missed some stuff, that's all."
"It's possible, but everything on that file was verified. We are missing something. Some key fact. Some clue that will make everything make sense. And..." She paused, giving the matter another moment of thought. "And I think he knows something is going on."
"What do you mean?" Yuuto asked.
"I don't think he knows about the supernatural, or at least not fully, but he didn't even flinch when Asia started healing him."
"If he fought Griselda Quarta, he probably ran into other supernatural beings while he was active," Akeno nodded in agreement with Sona's words. "He probably saw things he couldn't explain but never got a full explanation of how the world really works."
"Should we tell him," Rias asked eagerly.
"Eren... probably already knows something is up with us," Sona continued, worrying her lip. "He's sharp enough and known us long enough that I can't imagine he doesn't know we aren't regular students. Today would just be proof. But he hasn't brought it up. It might be best to leave it for now. Until he asks, at least."
"Fine," Rias pouted. "But I get to be the one to tell him. I already have a speech and everything."
"Fufufufu," Akeno giggled behind her hand, eyes twinkling in mischief.
"There is another thing, though," Sona said, her smile muted as she shook her head at her rival's antics. "We might need to be more careful from now on. Eren has enemies. And now, they know he is here. Or at least the church does. We need to get those exorcists out of our territory immediately. I will have my Peerage send out their familiars to search for the Excaliburs."
"Trouble," Koneko nodded as she punched her fist into her palm.
"Hm," Rias gave the matter some more thought. "I know we said we would leave those exorcists alone, but we can do that and keep an eye on them. Maybe subtly point them in the right direction if we find the swords first." She looked at Koneko, who nodded, and then to Yuuto. "Can you do this?" She asked softly. "I don't want to leave Koneko alone when Excaliburs are involved. Can I trust you to keep calm and back her up?"
"You can," the Knight said as he saluted with one of his swords. The black blade glinted in the light.
"Hopefully, we all get out of this intact," Sona muttered as she eyed the blade curiously.
The next day, Kokabiel, cloaked from surveillance and scouting the local leylines under Kuoh Academy, found a blind boy sitting on a bench.
********
Beta: Old Man of the Mountain
There's a lot I want to say with this one, but at the same time, I think this is one of the cases where I am better off letting the readers form their own opinion, so I'll keep mum on most of it.
All I will say is that my experiment with tones continues. The hard-hitting emotional moments shifting to light-hearted jokes, to serious concern. It is a whiplash, but I hope it flows well enough.
I wish everyone a very happy new year, and I will meet you all, in 2024, on the bench.
Last edited:
A new chapter on New Year's Eve. Thank you for the gift. :3
Looks like Eren is somewhat aware of the supernatural. How will he react, knowing that he is consorting with real life devils, and they are not that bad compared to him lmao.
Looks like Eren is somewhat aware of the supernatural. How will he react, knowing that he is consorting with real life devils, and they are not that bad compared to him lmao.
This is pure gold. If they weren't enemies and the disturbing content it would belong in a comedy without a doubt.
True, but most fantasies work this way whe can't say that's this is DxD problem most fantasies make other races just humans with a different face, sometimes even the culture is the same.
The Remaining Soldiers
Kokiabel felt a shiver of excitement down his back.
Was this it?
Was he going to die here?
Now?
Could his millennia of life of warfare, victory, and defeat come to an end today?
Would all his planning, his careful orchestration of events to his benefit, fail fruitlessly here, right before the finish line?
Kokabiel was one of the very few beings aware of how useless plans were before this foe.
With a mad grin, the Angel of the Stars stepped towards the bench and the young man sitting on it.
... When he wasn't immediately attacked, Kokiabel's excitement and nervousness started to fade, and wary caution replaced it.
Step after step, the fallen Cardinal approached. He made no move to quiet his steps, knowing it was pointless.
Yet no attack came. No ambush or trap.
It was just him and the boy.
Which meant...
"What do you need?" Kokabiel asked, sitting beside the sickly boy on the bench.
It was better to work with him. Trying to defy him would be pointless.
Kokabiel thought his plan was foolproof, but if there was one thing he had learned in his life of war, nothing was without flaws.
"From you?" Eren Yeager asked, not looking at the Fallen but facing the sky.
As if he was really blind.
"Nothing."
Kokabiel scowled but didn't lash out at the human.
"Then why are you here?" He asked instead.
If Yaeger was not here for him, then he had another goal in mind.
He knew the depths of the power within the human. Even if Kokabiel was not the reason he was in Kuoh, somehow, their meeting was part of his plan.
Whatever it was.
"I'm retired," Yaeger answered simply. "Just waiting to die."
Kokabiel couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped his lips.
"Aren't we all," he chortled to himself. "And you chose here? In the town with the sisters of the current Satans? You are up to something."
The boy shrugged as if unbothered by the Cardinal's disbelief.
Kokabiel was no fool.
If Eren Yeager was here, it meant Kokabiel's fate was in his hands already.
This conversation was enough for the fallen angel to understand he had fallen into a trap.
Still, the old war veteran couldn't help but ask the question. The same question that had teased his mind ever since he set out on this course of action. This final plan.
"Do I win?"
For a long minute, Eren Yaeger remained silent. Then he gave his answer.
"Does it matter?"
Did it?
Kokabiel would restart the Great War and fight his long-time enemies until he died in glorious battle. It wouldn't be long, but it would be glorious.
Sirzechs Lucifer or Serafall Leviathan would stop at nothing to tear him to shreds.
Or he would die in the attempt, and Azazel would have the grounds for the peace he had always wanted.
Peace. Something Kokabiel couldn't stomach but was necessary for his race's survival.
No matter what happens, Kokabiel, Angel of the Stars and Fourth Watcher, would face his end.
"No," Kokabiel spoke, turning from the bandaged boy and staring at the sky. "It doesn't."
For a minute, both were silent, facing the sky yet not seeing it.
One was thousands of years old and responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of sapient beings.
The other wasn't even nineteen.
Both were terrible people by every metric imaginable.
Both had done everything they could for their people.
It was a silent moment of acknowledgment between two old soldiers, two men about to die.
That camaraderie, that resignation to an approaching doom, was why the words slipped out.
"I hate them."
The words were spat out with vitriol. Rage, despair, loathing, pain, and grief mixed in three words that failed to encapsulate all the emotions contained within.
"I hate them all," Kokabiel repeated, his fists clenching. The teenager made no sound. "They killed so many of us. My brothers and sisters. My comrades. My friends. Slaughtered. Tortured. Despoiled. I hate devils and their ilk. I hate the hypocrites that cast us out for doing our duty. I hate them all. Every one of them. I'll kill them all."
"Hate."
The boy tasted the familiar word, sampling it like one would a wine they knew intimately.
Then he shook his head.
"Old wars should be settled by old men."
The words of an old man in a young body.
Kokabiel knew that Yeager's abilities must be why he was like this. Why this mortal of only eighteen could speak on such subjects with such certainty.
Still...
"I know that," Kokabiel snapped, unwilling to be lectured by a boy in his teens. Even if it was Eren Yeager. "These kids," he spat the word. "They know nothing of war. Nothing of battles and death and destruction. They play their games. They fight for position and power. They only know peace."
"The goal of every war is peace." Yaeger was speaking, yet his words were light as if he didn't mean them, yet believed them to be true.
"THEN WHY CAN'T I BE AT PEACE?!" Kokabiel roared, standing from the bench and glaring at the boy. He didn't even flinch. "WHY CAN I NEVER HAVE THAT?! WHY DO I WANT TO FIGHT AND FIGHT AND FIGHT UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT BUT AN OCEAN OF BLOOD?! WHY IS EVERYONE ELSE ABLE TO FORGET WHEN I CAN'T?"
"They don't forget," Yeager spoke softly. "Nobody forgets war."
"Azazel is content to play with his toys," Kokabiel snapped, pacing in front of the bench as his wings flexed in agitation. "Penume drowns is sex. Baraqiel tried to play house." As if all the corpses at his feet were nothing more than waste. As if entire nations hadn't disappeared in a flash of Holy Lightning. "None of them care for the dead. Their grudges. Their wishes. What about their peace?"
Even as the fallen Watcher raged and paced, the boy sat still, unbothered by the being so beyond his league that fighting wasn't even a consideration.
They both knew who had the power here.
"We all move forward." Yaeger's voice was dry. Resigned. Words spoken a thousand times to a thousand people. "We all dream. But some dream of the sea. And some dream of what's beyond the sea. You and I? We dream of victory. They? They dream of a life after victory."
Kokabiel stop pacing.
"How?" He asked.
Not a plea.
A snarl.
Kokabiel would ever be the monster.
The fallen Cadre who tried to restart the Great War.
Whether he succeeded or failed, no one would ever celebrate his name. He'd be vilified by his own people, by his enemies, and the world.
A martyr nobody would celebrate.
But even monsters want to dream.
"I don't know."
Kokabiel barked a mad laugh.
He laughed and laughed and laughed.
His laughter was crazed, at once joyous as it was despairing.
It was the laugh of a dead man.
"If even Erin Yaeger doesn't know, what hope do I have of finding an answer," Kokabiel crowed in jubilation, arms spread up and wide to the sky as if to embrace the heavens. "If I shall never have peace. I shall have war!"
Then he rounded on the boy, marching with quick steps until he loomed over the tiny, sickly human. His shadow blotted out the fading light.
Yaeger did not so much as twitch.
Kokabiel longed to impale the boy on his spears, to force him to do... something. Anything.
Kokabiel wanted violence. He wanted rage and pain and death.
He didn't want this pitiful wreck of a man.
He wanted worthy foes.
Yet Eren Yeager was not one. Too weak. Too strong.
So Kokabiel sat down on the bench, his rage spent without an outlet to vent it on.
It left him... empty. Hollow.
What was he if not the rage?
"War is simple," Kokabiel spoke to the sky. "You kill your enemies, or they kill you. It brought out the best in us. The comradery, the passion, the bravery, the valour. It showed us who we were. We knew who were craven, duplicitous, and weak. It shaped us and forged us in the Holy Light and Demonic Dark. It was glorious."
He spoke the last word with a rapturous fascination. He would give anything to have those days back.
"We fought for something. A better future. And we were cast out. But we fought on. From one bloody battlefield to another. For centuries. And when He died? The victory was ours to claim. Our war was won. One final push, one last mountain of bodies."
That road to the top, paved with countless corpses, called to Kokabiel.
"But we didn't," the fallen spat. "We fled. Maybe if we had won, I would be able to close my eyes and not see them. Maybe I would not see their eyes accusing me. Why did they die if we would flee from victory? Why did we fight if we do not claim our prize?"
"Some soldiers die too young," Yaeger sighed, and, for the first time, his head turned from the dark sky to face the Fallen Angel. "Some soldiers live too long."
They sat there in silence for long minutes. The darkness of the park was contrasted by the city's light in the distance. Neither said a word. All that needed to be said had been said.
Then, when the time had come, Kokabiel stood.
"This seat is too uncomfortable to be my throne." Ten black wings flexed, and his almost vampiric features twisted in annoyance. "Irregular, too small yet too large. Old wood and steel. It makes me nostalgic for better times. It fits you, Child of Evil."
"This will be your last choice," Eren Yaeger said solemnly.
"I know not what your plan is, Yaeger," Kokabiel responded just as solemnly to the sickly boy. "Why you are here, nor what talking to me accomplished. I don't care. If you impede my plans, I will fight."
"I won't," Yaeger nodded.
"Then, no matter the outcome, I go to my last war."
********
It had been a good fight.
Two severed wings, a blackened stump of a hand, and dozens of wounds that bled freely.
Kokabiel laughed in glee.
More than he had ever wished, it had been a good fight.
The church executors had been barely noticeable, though a wielder of Durandal was a pleasant surprise.
No, it had been Gremory and her peerage that had been the real prize.
The Rook and Bishop weren't worth his interest, but the others?
They had gone above and beyond his expectations.
The Knight, a product of the Holy Sword Project, had achieved a mutated Balance Breaker before his eyes.
Holy and Demonic swords in a reincarnated devil.
The Old Man would be rolling in his grave.
Baraquiel's daughter was a gem and a half. It was crude, lacking the millennia of practice his comrade held with his element, but for a few moments, it was as if Kokabiel stood before the Lightning of God for one final time.
The Gremory herself was responsible for almost all the damage he had sustained. She didn't have the inborn instincts or power for the signature power of the Bael family as her brother did. She wasn't the monster Sirzechs was.
But she could be.
Kokabiel recognized it when he saw it. The hunger. The passion. The fear.
Rias Gremory wasn't born a monster. But she would shed blood until she became one.
The idea that the devils could gain a second Crimson Devil was so absurd that Kokabiel would have started a war just to stop it from happening.
But the greatest surprise was, hands down, the Red Dragon Emperor.
When the Cadre first heard that Ddraig's new host had been reincarnated as Devil, he immediately dismissed him as a threat.
Any Red Dragon Emperor that was reincarnated by someone not on par with a Satan, was automatically the weakest in history.
Vali would tear him apart in a heartbeat.
Then Kokabiel heard that he had achieved Balance Breaker in less than two months, and his hopes had risen.
Issei Hyoudou had surpassed even his wildest expectations.
The boy had not landed a single blow on the Fallen. In fact, Kokabiel's thoughts about him being the weakest Red Dragon Emperor ever were probably true if you just looked at his offensive capabilities.
But the Rook had not even tried to throw a punch once.
Instead, he had stood between Kokabiel and everyone else. All his Boosts went towards his durability or were passed to his comrades.
No matter the size of the attack, the potency of his Light, or how Kokabiel positioned himself, the boy was there—an impenetrable wall of red scale.
It was like seeing the true Red Dragon again.
So massive and powerful that even his greatest blow did naught but singe its scales.
Issei Hyoudou wasn't there yet.
He was too slow, and he couldn't leverage his body to counter properly yet, but with time to grow, he could be the greatest Red Dragon Emperor of all time.
Alone, they were impressive for their age.
Together?
Kokabiel had lost his wings when Hyoudou gained a hold, and the Gremory princess wrapped hoopes of Destruction around them. Reeling, he had blocked the Holy/Demon sword and Durandal with one hand and taken Holy Lightning with the other.
It had been his underestimating of them that had allowed them to hurt him, certainly.
But that they could hurt him at all was monumental.
Kokabiel hadn't been hurt at all in almost a century, and even that had been from the greatest exorcist the church had ever produced since the Great War.
Not even yesterday, he had cursed these children as not knowing war, of being addicted to peace.
He was right.
They didn't know the horrors of the Great War.
But they had it.
The killer instinct, the comradery, and the drive to push themselves till their bodies, minds, and souls cried out in pain.
Then they pushed some more.
Had they been born but a millennia earlier, Kokabiel would have been proud to give them a fitting death.
Instead, he would just make it quick.
He would despoil their bodies after they died, as had been done to his comrades during the Great War, to incite Sirzechs and Serafall further, but the children needn't be alive for that.
The fight had gone on long enough to know that neither Satan were coming.
Not even the revelation of God's death had drawn Heaven down or Hell up.
Were they so committed to peace that they would let these promising seeds die rather than take up arms again?
A shame.
With an idle thought, more spears of light gathered in the air. Unlike his earlier attacks, Kokabiel focused on them, carefully controlling their formation and angle of attack.
The children weathered the first volley well enough.
Baraquiel's daughter and the Ruin Princess dealt with many at range, and the rest of the group handled those that passed them well, deflecting and dodging those they couldn't destroy with sword or fist. The Red Dragon Emperor was solid, as ever, and the rest of the group slowly started to converge around him and the beacon of safety he provided.
That was their mistake.
It was easy to see the flaw in the Gremory peerage. They fought well, were more powerful than almost anyone their age, and were decently coordinated.
They had managed to injure him, after all.
But Kokabiel had not been entirely wrong about their lack of actual experience.
Tactically, they absolutely failed.
Even now, as they fended off an assault from hundreds of light spears, they failed to realize they were being corralled.
The Hyoudou boy was undoubtedly solid, but he was almost immobile because he focused on defending the rest. They, in turn, exacerbated the problem by giving more targets to defend.
The King and Queen of the peerage were powerful, but they lacked any sort of creativity with their magic. They were so focused on their attack magic that they failed to account for supplementary spells that would help the group remain mobile, hidden, or provide support.
Without the others to provide them opportunities, the sword wielders and Rook were unable to affect the battle in a significant way.
They had lost as soon as Kokabiel decided to take them seriously.
If he hadn't needed to keep their bodies intact, he would have simply blasted them and this town to pieces.
With all his enemies in a close grouping, another rain of spears fell from their hidden position in the clouds directly above the defenders.
With their death, Kokabiel would have his war.
[Divide!]
[Divide!]
[Divide!]
[Divide!]
[Divide!]
Kokabiel's war died with his spears of light as power flowed out of him and into a man in white armour.
It happened quickly.
Blink, and you'd miss it.
Kokabiel felt his remaining wings being severed. White armoured fists pounded into his body with stollen strength.
Kokabiel felt weak. Weaker than ever before.
In any other situation, he would have appreciated the irony.
Ddraig would rise to meet his foe.
Albion lowered his foe to his level.
As his plan came undone, Kokabiel felt rage well up within himself. He embraced the familiar fire as consciousness added.
Was this why nobody had answered his call to war?
Was Vali the reason why Michael did not descend from his throne?
Was the White Dragon Emperor, surely here at Azazel's behest, why the Satans were so sure of their sibling's survival?
Kokabiel could see it now. Could see the plan that had been woven around him. He had suspected but hoped to be wrong.
Kokabiel hadn't meant to restart the Great War. He had been a tool, a patsy, for his leader to have the justification to bring the other leaders to the negotiation table.
Even the Gremory peerage hadn't been in danger with the White Dragon Emperor nearby.
Kokabiel had been used to give them the experience he had just lamented they lacked, and as soon as it would cost them, Vali had descended.
The brat probably thought it was an excellent idea to toughen up Ddraig's wielder for their inevitable fight.
Kokabiel had been a puppet on a string dangling from the Scapegoat's hands.
A fitting name.
A scapegoat is what Azazael had made him. Like so many of his fallen comrades.
Scapegoats for peace.
Kokabiel had known that his failure would lead to peace, had expected it even, but still, he raged.
Raged at the vengeance he was denied.
Raged at the end of his war.
Then the rage, too, left him as he was carted back to the Grigori.
All that was left was amusement, wry and sadistic.
Kokabiel remembered the boy on the bench.
The boy who had known what was going to happen and known the foolishness of the fallen who visited him yet still offered an ear to an old soldier.
Kokabiel, Fallen Archangel of the Stars, was imprisoned in the ice of Cocytus, and, with his defeat, the great peace conference of Kuoh was called.
There, for the first time, a peace treaty between all three biblical factions was signed, marking the death of the Great War that had raged, on and off, since time immemorial.
One would expect that the fallen Cadre would lament or continue to rage in the wake of his failure.
Instead, the face below the ice of the Cocytus' frozen waters was light with laughter and mad joy.
Kokabiel's war died with him.
Eren Yeager's war had only just begun.
Kokabiel, as the ice consumed him, laughed madly, remembering the boy on the bench.
********
A big thanks to my Beta: Old Man of the Mountain.
It's been a while since I posed. Over a year. My, how the time flies.
I have seen Kokabiel portrayed in a few ways in fanfiction. Some added nuance to his character that was lacking in the books because of his short appearance. I like that, turning a two-bit villain of the week into a complex character. Something like that can only happen in fanfiction. I wanted to do something similar without sacrificing what was shown about his character.
I did not want Kokabiel to be a hero as he is sometimes portrayed. While a fascinating read, that is entirely at odds with his canon self, which I have tried to stick to this entire story. He isn't a noble soldier, no matter what he thinks of himself. Even in this fic, his perspective warps how he sees Azazel and everyone else. He is unable to recognize kindness, forgiveness, or anything like it.
Kokabiel is a monster. A warmonger who would drown the world in blood and fire. There is no excuse for that.
But there is a reason for it.
If you fight in an eternal war, where your enemies are literal devils, and you are cast aside by your leader/creator/dad, you bet your ass there is trauma there. It is why Fallen Angels are such a common enemy in the series.
As a society (before the Evil Pieces, at least), the Grigori were the best off after the war. But they were also the most scarred. Every Fallen we meet is deeply traumatized in some way. It does not excuse them, but it makes them understandable.
At least, that is what I am going for.
It is important to remember that even if someone has reasons for their actions, and everyone does, it does not make their actions acceptable. AOT is great about that, and I want this fic to reflect that a bit.
Happy New Year to everyone, and I will see you all next week on the bench.
Was this it?
Was he going to die here?
Now?
Could his millennia of life of warfare, victory, and defeat come to an end today?
Would all his planning, his careful orchestration of events to his benefit, fail fruitlessly here, right before the finish line?
Kokabiel was one of the very few beings aware of how useless plans were before this foe.
With a mad grin, the Angel of the Stars stepped towards the bench and the young man sitting on it.
... When he wasn't immediately attacked, Kokiabel's excitement and nervousness started to fade, and wary caution replaced it.
Step after step, the fallen Cardinal approached. He made no move to quiet his steps, knowing it was pointless.
Yet no attack came. No ambush or trap.
It was just him and the boy.
Which meant...
"What do you need?" Kokabiel asked, sitting beside the sickly boy on the bench.
It was better to work with him. Trying to defy him would be pointless.
Kokabiel thought his plan was foolproof, but if there was one thing he had learned in his life of war, nothing was without flaws.
"From you?" Eren Yeager asked, not looking at the Fallen but facing the sky.
As if he was really blind.
"Nothing."
Kokabiel scowled but didn't lash out at the human.
"Then why are you here?" He asked instead.
If Yaeger was not here for him, then he had another goal in mind.
He knew the depths of the power within the human. Even if Kokabiel was not the reason he was in Kuoh, somehow, their meeting was part of his plan.
Whatever it was.
"I'm retired," Yaeger answered simply. "Just waiting to die."
Kokabiel couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped his lips.
"Aren't we all," he chortled to himself. "And you chose here? In the town with the sisters of the current Satans? You are up to something."
The boy shrugged as if unbothered by the Cardinal's disbelief.
Kokabiel was no fool.
If Eren Yeager was here, it meant Kokabiel's fate was in his hands already.
This conversation was enough for the fallen angel to understand he had fallen into a trap.
Still, the old war veteran couldn't help but ask the question. The same question that had teased his mind ever since he set out on this course of action. This final plan.
"Do I win?"
For a long minute, Eren Yaeger remained silent. Then he gave his answer.
"Does it matter?"
Did it?
Kokabiel would restart the Great War and fight his long-time enemies until he died in glorious battle. It wouldn't be long, but it would be glorious.
Sirzechs Lucifer or Serafall Leviathan would stop at nothing to tear him to shreds.
Or he would die in the attempt, and Azazel would have the grounds for the peace he had always wanted.
Peace. Something Kokabiel couldn't stomach but was necessary for his race's survival.
No matter what happens, Kokabiel, Angel of the Stars and Fourth Watcher, would face his end.
"No," Kokabiel spoke, turning from the bandaged boy and staring at the sky. "It doesn't."
For a minute, both were silent, facing the sky yet not seeing it.
One was thousands of years old and responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of sapient beings.
The other wasn't even nineteen.
Both were terrible people by every metric imaginable.
Both had done everything they could for their people.
It was a silent moment of acknowledgment between two old soldiers, two men about to die.
That camaraderie, that resignation to an approaching doom, was why the words slipped out.
"I hate them."
The words were spat out with vitriol. Rage, despair, loathing, pain, and grief mixed in three words that failed to encapsulate all the emotions contained within.
"I hate them all," Kokabiel repeated, his fists clenching. The teenager made no sound. "They killed so many of us. My brothers and sisters. My comrades. My friends. Slaughtered. Tortured. Despoiled. I hate devils and their ilk. I hate the hypocrites that cast us out for doing our duty. I hate them all. Every one of them. I'll kill them all."
"Hate."
The boy tasted the familiar word, sampling it like one would a wine they knew intimately.
Then he shook his head.
"Old wars should be settled by old men."
The words of an old man in a young body.
Kokabiel knew that Yeager's abilities must be why he was like this. Why this mortal of only eighteen could speak on such subjects with such certainty.
Still...
"I know that," Kokabiel snapped, unwilling to be lectured by a boy in his teens. Even if it was Eren Yeager. "These kids," he spat the word. "They know nothing of war. Nothing of battles and death and destruction. They play their games. They fight for position and power. They only know peace."
"The goal of every war is peace." Yaeger was speaking, yet his words were light as if he didn't mean them, yet believed them to be true.
"THEN WHY CAN'T I BE AT PEACE?!" Kokabiel roared, standing from the bench and glaring at the boy. He didn't even flinch. "WHY CAN I NEVER HAVE THAT?! WHY DO I WANT TO FIGHT AND FIGHT AND FIGHT UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT BUT AN OCEAN OF BLOOD?! WHY IS EVERYONE ELSE ABLE TO FORGET WHEN I CAN'T?"
"They don't forget," Yeager spoke softly. "Nobody forgets war."
"Azazel is content to play with his toys," Kokabiel snapped, pacing in front of the bench as his wings flexed in agitation. "Penume drowns is sex. Baraqiel tried to play house." As if all the corpses at his feet were nothing more than waste. As if entire nations hadn't disappeared in a flash of Holy Lightning. "None of them care for the dead. Their grudges. Their wishes. What about their peace?"
Even as the fallen Watcher raged and paced, the boy sat still, unbothered by the being so beyond his league that fighting wasn't even a consideration.
They both knew who had the power here.
"We all move forward." Yaeger's voice was dry. Resigned. Words spoken a thousand times to a thousand people. "We all dream. But some dream of the sea. And some dream of what's beyond the sea. You and I? We dream of victory. They? They dream of a life after victory."
Kokabiel stop pacing.
"How?" He asked.
Not a plea.
A snarl.
Kokabiel would ever be the monster.
The fallen Cadre who tried to restart the Great War.
Whether he succeeded or failed, no one would ever celebrate his name. He'd be vilified by his own people, by his enemies, and the world.
A martyr nobody would celebrate.
But even monsters want to dream.
"I don't know."
Kokabiel barked a mad laugh.
He laughed and laughed and laughed.
His laughter was crazed, at once joyous as it was despairing.
It was the laugh of a dead man.
"If even Erin Yaeger doesn't know, what hope do I have of finding an answer," Kokabiel crowed in jubilation, arms spread up and wide to the sky as if to embrace the heavens. "If I shall never have peace. I shall have war!"
Then he rounded on the boy, marching with quick steps until he loomed over the tiny, sickly human. His shadow blotted out the fading light.
Yaeger did not so much as twitch.
Kokabiel longed to impale the boy on his spears, to force him to do... something. Anything.
Kokabiel wanted violence. He wanted rage and pain and death.
He didn't want this pitiful wreck of a man.
He wanted worthy foes.
Yet Eren Yeager was not one. Too weak. Too strong.
So Kokabiel sat down on the bench, his rage spent without an outlet to vent it on.
It left him... empty. Hollow.
What was he if not the rage?
"War is simple," Kokabiel spoke to the sky. "You kill your enemies, or they kill you. It brought out the best in us. The comradery, the passion, the bravery, the valour. It showed us who we were. We knew who were craven, duplicitous, and weak. It shaped us and forged us in the Holy Light and Demonic Dark. It was glorious."
He spoke the last word with a rapturous fascination. He would give anything to have those days back.
"We fought for something. A better future. And we were cast out. But we fought on. From one bloody battlefield to another. For centuries. And when He died? The victory was ours to claim. Our war was won. One final push, one last mountain of bodies."
That road to the top, paved with countless corpses, called to Kokabiel.
"But we didn't," the fallen spat. "We fled. Maybe if we had won, I would be able to close my eyes and not see them. Maybe I would not see their eyes accusing me. Why did they die if we would flee from victory? Why did we fight if we do not claim our prize?"
"Some soldiers die too young," Yaeger sighed, and, for the first time, his head turned from the dark sky to face the Fallen Angel. "Some soldiers live too long."
They sat there in silence for long minutes. The darkness of the park was contrasted by the city's light in the distance. Neither said a word. All that needed to be said had been said.
Then, when the time had come, Kokabiel stood.
"This seat is too uncomfortable to be my throne." Ten black wings flexed, and his almost vampiric features twisted in annoyance. "Irregular, too small yet too large. Old wood and steel. It makes me nostalgic for better times. It fits you, Child of Evil."
"This will be your last choice," Eren Yaeger said solemnly.
"I know not what your plan is, Yaeger," Kokabiel responded just as solemnly to the sickly boy. "Why you are here, nor what talking to me accomplished. I don't care. If you impede my plans, I will fight."
"I won't," Yaeger nodded.
"Then, no matter the outcome, I go to my last war."
********
It had been a good fight.
Two severed wings, a blackened stump of a hand, and dozens of wounds that bled freely.
Kokabiel laughed in glee.
More than he had ever wished, it had been a good fight.
The church executors had been barely noticeable, though a wielder of Durandal was a pleasant surprise.
No, it had been Gremory and her peerage that had been the real prize.
The Rook and Bishop weren't worth his interest, but the others?
They had gone above and beyond his expectations.
The Knight, a product of the Holy Sword Project, had achieved a mutated Balance Breaker before his eyes.
Holy and Demonic swords in a reincarnated devil.
The Old Man would be rolling in his grave.
Baraquiel's daughter was a gem and a half. It was crude, lacking the millennia of practice his comrade held with his element, but for a few moments, it was as if Kokabiel stood before the Lightning of God for one final time.
The Gremory herself was responsible for almost all the damage he had sustained. She didn't have the inborn instincts or power for the signature power of the Bael family as her brother did. She wasn't the monster Sirzechs was.
But she could be.
Kokabiel recognized it when he saw it. The hunger. The passion. The fear.
Rias Gremory wasn't born a monster. But she would shed blood until she became one.
The idea that the devils could gain a second Crimson Devil was so absurd that Kokabiel would have started a war just to stop it from happening.
But the greatest surprise was, hands down, the Red Dragon Emperor.
When the Cadre first heard that Ddraig's new host had been reincarnated as Devil, he immediately dismissed him as a threat.
Any Red Dragon Emperor that was reincarnated by someone not on par with a Satan, was automatically the weakest in history.
Vali would tear him apart in a heartbeat.
Then Kokabiel heard that he had achieved Balance Breaker in less than two months, and his hopes had risen.
Issei Hyoudou had surpassed even his wildest expectations.
The boy had not landed a single blow on the Fallen. In fact, Kokabiel's thoughts about him being the weakest Red Dragon Emperor ever were probably true if you just looked at his offensive capabilities.
But the Rook had not even tried to throw a punch once.
Instead, he had stood between Kokabiel and everyone else. All his Boosts went towards his durability or were passed to his comrades.
No matter the size of the attack, the potency of his Light, or how Kokabiel positioned himself, the boy was there—an impenetrable wall of red scale.
It was like seeing the true Red Dragon again.
So massive and powerful that even his greatest blow did naught but singe its scales.
Issei Hyoudou wasn't there yet.
He was too slow, and he couldn't leverage his body to counter properly yet, but with time to grow, he could be the greatest Red Dragon Emperor of all time.
Alone, they were impressive for their age.
Together?
Kokabiel had lost his wings when Hyoudou gained a hold, and the Gremory princess wrapped hoopes of Destruction around them. Reeling, he had blocked the Holy/Demon sword and Durandal with one hand and taken Holy Lightning with the other.
It had been his underestimating of them that had allowed them to hurt him, certainly.
But that they could hurt him at all was monumental.
Kokabiel hadn't been hurt at all in almost a century, and even that had been from the greatest exorcist the church had ever produced since the Great War.
Not even yesterday, he had cursed these children as not knowing war, of being addicted to peace.
He was right.
They didn't know the horrors of the Great War.
But they had it.
The killer instinct, the comradery, and the drive to push themselves till their bodies, minds, and souls cried out in pain.
Then they pushed some more.
Had they been born but a millennia earlier, Kokabiel would have been proud to give them a fitting death.
Instead, he would just make it quick.
He would despoil their bodies after they died, as had been done to his comrades during the Great War, to incite Sirzechs and Serafall further, but the children needn't be alive for that.
The fight had gone on long enough to know that neither Satan were coming.
Not even the revelation of God's death had drawn Heaven down or Hell up.
Were they so committed to peace that they would let these promising seeds die rather than take up arms again?
A shame.
With an idle thought, more spears of light gathered in the air. Unlike his earlier attacks, Kokabiel focused on them, carefully controlling their formation and angle of attack.
The children weathered the first volley well enough.
Baraquiel's daughter and the Ruin Princess dealt with many at range, and the rest of the group handled those that passed them well, deflecting and dodging those they couldn't destroy with sword or fist. The Red Dragon Emperor was solid, as ever, and the rest of the group slowly started to converge around him and the beacon of safety he provided.
That was their mistake.
It was easy to see the flaw in the Gremory peerage. They fought well, were more powerful than almost anyone their age, and were decently coordinated.
They had managed to injure him, after all.
But Kokabiel had not been entirely wrong about their lack of actual experience.
Tactically, they absolutely failed.
Even now, as they fended off an assault from hundreds of light spears, they failed to realize they were being corralled.
The Hyoudou boy was undoubtedly solid, but he was almost immobile because he focused on defending the rest. They, in turn, exacerbated the problem by giving more targets to defend.
The King and Queen of the peerage were powerful, but they lacked any sort of creativity with their magic. They were so focused on their attack magic that they failed to account for supplementary spells that would help the group remain mobile, hidden, or provide support.
Without the others to provide them opportunities, the sword wielders and Rook were unable to affect the battle in a significant way.
They had lost as soon as Kokabiel decided to take them seriously.
If he hadn't needed to keep their bodies intact, he would have simply blasted them and this town to pieces.
With all his enemies in a close grouping, another rain of spears fell from their hidden position in the clouds directly above the defenders.
With their death, Kokabiel would have his war.
[Divide!]
[Divide!]
[Divide!]
[Divide!]
[Divide!]
Kokabiel's war died with his spears of light as power flowed out of him and into a man in white armour.
It happened quickly.
Blink, and you'd miss it.
Kokabiel felt his remaining wings being severed. White armoured fists pounded into his body with stollen strength.
Kokabiel felt weak. Weaker than ever before.
In any other situation, he would have appreciated the irony.
Ddraig would rise to meet his foe.
Albion lowered his foe to his level.
As his plan came undone, Kokabiel felt rage well up within himself. He embraced the familiar fire as consciousness added.
Was this why nobody had answered his call to war?
Was Vali the reason why Michael did not descend from his throne?
Was the White Dragon Emperor, surely here at Azazel's behest, why the Satans were so sure of their sibling's survival?
Kokabiel could see it now. Could see the plan that had been woven around him. He had suspected but hoped to be wrong.
Kokabiel hadn't meant to restart the Great War. He had been a tool, a patsy, for his leader to have the justification to bring the other leaders to the negotiation table.
Even the Gremory peerage hadn't been in danger with the White Dragon Emperor nearby.
Kokabiel had been used to give them the experience he had just lamented they lacked, and as soon as it would cost them, Vali had descended.
The brat probably thought it was an excellent idea to toughen up Ddraig's wielder for their inevitable fight.
Kokabiel had been a puppet on a string dangling from the Scapegoat's hands.
A fitting name.
A scapegoat is what Azazael had made him. Like so many of his fallen comrades.
Scapegoats for peace.
Kokabiel had known that his failure would lead to peace, had expected it even, but still, he raged.
Raged at the vengeance he was denied.
Raged at the end of his war.
Then the rage, too, left him as he was carted back to the Grigori.
All that was left was amusement, wry and sadistic.
Kokabiel remembered the boy on the bench.
The boy who had known what was going to happen and known the foolishness of the fallen who visited him yet still offered an ear to an old soldier.
Kokabiel, Fallen Archangel of the Stars, was imprisoned in the ice of Cocytus, and, with his defeat, the great peace conference of Kuoh was called.
There, for the first time, a peace treaty between all three biblical factions was signed, marking the death of the Great War that had raged, on and off, since time immemorial.
One would expect that the fallen Cadre would lament or continue to rage in the wake of his failure.
Instead, the face below the ice of the Cocytus' frozen waters was light with laughter and mad joy.
Kokabiel's war died with him.
Eren Yeager's war had only just begun.
Kokabiel, as the ice consumed him, laughed madly, remembering the boy on the bench.
********
A big thanks to my Beta: Old Man of the Mountain.
It's been a while since I posed. Over a year. My, how the time flies.
I have seen Kokabiel portrayed in a few ways in fanfiction. Some added nuance to his character that was lacking in the books because of his short appearance. I like that, turning a two-bit villain of the week into a complex character. Something like that can only happen in fanfiction. I wanted to do something similar without sacrificing what was shown about his character.
I did not want Kokabiel to be a hero as he is sometimes portrayed. While a fascinating read, that is entirely at odds with his canon self, which I have tried to stick to this entire story. He isn't a noble soldier, no matter what he thinks of himself. Even in this fic, his perspective warps how he sees Azazel and everyone else. He is unable to recognize kindness, forgiveness, or anything like it.
Kokabiel is a monster. A warmonger who would drown the world in blood and fire. There is no excuse for that.
But there is a reason for it.
If you fight in an eternal war, where your enemies are literal devils, and you are cast aside by your leader/creator/dad, you bet your ass there is trauma there. It is why Fallen Angels are such a common enemy in the series.
As a society (before the Evil Pieces, at least), the Grigori were the best off after the war. But they were also the most scarred. Every Fallen we meet is deeply traumatized in some way. It does not excuse them, but it makes them understandable.
At least, that is what I am going for.
It is important to remember that even if someone has reasons for their actions, and everyone does, it does not make their actions acceptable. AOT is great about that, and I want this fic to reflect that a bit.
Happy New Year to everyone, and I will see you all next week on the bench.
This is the kind of take on Kokabiel i seen before, and one that i find myself loving.
Thanks for the chapter. So Eren do know about the supernatural. Oh my. Nice chapter.
Boo. You suck!!
A Dream We Once Had
"I had my revenge," Yuuto said somberly, staring at the sword in his hand.
It was a familiar shape, flat and straight.
Designed to cut through flesh like a razor rather than the larger, more jagged swords he usually summoned. Those had been created to break other blades. It wasn't European or Japanese, his usual preferences.
This was the length of one of his usual blades, but its colouring proved it wasn't a standard sword.
One side of the flat sword pulsated with a black so dark it seemed to suck in all light.
The other side was radiant with white light, warm and bright as if to eclipse the sun.
Yuuto's Balance Breaker.
Something he had strived to attain for years yet had always been beyond his reach.
He hadn't attained it when he achieved his long-sought revenge.
"And?" Eren asked.
"And what?" the Knight asked, unsure what his Senpai was asking about.
Eren paused as if hesitating on the exact words to use. When he finally spoke, it was in a surprisingly gentle tone.
"What did it cost?"
Ah. Right.
Eren's vengeance had cost him everything, hadn't it?
It left him without friends and family, to live out his final years of life alone in a foreign country.
It had cost him the guilt of the innocent blood on his hands, the regret of the future that could have been, and the love of his life.
It made sense he would want to know what it had cost Yuuto.
Which made the words the Knight spoke all the more brutal.
Yet it had to be said.
"Nothing." There was disbelief in his tone as if even Yuuto couldn't believe them even as he spoke. "It was risky and dangerous, and things could have gone wrong in a dozen different ways." The blond laughed lightly as if the idea of him surviving was funny in and of itself. "But I did it. We did it. We all made it out, and it cost me nothing."
If Yuuto had expected Eren to be jealous or disgruntled at the younger boy's fortune, he would have been disappointed.
"Good," Eren grunted with a nod.
It seemed like the blind boy was prepared to accept that is the final word and end the subject.
Yuuto, though, was not ready to end it. He wanted to talk about it. Needed to talk about it.
Needed to be understood.
Even if he had to be vague about the details, Yuuto wanted to explain, to justify himself to the only person in the world he felt could understand him. He wanted his Senpai to know.
"I almost failed," he confessed, and the words came tumbling out from there. "My target was right before my eyes. Not those girls, but the actual man who had hurt me. Who killed all my friends and left me for dead. Valper Galilei." The name was spat with vile venom. Even now, the name tasted foul on his lips. "He was right there. But Koneko was injured." Before Eren could ask, the Knight hurried to answer. "She's fine now. But she was in danger. So were Issei and Asia. But Valper was getting away."
"What did you choose?" Eren asked somberly, understanding what Yuuto was trying to convey without needing it explicitly spelled out.
"I chased Valper," the Knight said, his voice flat. "Despite my promise to Rias, I chased him."
He paused and stared at the sword in his hand. Black energy pooled and swirled.
"But?" Eren prompted.
"But the weights on my scale were all wrong," Yuuto confessed. "I barely made it ten feet. My feet wouldn't move. He was right there, and I couldn't move. My feet. My back. My heart. It all weighed too much."
That had been when he attained his original Balance Breaker.
[Inferno]
A demonic sword subspecies. A blade of evil. A twisted, cruel sword meant to wreak vengeance on his enemies.
It had been HIS Balance Breaker.
For the short time he had it.
His first and only act with that evil sword was to save his friends.
"You made your choice," Eren nodded, and something in his voice tore the Knight's attention from his sword to look at the older boy.
Sympathy. Pride. Maybe... approval?
"Was it like that with you, Senpai?"
"No." Eren shook his head, and all emotion drained from his voice again. "I kept running. Not just once or twice. Over and over, I chose to keep running. I continued to run forward for my revenge even as people, corpses, were left in my wake."
"What changed?" The Knight couldn't help but ask, remembering their first conversation. "When did you stop running just for vengeance?"
It spoke of their friendship that Eren only paused for a heartbeat before answering.
"When I fell in love and saw what it would cost," Eren said gravely. "I never stopped running. I just saw a face I didn't want to leave behind. I just saw the people I would trample to get it. You know the rest. I discovered a way to have my vengeance and ensure they'd live long, happy lives after I was gone. A way to end it all. That made it worth it to me, despite the cost."
"Better than a half-assed reason like mine," the Knight laughed in derision at himself. "I just couldn't live with myself if I kept running."
"It was the right decision," Eren chastised lightly. "It is very rare and precious to be able to look back at a choice and say with certainty that you made the right one. We are always asking ourselves, 'What if.' You made a choice. You had your vengeance, which cost you nothing you couldn't pay. Take solace in that."
He was right, Yuuto knew, even if Eren didn't understand just how lucky they had all been to survive Kokabiel.
Not just survive, the Knight corrected himself. Benefit from.
And none more so than Kiba Yuuto.
Not only had he managed to kill the man responsible for all his pain and loss, but he had also managed to destroy a reforged Excalibur.
Most importantly, Yuuto had met his friends one final time in that remnant of souls harvested from their bodies.
He had seen their spirits, their Light, and knew they forgave him. For continuing to live, for surviving when they all died.
That Light was here. In Yuuto's blade. It always would be with him. It reassured him. Comforted him.
Absorbing that Light had led to a mutation in his Balance Breaker.
The dark, jagged and cruel blade of [Inferno] had given way to the flat sword in his hand.
[Purgatorio]
A sword for cutting and killing, but only what needed to be cut.
No longer HIS blade, it was now THEIR Balance Breaker.
A disposable blade perfect for someone who could forever remake it.
Perfect for children tossed away, yet coming back over and over until they had their vengeance.
Perfect for a man whose only salvation could come from the hands extended to him by others.
Staring at the sword in his hand, the Knight smiled wryly. His Balance Breaker imitated blades he had only seen three times in his life. He finally had a sword like the people he admired most.
Souji-sensei would be disappointed it was not a katana.
But Eren was right.
Yuuto dissipated the sword into motes of black and white light.
"You were right, in the end," the Holy Demonic sword wielder said. "My vengeance became a tangential thing. Something I wanted, but it wasn't all I wanted."
"Good," Senpai nodded. "Getting revenge is satisfying. Anybody who says it isn't is lying. But it is not all that the world has to offer. Men like us, sometimes find a new target when we have our revenge. A new grudge. That is where the danger is. Even if we claim our new target, it will never feel the same as the first. And like an addiction, you will always be chasing that feeling down. You need to find the beauty of life away from vengeance."
Yuuto could understand that. He still didn't like the church and the way they had turned a blind eye to the tragedies that benefited them.
It wasn't impossible that in another life, or if he had made another choice, he would have pursued vengeance against everyone involved or who had benefited from his pain.
But...
The Knight remembered a broken blade in the dirt, the blood of his Senpai still staining its razor edge.
Rias had taken that blade to have people examine Eren's blood, hoping for a cure, but Yuuto could still see that crimson-stained sword in his mind.
The Kiba Yuuto who pursued the path of vengeance to the end would have picked up that blade and sliced his new comrades' throats. He'd have gone Stray for his vengeance.
That Kiba Yuuto would not look at the lost, betrayed, and hurt Xenovia Quarta, his fellow Knight, and remember Eren's words.
Yuuto understood her in that moment of terrible realization.
God was dead.
Her entire life had been a lie. She was lost. Alone. Unsure what to trust and who to blame.
There was evil in the world. Kiba Yuuto still firmly believed that, and his blade was there to cut them down.
But people? People were just people.
So Kiba Yuuto extended his hand to the woman he had tried to kill.
Issei, Asia, and now Xenovia.
When had he become someone to look to for guidance?
The idea made the Knight laugh lightly.
Still, it was the role of Seniors, wasn't it?
To guide their Juniors.
"What's funny?" Eren asked, and Yuuto realized he had been silent for a while.
Yuuto decided to skirt the truth a bit.
"Xenovia, the girl we almost killed, whose guardian you almost laimed?" Eren nodded to show he remembered her. "She's going to school here now. She's part of the club. She might even visit you."
"I... see," Eren said slowly, clearly confused. "She here of her own free will, right? To join the club of the people she fought only a few days ago? She didn't seem to like you very much."
"She did," the Knight reassured the older boy. "She recently had a disturbing revelation about people she used to trust. Rias offered to take her in, and she accepted. I was laughing because I realized I had some really interesting Juniors. I wouldn't have believed it if you told me who they were a year ago."
"Ah," Eren nodded gravely. "Enemies can become allies if the cause is right and interest aligns. They can even become lovers. I think that is what happened to my best friend, though I can't say for sure. Just know it will take time if you want to pursue something like that."
"No, no," Yuuto laughed lightly, waiving off the idea. "I am still not certain I want anything to do with romance, to be honest. At least not now. And if I did, Xenovia isn't really my type."
The former exorcist wasn't unattractive by any standards. Issei had put it best, if crudely, while they were looking for the Exorcists the other day, before the whole mess with Kokabiel.
'Have you seen a pair of glorious Oppai hidden by an ugly cloak?'
"You don't have to fall in love," Eren allowed. "And romance isn't for everyone."
"I am not opposed to it," the Knight hedged, wondering how to put it into words without sounding like... well, like Issei. "It's just that girls my age seem so... immature. I don't think they're stupid," he hurried to clarify. "Just... There's a gap, a divide between how people my age should feel and how I usually feel. Am I making sense?"
"In a way," Eren tilted his head. "You know my situation as well as anybody. I might give advice when asked, but my experience with love is... bad. Or at least not normal. I can understand your feelings, though. For the longest time, I couldn't understand why everyone else didn't feel the same rage and passion as I did. It seemed so simple to me, so obvious, that anybody who disagreed with me wasn't just wrong. They were cowards. It took a long time for me to realize I was the odd one, not them."
"I know I am the weird one," the Knight said wryly. "The need for revenge always burned hotter with me than it did with the others. I couldn't help it though."
"I don't think that's wrong," Eren said plainly. "Especially now that you have accomplished your goal. All I will say is that you must find something that ignites that spark again, even if it is not as bright. Rias asked me to give Issei love advice, and it seemed to help, but that is for him. All he thinks about is girls. You can find anything you want that keeps you moving forward. Romance is but one option. There are others."
"I am not against falling in love," Yuuto said slowly, putting his thoughts together.
It was for reasons like this that talking to Eren was so enjoyable despite the dour topics they covered. Before sitting on the bench, the Knight hadn't given any deep thought to where he wanted to go from there.
"I even had a crush, once upon a time. I was younger. Barely a boy. And she is older, much older, so I never gave it serious thought."
Age differences weren't a big deal for devils, but Yuuto knew the woman was also a reincarnated devil and considered him a child. It had been the emotions of a troubled and unaware boy.
He hadn't seen her in years, so the feelings had long faded. He did remember the gentle curve of her lips when she gave one of her rare smiles. That had stuck with him every time he thought about his 'ideal' type.
"Love has always been something for others, not for me. A lot of things were like that."
"Now they are not," Eren said soberly. "Now you have an unknown future ahead of you. That is scary. But you are free to decide what you want to do. But what do you want? What future do you want to build?"
"I want to be a better cook."
Both boys had a moment of surprised silence as the words slipped from the blond's mouth.
"What?" Eren's voice wasn't filled with disbelief so much as bafflement.
Yuuto was just as surprised but started to explain himself as the thoughts came to him.
"I like cooking," he said as much to himself as to his Senpai. "Always have. But Akeno is better. I never thought about it before, but now I think I want to be better than her. Especially at baking."
"Ok," Eren nodded slowly, still clearly thrown by the unexpected admission but willing to go along with it. "It is not a bad goal. I... can't really help much with it. I am a terrible cook. Though I am very good at cleaning."
"You can taste test," Yuuto said absentmindedly. Now that the idea had come, inspiration flashed through his mind. "A bakery. That's what I want. One day, I'll open Isaiah's bakery. That's the goal I'll pursue for now. It might be a small one, and I might change my mind later, but it is something I can work towards."
"There is no dream too small," Eren said, and there was no mistaking the approval in his voice. "Only too big. A bakery is a fine dream. Why 'Isaiah'?"
"That was my birth name," Yuuto explained. "Before Rias took me in and gave me my current one. I still want to be 'Kiba Yuuto.' I am not Isaiah anymore, but I don't want to forget."
Isaiah had died with his friends, and Kiba Yuuto had been born from that child's body.
But just like he now carried his friends with him in his sword, he would carry Isaiah and his dream.
For hours, a Senpai and a Kohai conceived of the greatest bakery the underworld would ever know under the darkening light as they sat on the bench.
********
A bit on the shorter side of things, but volume 3 of DxD is such a significant turning point for Kiba that often goes overlooked in fanfiction that it didn't feel right to not give him the time to close things out.
For those whose only experience with DxD is the anime, in the light novels, Kiba explicitly remains as 'Kiba Yuuto,' unlike Koneko. The Bakery dream is also canon, and he expressly stated his favourite part of a woman is her lips.
Fun fact: The balance breaker Kiba gains in cannon, the Holy/Demonic sword, is explicitly only possible because he absorbs some of the Light from his dead friends' spirits. Without that, his regular Balance Breaker would be closer in keeping with a pure Demonic Sword, as he has a great affinity for that type of sword.
There were a lot of questions after the last chapter, which I expected. I won't answer most of them; as I said, I want people to be able to reread this after the end and go, 'How did I miss this!' like I did with AOT. Catching things like that was very fun for me, and I want my readers to experience that, too.
I will answer one misunderstanding some people have, though. This is not the end of On The Bench. When I said it would be 'short,' I meant in comparison to my other fic, which, at the time of writing this, is sitting at around 600k words. Volume 4 will mark the end of part 2 of this fic, roughly the halfway mark. The shortness is because of the size of the chapters and the smaller number. I fully expect to get to reach at least 150k in this work.
And if you are confused now? Well... *Mwahahahaha* It's going to get worse before it gets better. I just hope it is engaging, interesting, and, for those interested, it makes sense on the reread.
I look forward to it and will see you all next time on the bench.
It was a familiar shape, flat and straight.
Designed to cut through flesh like a razor rather than the larger, more jagged swords he usually summoned. Those had been created to break other blades. It wasn't European or Japanese, his usual preferences.
This was the length of one of his usual blades, but its colouring proved it wasn't a standard sword.
One side of the flat sword pulsated with a black so dark it seemed to suck in all light.
The other side was radiant with white light, warm and bright as if to eclipse the sun.
Yuuto's Balance Breaker.
Something he had strived to attain for years yet had always been beyond his reach.
He hadn't attained it when he achieved his long-sought revenge.
"And?" Eren asked.
"And what?" the Knight asked, unsure what his Senpai was asking about.
Eren paused as if hesitating on the exact words to use. When he finally spoke, it was in a surprisingly gentle tone.
"What did it cost?"
Ah. Right.
Eren's vengeance had cost him everything, hadn't it?
It left him without friends and family, to live out his final years of life alone in a foreign country.
It had cost him the guilt of the innocent blood on his hands, the regret of the future that could have been, and the love of his life.
It made sense he would want to know what it had cost Yuuto.
Which made the words the Knight spoke all the more brutal.
Yet it had to be said.
"Nothing." There was disbelief in his tone as if even Yuuto couldn't believe them even as he spoke. "It was risky and dangerous, and things could have gone wrong in a dozen different ways." The blond laughed lightly as if the idea of him surviving was funny in and of itself. "But I did it. We did it. We all made it out, and it cost me nothing."
If Yuuto had expected Eren to be jealous or disgruntled at the younger boy's fortune, he would have been disappointed.
"Good," Eren grunted with a nod.
It seemed like the blind boy was prepared to accept that is the final word and end the subject.
Yuuto, though, was not ready to end it. He wanted to talk about it. Needed to talk about it.
Needed to be understood.
Even if he had to be vague about the details, Yuuto wanted to explain, to justify himself to the only person in the world he felt could understand him. He wanted his Senpai to know.
"I almost failed," he confessed, and the words came tumbling out from there. "My target was right before my eyes. Not those girls, but the actual man who had hurt me. Who killed all my friends and left me for dead. Valper Galilei." The name was spat with vile venom. Even now, the name tasted foul on his lips. "He was right there. But Koneko was injured." Before Eren could ask, the Knight hurried to answer. "She's fine now. But she was in danger. So were Issei and Asia. But Valper was getting away."
"What did you choose?" Eren asked somberly, understanding what Yuuto was trying to convey without needing it explicitly spelled out.
"I chased Valper," the Knight said, his voice flat. "Despite my promise to Rias, I chased him."
He paused and stared at the sword in his hand. Black energy pooled and swirled.
"But?" Eren prompted.
"But the weights on my scale were all wrong," Yuuto confessed. "I barely made it ten feet. My feet wouldn't move. He was right there, and I couldn't move. My feet. My back. My heart. It all weighed too much."
That had been when he attained his original Balance Breaker.
[Inferno]
A demonic sword subspecies. A blade of evil. A twisted, cruel sword meant to wreak vengeance on his enemies.
It had been HIS Balance Breaker.
For the short time he had it.
His first and only act with that evil sword was to save his friends.
"You made your choice," Eren nodded, and something in his voice tore the Knight's attention from his sword to look at the older boy.
Sympathy. Pride. Maybe... approval?
"Was it like that with you, Senpai?"
"No." Eren shook his head, and all emotion drained from his voice again. "I kept running. Not just once or twice. Over and over, I chose to keep running. I continued to run forward for my revenge even as people, corpses, were left in my wake."
"What changed?" The Knight couldn't help but ask, remembering their first conversation. "When did you stop running just for vengeance?"
It spoke of their friendship that Eren only paused for a heartbeat before answering.
"When I fell in love and saw what it would cost," Eren said gravely. "I never stopped running. I just saw a face I didn't want to leave behind. I just saw the people I would trample to get it. You know the rest. I discovered a way to have my vengeance and ensure they'd live long, happy lives after I was gone. A way to end it all. That made it worth it to me, despite the cost."
"Better than a half-assed reason like mine," the Knight laughed in derision at himself. "I just couldn't live with myself if I kept running."
"It was the right decision," Eren chastised lightly. "It is very rare and precious to be able to look back at a choice and say with certainty that you made the right one. We are always asking ourselves, 'What if.' You made a choice. You had your vengeance, which cost you nothing you couldn't pay. Take solace in that."
He was right, Yuuto knew, even if Eren didn't understand just how lucky they had all been to survive Kokabiel.
Not just survive, the Knight corrected himself. Benefit from.
And none more so than Kiba Yuuto.
Not only had he managed to kill the man responsible for all his pain and loss, but he had also managed to destroy a reforged Excalibur.
Most importantly, Yuuto had met his friends one final time in that remnant of souls harvested from their bodies.
He had seen their spirits, their Light, and knew they forgave him. For continuing to live, for surviving when they all died.
That Light was here. In Yuuto's blade. It always would be with him. It reassured him. Comforted him.
Absorbing that Light had led to a mutation in his Balance Breaker.
The dark, jagged and cruel blade of [Inferno] had given way to the flat sword in his hand.
[Purgatorio]
A sword for cutting and killing, but only what needed to be cut.
No longer HIS blade, it was now THEIR Balance Breaker.
A disposable blade perfect for someone who could forever remake it.
Perfect for children tossed away, yet coming back over and over until they had their vengeance.
Perfect for a man whose only salvation could come from the hands extended to him by others.
Staring at the sword in his hand, the Knight smiled wryly. His Balance Breaker imitated blades he had only seen three times in his life. He finally had a sword like the people he admired most.
Souji-sensei would be disappointed it was not a katana.
But Eren was right.
Yuuto dissipated the sword into motes of black and white light.
"You were right, in the end," the Holy Demonic sword wielder said. "My vengeance became a tangential thing. Something I wanted, but it wasn't all I wanted."
"Good," Senpai nodded. "Getting revenge is satisfying. Anybody who says it isn't is lying. But it is not all that the world has to offer. Men like us, sometimes find a new target when we have our revenge. A new grudge. That is where the danger is. Even if we claim our new target, it will never feel the same as the first. And like an addiction, you will always be chasing that feeling down. You need to find the beauty of life away from vengeance."
Yuuto could understand that. He still didn't like the church and the way they had turned a blind eye to the tragedies that benefited them.
It wasn't impossible that in another life, or if he had made another choice, he would have pursued vengeance against everyone involved or who had benefited from his pain.
But...
The Knight remembered a broken blade in the dirt, the blood of his Senpai still staining its razor edge.
Rias had taken that blade to have people examine Eren's blood, hoping for a cure, but Yuuto could still see that crimson-stained sword in his mind.
The Kiba Yuuto who pursued the path of vengeance to the end would have picked up that blade and sliced his new comrades' throats. He'd have gone Stray for his vengeance.
That Kiba Yuuto would not look at the lost, betrayed, and hurt Xenovia Quarta, his fellow Knight, and remember Eren's words.
Yuuto understood her in that moment of terrible realization.
God was dead.
Her entire life had been a lie. She was lost. Alone. Unsure what to trust and who to blame.
There was evil in the world. Kiba Yuuto still firmly believed that, and his blade was there to cut them down.
But people? People were just people.
So Kiba Yuuto extended his hand to the woman he had tried to kill.
Issei, Asia, and now Xenovia.
When had he become someone to look to for guidance?
The idea made the Knight laugh lightly.
Still, it was the role of Seniors, wasn't it?
To guide their Juniors.
"What's funny?" Eren asked, and Yuuto realized he had been silent for a while.
Yuuto decided to skirt the truth a bit.
"Xenovia, the girl we almost killed, whose guardian you almost laimed?" Eren nodded to show he remembered her. "She's going to school here now. She's part of the club. She might even visit you."
"I... see," Eren said slowly, clearly confused. "She here of her own free will, right? To join the club of the people she fought only a few days ago? She didn't seem to like you very much."
"She did," the Knight reassured the older boy. "She recently had a disturbing revelation about people she used to trust. Rias offered to take her in, and she accepted. I was laughing because I realized I had some really interesting Juniors. I wouldn't have believed it if you told me who they were a year ago."
"Ah," Eren nodded gravely. "Enemies can become allies if the cause is right and interest aligns. They can even become lovers. I think that is what happened to my best friend, though I can't say for sure. Just know it will take time if you want to pursue something like that."
"No, no," Yuuto laughed lightly, waiving off the idea. "I am still not certain I want anything to do with romance, to be honest. At least not now. And if I did, Xenovia isn't really my type."
The former exorcist wasn't unattractive by any standards. Issei had put it best, if crudely, while they were looking for the Exorcists the other day, before the whole mess with Kokabiel.
'Have you seen a pair of glorious Oppai hidden by an ugly cloak?'
"You don't have to fall in love," Eren allowed. "And romance isn't for everyone."
"I am not opposed to it," the Knight hedged, wondering how to put it into words without sounding like... well, like Issei. "It's just that girls my age seem so... immature. I don't think they're stupid," he hurried to clarify. "Just... There's a gap, a divide between how people my age should feel and how I usually feel. Am I making sense?"
"In a way," Eren tilted his head. "You know my situation as well as anybody. I might give advice when asked, but my experience with love is... bad. Or at least not normal. I can understand your feelings, though. For the longest time, I couldn't understand why everyone else didn't feel the same rage and passion as I did. It seemed so simple to me, so obvious, that anybody who disagreed with me wasn't just wrong. They were cowards. It took a long time for me to realize I was the odd one, not them."
"I know I am the weird one," the Knight said wryly. "The need for revenge always burned hotter with me than it did with the others. I couldn't help it though."
"I don't think that's wrong," Eren said plainly. "Especially now that you have accomplished your goal. All I will say is that you must find something that ignites that spark again, even if it is not as bright. Rias asked me to give Issei love advice, and it seemed to help, but that is for him. All he thinks about is girls. You can find anything you want that keeps you moving forward. Romance is but one option. There are others."
"I am not against falling in love," Yuuto said slowly, putting his thoughts together.
It was for reasons like this that talking to Eren was so enjoyable despite the dour topics they covered. Before sitting on the bench, the Knight hadn't given any deep thought to where he wanted to go from there.
"I even had a crush, once upon a time. I was younger. Barely a boy. And she is older, much older, so I never gave it serious thought."
Age differences weren't a big deal for devils, but Yuuto knew the woman was also a reincarnated devil and considered him a child. It had been the emotions of a troubled and unaware boy.
He hadn't seen her in years, so the feelings had long faded. He did remember the gentle curve of her lips when she gave one of her rare smiles. That had stuck with him every time he thought about his 'ideal' type.
"Love has always been something for others, not for me. A lot of things were like that."
"Now they are not," Eren said soberly. "Now you have an unknown future ahead of you. That is scary. But you are free to decide what you want to do. But what do you want? What future do you want to build?"
"I want to be a better cook."
Both boys had a moment of surprised silence as the words slipped from the blond's mouth.
"What?" Eren's voice wasn't filled with disbelief so much as bafflement.
Yuuto was just as surprised but started to explain himself as the thoughts came to him.
"I like cooking," he said as much to himself as to his Senpai. "Always have. But Akeno is better. I never thought about it before, but now I think I want to be better than her. Especially at baking."
"Ok," Eren nodded slowly, still clearly thrown by the unexpected admission but willing to go along with it. "It is not a bad goal. I... can't really help much with it. I am a terrible cook. Though I am very good at cleaning."
"You can taste test," Yuuto said absentmindedly. Now that the idea had come, inspiration flashed through his mind. "A bakery. That's what I want. One day, I'll open Isaiah's bakery. That's the goal I'll pursue for now. It might be a small one, and I might change my mind later, but it is something I can work towards."
"There is no dream too small," Eren said, and there was no mistaking the approval in his voice. "Only too big. A bakery is a fine dream. Why 'Isaiah'?"
"That was my birth name," Yuuto explained. "Before Rias took me in and gave me my current one. I still want to be 'Kiba Yuuto.' I am not Isaiah anymore, but I don't want to forget."
Isaiah had died with his friends, and Kiba Yuuto had been born from that child's body.
But just like he now carried his friends with him in his sword, he would carry Isaiah and his dream.
For hours, a Senpai and a Kohai conceived of the greatest bakery the underworld would ever know under the darkening light as they sat on the bench.
********
A bit on the shorter side of things, but volume 3 of DxD is such a significant turning point for Kiba that often goes overlooked in fanfiction that it didn't feel right to not give him the time to close things out.
For those whose only experience with DxD is the anime, in the light novels, Kiba explicitly remains as 'Kiba Yuuto,' unlike Koneko. The Bakery dream is also canon, and he expressly stated his favourite part of a woman is her lips.
Fun fact: The balance breaker Kiba gains in cannon, the Holy/Demonic sword, is explicitly only possible because he absorbs some of the Light from his dead friends' spirits. Without that, his regular Balance Breaker would be closer in keeping with a pure Demonic Sword, as he has a great affinity for that type of sword.
There were a lot of questions after the last chapter, which I expected. I won't answer most of them; as I said, I want people to be able to reread this after the end and go, 'How did I miss this!' like I did with AOT. Catching things like that was very fun for me, and I want my readers to experience that, too.
I will answer one misunderstanding some people have, though. This is not the end of On The Bench. When I said it would be 'short,' I meant in comparison to my other fic, which, at the time of writing this, is sitting at around 600k words. Volume 4 will mark the end of part 2 of this fic, roughly the halfway mark. The shortness is because of the size of the chapters and the smaller number. I fully expect to get to reach at least 150k in this work.
And if you are confused now? Well... *Mwahahahaha* It's going to get worse before it gets better. I just hope it is engaging, interesting, and, for those interested, it makes sense on the reread.
I look forward to it and will see you all next time on the bench.
Last edited:
Where's the Heart?
Sona felt the headache build behind her eyes, but she couldn't even rub her temples.
"SO-TAN!" Miracle-girl Levi-Tan continued to holler as she shook Sona back and forth in a tight hug.
"So-tan?" She heard Issei ask quietly.
At any other point, she would appreciate his helping Saji calm the students and parents when they came to gawk at the 'magical girl cosplayer.'
Right now?
All Sona wanted was to find a hole to crawl into to die.
"Levi-tan missed you!" The Satan continued to wail loudly as she flailed Sona around like a rag doll. "Did you miss me? Did you? Did you? Did you?"
"Ufufufu," Akeno giggled at the sight. "That is Sona's sister."
"But... isn't her sister..." Issei trailed off as he no doubt felt the horror Sona felt daily.
"The Satan Leviathan? Yes. Yes, she is." Akeno was taking far too much pleasure in this. Sona would have to get back at her later. "All the Satans are... unique. Lady Leviathan is much like Lord Lucifer and dotes on her sister."
"I 'id't 'no 'ot 'u' 'ere 'oming," Sona tried to speak, but it came out muffled against the most famous pair of breasts in the underworld.
Damn her sister.
She'd hit her growth spurt soon.
"I almost missed it," Serafall cried, hugging Sona tighter. Was that her spine or a rib-cracking? "Your message was intercepted. It was that bitch Gabriel! I was going to go 'Pew-pew' to get it back!"
There had been no message.
Sona had, very carefully, not communicated the date for Kuoh Academy's parent visit date. Despite wanting to see them, she hadn't even mentioned it to her parents or aunt, lest her sister find out.
"But Mi-chan told me we'd be late if I invaded Heaven."
Sona felt an odd mixture of gratefulness and spite toward her aunt.
On the one hand, her sister invading Heaven would no doubt restart the Great War, something they had gone through a lot of effort to prevent recently.
On the other hand, Serafall would not be here.
Then, a scarier thought entered the Sitri Heiress' mind, and she froze.
She hugged her sister back.
"Ah," Serafall exclaimed in joyful surprise. "So-tan? You missed me! Is it finally yuri-yuri time?"
"I missed you," Sona said, head finally peeking out from her sister's cleavage. She wasn't even lying. Despite Sona's considerable embarrassment at Serafall's antics, she did love her sister and was happy to see her. She just wished the Leviathan behaved more... appropriately, as befitted her station. "Are you here to watch me in a class?"
More importantly, going along with the Leviathan's antics was the best way to direct her attention from unwanted directions.
Like a blind boy on a bench.
Sona had been meticulous in only using Sitri agents when looking into Eren's background. If Serafall ever found out she was investigating a boy her own age...
Sona shuddered in horror.
Even her parents only thought she was scouting a potential new recruit for her Peerage.
"Mhmh," Serafall nodded, eyes sparkling in joy. That was literal. There were actual stars in her eyes. They twinkled. "I get to watch So-tan be all serious and smart and cute and cool. Mi-chan is also here. She was looking for you. She needs to refill her So-tanium too."
Sona felt a wave of gratitude at her honorary aunt at that moment. She knew her sister's Pawn did not like leaving her cottage, preferring to spend her days in peace in her territory, away from politics and combat.
The fact that she always visited when Sona went home for the summer and was here now filled the student's heart with warmth.
But that didn't change the fact that neither of them could learn about Eren's existence.
Her aunt would tell her King immediately. Despite their opposite natures, Serafall was her best friend, and the pair saw each other regularly. Serafall would know everything within a week.
Then Eren would die.
Or, worse, her sister would embarrass Sona so much that she'd need to die to purge her shame.
"Lunch is going to end soon," Sona half lied, trying to extricate herself from her sister's arms. She didn't succeed. "I need to get back to class. Why don't you find Aunty and tell her you found me?"
"But, but, but, but," Serafall stuttered, sounding like she would cry. "But I just found So-tan. And we haven't had yuri-yuri time."
"I will still be here," Sona said, ignoring the last part with the ease of long practice. "I want to see Aunty too. And then we can talk after school at the house."
Far from the park and the boy in it.
"Moouu, fine," the Satan pouted as she lowered Sona back to the ground. "But don't do anything cute till I get back with Mi-chan and the camera."
"I promise," Sona said seriously, and it was everything she could do not to deadpan.
"Gah," Serafall gasped in an exaggerated manner, stumbling back dramatically, clutching her heart. "Like that! Serious So-tan is super cute! Don't do that again, or Levi-tan will not be able to leave."
Sona didn't say anything else, unwilling to push her sister further.
"I'm going, I'm going," Serafall said, large crocodile tears filling her eyes as she looked at the student council president. "So-tan is a meanie."
Then, with a twirl of her too-short pink skirt, Miracle Girl Levi-tan disappeared in a shower of sparkles.
Sona pretended not to notice as Serafall Leviathan flashed the entire gymnasium her panties as she cast a spell to alter everyone's memories.
The crowd that had gathered blinked stupidly. Sona could have done without the need to hypnotize the entire gymnasium, as well as leave the sparkles behind, but she still admired the control of her sister's spell.
But now was not the time for that.
Sona needed to focus on crisis management if she wanted to go the entire day without being forced to join a convent out of shame.
Which was a much bigger deal for devils.
It took less than a second for Sona to adjust her uniform, control her hair, and align her glasses before she whirled on the only occupants of the room who hadn't just been mind-wiped.
Saji, Akeno, Xenovia, Issei, and Asia.
Rias wasn't there, likely dealing with her own visitors, which was good. Lord Lucifer or Lord Gremory would let Eren's existence slip to her sister for amusement if they found out about him.
"That was well done," Akeno giggled with a golf clap. "I was expecting you to run away crying and for her to chase you yelling 'So-tan, So-tan!' I am a bit disappointed you learned how to deal with her."
Damn sadists.
"Leviathan is a magical girl," Xenovia was muttering to herself in shock. "Lucifer is henpecked. Both are sis-cons. My entire life has been a lie."
Sona didn't have time to deal with the new Knight's trauma.
"Get Rias from her brother and father," Sona ordered the Queen. "Then tell her to take them home immediately after school. No dawdling."
"Uh," Issei raised his hand in question. "I still don't understand what is going on. Why is a Satan a Magical girl?"
"Not important," Sona cut him off with a swipe of her hand. "What is important is keeping her, my aunt, and Rias' family from discovering Eren."
"Why," Saji said with a pained grimace.
Sona felt sympathy for her Pawn. She really did. She wasn't unaware of his affection for her, and she had tried to let him down easily.
Unlike other devils, she never wanted to leverage her position as King to gain romantic favour from her Peerage.
Still, it didn't mean she would tolerate dawdling just because he felt antagonism towards Eren without ever meeting the boy.
"Lord Lucifer is already aware of him," Akeno shrugged, the sadistic smile still on her face. "We passed Eren's blood samples to him to give to Lord Beelzebub to try and find a cure. It seems like he has taken it as a personal challenge."
"And is Lord Lucifer aware of how much time Rias spends with Eren?" Sona adjusted her glasses so they'd flash ominously. "Or would you like me to tell Lady Lucifuge about some of the outfits you wear when meeting Eren? I haven't heard one of her speeches about propriety in a few years."
If Sona was going down, she wouldn't go alone.
They could all join the same convent.
"Nobody saw them," Akeno hurried to defend herself. "He's blind. And the thought of dressing like that where anybody can catch us... nnnngggg."
Akeno shuddered, and Saji stepped back, eyes wide in surprise. Both Issei and Asia shared beet-red looks.
Xenovia was still traumatized.
Sona was unperturbed, well used to the half-fallen's inclinations.
All the Sitri did was continue to stare down the female pervert until she got the message.
"Fine," Akeno pouted, crossing her arms under her bust so it bounced. "But we can't leave the school early. We're skipping the last classes to free Gasper today."
"Congratulations," Sona said immediately. She was genuinely happy for her friend. Being unable to control Gasper's power had been a significant thorn in Rias' side for years. It also showed she was nearing her goal of Ultimate Class. "But then we'll need to take Eren away for the day. One of us will have to slip away immediately after class without them realizing we're gone."
"Is the Child of Evil a threat?" Xenovia whispered/asked Issei, finally snapping out of her funk. "Can I kill him?"
"What? No!" Issei cried, aghast. "Why are you so set against Eren anyway?"
"He nearly cut off my guardian's leg," Xenovia said seriously.
"Yeah, but Asia healed her, didn't she?"
"It's true," Asia chimed in like an eager puppy sticking its nose into a bag. "I can't heal Mr. Eren, but Miss Griselda is all better. And Mr. Eren is really kind. Um, most of the time."
"He still almost killed her," Xenovia insisted.
Sona ignored their little by-play. She had much more important things to worry about than the former exorcist.
Like preventing her family from embarrassing her in front of the whole school, her friends, and her crush.
Not necessarily in that order.
"I will ask Koneko to sneak off after we let Gasper out," Akeno nodded as she leaned in to conspire with Sona. "She's been trying to get Eren to take her to a new snack store. It shouldn't be too hard. You know he has a soft spot for her. But I don't know how we will keep him hidden with the peace conference happening here."
"Peace conference?" Sona asked.
"Lord Lucifer let it 'slip,'" Akeno rolled her eyes fondly. "They're using Kokabiel's recent attack as an excuse to hold a peace conference between all three factions. It's going to be held at Kuoh."
"And I wasn't told," Sona hissed.
This was big.
Huge really.
The ceasefire had waxed and waned over the years, but all three factions were technically still at war.
That there would be a peace conference, and it was in her territory?
"You probably would be," Akeno shrugged. "Part of the reason Lord Lucifer and Lord Gremory are here is to evaluate the territory before it is finalized. But once it is, Kuoh will be crawling with security from all three factions. Eren will be found unless he leaves town."
"He won't leave," Sona said immediately, and Akeno nodded. Both knew how stubborn that boy could be.
Still, the Sitri heiress' mind was working a mile a minute.
She had never achieved such clarity of thought before, and Sona would have marvelled at it, but it didn't matter.
Right now, all she needed to do was to save Eren's life, her life, and her sanity.
Again, not necessarily in that order.
"But he's human. And the only supernatural aspect about him is his life force, which most can't sense." Sona quickly put together a plan. It was rough, but it might work. "After today, we stay away from him. No visits, no familiars, nothing. Just between when people start to arrive and the end of the peace conference."
"Any security will notice him right away," Akeno pointed out. "He's inside the wards."
"Most will only realize that we 'let' him through the wards of the park. If we don't draw attention, he'll be safe with all the extra security in the area. We'll exploit the blindness most people have towards humans," Sona explained easily. Devils, angels, fallen, or even anyone else of power simply ignored humans without magic, Sacred Gears, or something equivalent. "I don't care if they see him. They just can't connect him to us. Eren just needs to remain unnoticed for a few days."
The only risk would be the church. They might hold a grudge. Sona would keep an eye on them. They'd think of another plan if Griselda arrived as security, but that was unlikely. She was half retired.
More importantly, Sona didn't want her sister or aunt to find him.
It was for Eren's safety, really.
Would it also save Sona from taking vows of chastity and locking herself away from the world out of shame?
Yes, but it was mainly for Eren's sake.
Really.
"It has been a while since I saw Aunty," Akeno asked with a light smile. "Yuuto will be happy. He hasn't seen her in years, either."
Sona's eyebrow twitched, but Issei interrupted before she could say anything.
"Who's your aunt? Is she hot?" he asked eagerly, always happy to talk about women. Asia pouted beside him. "Kiba has a devil girlfriend? He never told me."
"He does not," Sona declared as she crossed her arms in a huff. "She is my sister's Pawn. My adoptive aunt."
"Yuuto had the biggest crush on her," Akeno giggled behind her hand. "He'd follow her around everywhere, asking for training or trying to help her. It was so cute."
"So he's into MILFs," Issei crowed triumphantly. "That's why he never went on a date with his fans, the Damn Handsome. I'm so proud. How's her oppai?"
"Uuuu," Asia whined piteously, looking down at her own modest bust.
"Leviathan's Pawn?" Xenovia murmured to herself. "I have never heard of her."
"She's pretty," Akeno giggled in answer to Issei as Sona's eyebrow twitch returned with extra force. "But I'm bigger."
Just for emphasis, Akeno put an arm under her boobs and bounced them suggestively while shooting a challenging look at Sona.
The twitching was getting worse.
Was everyone trying to anger her today? And shouldn't they be focusing on the crisis here?
Sona didn't want to join a convent.
"But yes, Aunty is beautiful. And you wouldn't have heard of her Xenovia. She was reincarnated before we were born and rarely leaves her land. She doesn't like to fight. And since Satan Peerages don't fight in Rating Games, if they don't take missions, they can go years without being seen if they want."
"Still," Xenovia crossed her arms in thought. "As exorcists, we needed to study all the Satan's Peerages in case we run into them in the field, as well as all well-known devils and their abilities. That I was never told about her is suspicious."
"It isn't," Sona denied, wanting to end this topic. "Aunty's last mission was years ago. One of her only ones. And the church would not want to talk about it to their younger members."
"Why?"
"I made them look bad."
Sona whirled, eyes lighting up with joy as she caught sight of the familiar woman. The small smile on her face, so rare and precious, lit up Sona's heart.
"Aunty," she said with joy as she hugged the older woman.
"It is good to see you, Sona," her aunt said softly, pulling her tight.
""Whoa."" She heard Issei and Saji say at the same time.
She couldn't blame them, even if she wanted to tell them to stop staring.
Mikasa Ackerman wasn't as voluptuous or sexy as most natural devils, but she was still very pretty.
With Asian and European mixed features, long black hair, and a body built from training, she fulfilled the image of classical beauty the Japanese had. Her conservative clothing belied the dense muscles and undersold just how deadly the woman really was.
Hers was an intense beauty, unlike the softness of Akeno, Rias or even Serafall. She held herself like a blade, accentuated by her training and form-fitting clothes. Sharp and ready for action.
The only extraneous ornament on her was the red scarf she never went anywhere without, and even then, it was tucked tight so as not to get caught by enemies.
"Um, they look alike," Asia commented with wonder.
Sona's cheeks burned, embarrassment warring with pride. Sona had always looked up to her sister's Pawn.
Mikasa's competence, her maturity and grace, and even her confidence, she admired it all.
Sona was self-aware enough to know that her honorary aunt had been the greatest female role model in her life.
She broke the hug and met her aunt's gaze.
"You've grown again," Mikasa said gently. That was true. Now, Sona was only a few inches, about ten centimetres, shorter than the older woman.
"It is good to see you," Sona said with a small smile. "Did sister find you?"
"I must have missed her," her aunt shook her head. "You know how she is. Especially today."
"You didn't have to tell her about visiting day," Sona said with a light glare. Mikasa must have remembered the date from last year after they had missed it.
"You should not have tried to hide it," her aunt glared right back, but it was softer. Sadder. "Serafall is a bit excitable, but she loves you. Do not lose precious time together because you are embarrassed."
Chastised, Sona reluctantly nodded. Her aunt smiled again and pulled a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Introduce me to your friends?" Mikasa's smile fell to her usual expression of neutrality as she looked over at the gawking students.
"You already know, Akeno," Sona started.
"It is good to see you again, Aunty," Akeno said with a curtsy.
"You look... better," her aunt nodded, looking the Queen up and down.
"Ufufufu, thank you," Akeno giggled, placing a hand on her cheek and idly rubbing it. "I had a bit of a rough wake-up call, I am afraid."
Her aunt didn't say anything, just watching the girl with a critical eye.
"This is my newest pawn, Genshiro Saji," Sona gestured to the boy. He had only been reincarnated recently, and they would have been introduced this summer during the break.
"Pleased to meet you," Saji said as he bowed formally. Sona beamed with pride. Clearly, their etiquette practice had paid off.
"Please take care of Sona," Mikasa nodded, and Sona felt the tip of her ears turn red. She hurried to continue the introductions to distract everyone.
"This is Asia Argentio, Rias' Bishop, Issei Hyoudou, her Rook, and Xenovia Quarta, her newest Knight."
Again, the Pawn didn't say anything, just looking over all three critically. Sona knew she was a woman of few words, except when around those she was close to.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Issei said energetically as he bowed.
Sona noticed, with some schadenfreude, that his bow was far from Saji's in neatness or fluidity.
"Please take care of me," Asia tried to bow at the same time as curtsy and ended up tripping on her own legs. "Uuueee."
Thankfully, Issei caught her and held her in place as she regained her balance. The teenager held his girlfriend close and seemed lost in each other's eyes for a second.
Xenovia, thank the Satans, saved Sona from having to stare at the happy couple.
"What did you mean when you said you made the church look bad," Xenovia asked. Her aunt evaluated the girl for a long second before answering.
"I was the one that broke up the Holy Sword Project and a few others," she eventually said. "They wanted to deal with it themselves."
"No wonder Kiba likes her," Issei said under his breath as he released Asia. Then he tilted his head as if listening to something.
Her aunt didn't say anything despite hearing the Rook's words. Sona knew she knew of the Knight's crush but hadn't given it much thought.
Her aunt didn't deal with romance and was likely waiting for Kiba's infatuation to disappear rather than addressing it.
Mikasa didn't really talk about her past. All Sona knew about her aunt's life before Serafall reincarnated her except her unique birth location and the fact she had outlived all her friends and once had a child.
"Ddraig said I should be careful," Issei reported. "He says you're dangerous."
For the slightest second, Sona saw a grimace on her aunt's face as she looked at the boy.
"You are honest," the older woman nodded. "And I am not surprised. I killed the last Red Dragon Emperor."
That got some wide eyes from the group, even Sona.
"How come I never heard of this," the student council president asked.
"It was before you were born," her aunt said with a shrug. "It wasn't a big fight. The Red Dragon Emperor is only dangerous if you give them time to ramp up. I didn't."
"Ddraig wants to know why you finally took the challenge," Issei said, looking at his hand curiously. "They had been trying to get your attention for days. He said you were mad about a tree?"
It was only because of her long familiarity with the woman that Sona noticed the tenseness of her jaw. It made the scar on her cheek more noticeable.
"Something like that," Mikasa said simply.
There was less than a year between Sona's birth and her aunt's reincarnation. A newly reincarnated devil, without magic or a Sacred Gear, had killed last generation's holder of Boosted Gear?
"How did you do it," Sona asked, curious.
It had nothing to do with her inevitable Rating Games against Rias' Peerage.
Sona was all about self-delusions today.
"Surprise," her aunt shook her head. "The fight ended quickly. Only a few people heard of it."
"Why?" Akeno asked, morbidly curious.
She, like Sona, knew that getting her aunt angry was almost impossible. Whatever the last holder of Boosted Gear had done must have been vile to actually provoke the Pawn.
"She heard about me and was rampaging around my territory in the human world," Mikasa said, keeping her words short. "She killed the last devil to control the area and didn't like someone else taking over. I didn't care and left her alone. She found where I lived and tried to anger me. She succeeded. She destroyed something she shouldn't. A grave."
Sona shared a look with Akeno. They both knew the Pawn's unique situation, and that story didn't line up. Not when they knew she had been born and died beyond the Gap.
If it was before Sona was born, it must have been right after she was reincarnated. Mikasa wouldn't have known anyone who had died in this world. Her aunt didn't get close to people easily.
Coming to care for someone in less than a year? There was no way.
But at the same time, her aunt looked so sad, so lonely, standing there and touching the scar on her cheek that neither wanted to press.
"Everyone back to class," Sona said instead. "The bell will ring in a few minutes."
She had told a little white lie to get her sister to leave. Sue her.
"I'll follow you," her aunt said, snapping out of her funk. "Serafall will find us, I'm sure."
Sona twitched and shot a look at Akeno, who nodded.
"Will you be staying for a while," the Queen asked with feigned casualness.
"No. I am visiting today and will return as Serafall's bodyguard for the conference."
Sona read between the lines.
Bodyguard meant babysitter between the two friends. There was a possibility that Gabriel would come from Heaven's faction, and Mikasa was one of the only people Serafall would listen to.
This wasn't the worst outcome, Sona thought. Koneko would have time to get Eren off campus today and again on the conference day. So long as Eren was off premises, Sona's life (read: pride) was safe.
"Ano," Asia said hesitantly in the silence that fell as they walked back to class. "Are you Japanese, Miss? Your hair is really pretty."
"...Thank you. But, no, I am not Japanese. My mother was from the East, though. I got my hair from her." Almost self-consciously, the Pawn ran a hand through her long locks. "And you can call me Mikasa... or Ackerman if you want to use Japanese standards."
"That's German, right," Saji said, eager to show off.
Sona wanted to smack him but held her control. He had no idea how much of a minefield that was for her aunt. Sometimes, she questioned whether or not his friendship with Issei was good. He definitely seemed more interested in girls, rather than his duties, when around the Rook.
"No. I'm not German, either. It's not a secret or anything," Mikasa said, and it was like listening to Eren when they first met. Her voice was dead. Empty. "I'm Eldian. The only Eldian in this world."
********
Mwahahaha *Evil Laughter Intensifies*.
There is so much and so little in this chapter. I won't say anything more and will let you all digest it. Just that I will see you all next week on the bench.
PS: ...Mwahahaha.
"SO-TAN!" Miracle-girl Levi-Tan continued to holler as she shook Sona back and forth in a tight hug.
"So-tan?" She heard Issei ask quietly.
At any other point, she would appreciate his helping Saji calm the students and parents when they came to gawk at the 'magical girl cosplayer.'
Right now?
All Sona wanted was to find a hole to crawl into to die.
"Levi-tan missed you!" The Satan continued to wail loudly as she flailed Sona around like a rag doll. "Did you miss me? Did you? Did you? Did you?"
"Ufufufu," Akeno giggled at the sight. "That is Sona's sister."
"But... isn't her sister..." Issei trailed off as he no doubt felt the horror Sona felt daily.
"The Satan Leviathan? Yes. Yes, she is." Akeno was taking far too much pleasure in this. Sona would have to get back at her later. "All the Satans are... unique. Lady Leviathan is much like Lord Lucifer and dotes on her sister."
"I 'id't 'no 'ot 'u' 'ere 'oming," Sona tried to speak, but it came out muffled against the most famous pair of breasts in the underworld.
Damn her sister.
She'd hit her growth spurt soon.
"I almost missed it," Serafall cried, hugging Sona tighter. Was that her spine or a rib-cracking? "Your message was intercepted. It was that bitch Gabriel! I was going to go 'Pew-pew' to get it back!"
There had been no message.
Sona had, very carefully, not communicated the date for Kuoh Academy's parent visit date. Despite wanting to see them, she hadn't even mentioned it to her parents or aunt, lest her sister find out.
"But Mi-chan told me we'd be late if I invaded Heaven."
Sona felt an odd mixture of gratefulness and spite toward her aunt.
On the one hand, her sister invading Heaven would no doubt restart the Great War, something they had gone through a lot of effort to prevent recently.
On the other hand, Serafall would not be here.
Then, a scarier thought entered the Sitri Heiress' mind, and she froze.
She hugged her sister back.
"Ah," Serafall exclaimed in joyful surprise. "So-tan? You missed me! Is it finally yuri-yuri time?"
"I missed you," Sona said, head finally peeking out from her sister's cleavage. She wasn't even lying. Despite Sona's considerable embarrassment at Serafall's antics, she did love her sister and was happy to see her. She just wished the Leviathan behaved more... appropriately, as befitted her station. "Are you here to watch me in a class?"
More importantly, going along with the Leviathan's antics was the best way to direct her attention from unwanted directions.
Like a blind boy on a bench.
Sona had been meticulous in only using Sitri agents when looking into Eren's background. If Serafall ever found out she was investigating a boy her own age...
Sona shuddered in horror.
Even her parents only thought she was scouting a potential new recruit for her Peerage.
"Mhmh," Serafall nodded, eyes sparkling in joy. That was literal. There were actual stars in her eyes. They twinkled. "I get to watch So-tan be all serious and smart and cute and cool. Mi-chan is also here. She was looking for you. She needs to refill her So-tanium too."
Sona felt a wave of gratitude at her honorary aunt at that moment. She knew her sister's Pawn did not like leaving her cottage, preferring to spend her days in peace in her territory, away from politics and combat.
The fact that she always visited when Sona went home for the summer and was here now filled the student's heart with warmth.
But that didn't change the fact that neither of them could learn about Eren's existence.
Her aunt would tell her King immediately. Despite their opposite natures, Serafall was her best friend, and the pair saw each other regularly. Serafall would know everything within a week.
Then Eren would die.
Or, worse, her sister would embarrass Sona so much that she'd need to die to purge her shame.
"Lunch is going to end soon," Sona half lied, trying to extricate herself from her sister's arms. She didn't succeed. "I need to get back to class. Why don't you find Aunty and tell her you found me?"
"But, but, but, but," Serafall stuttered, sounding like she would cry. "But I just found So-tan. And we haven't had yuri-yuri time."
"I will still be here," Sona said, ignoring the last part with the ease of long practice. "I want to see Aunty too. And then we can talk after school at the house."
Far from the park and the boy in it.
"Moouu, fine," the Satan pouted as she lowered Sona back to the ground. "But don't do anything cute till I get back with Mi-chan and the camera."
"I promise," Sona said seriously, and it was everything she could do not to deadpan.
"Gah," Serafall gasped in an exaggerated manner, stumbling back dramatically, clutching her heart. "Like that! Serious So-tan is super cute! Don't do that again, or Levi-tan will not be able to leave."
Sona didn't say anything else, unwilling to push her sister further.
"I'm going, I'm going," Serafall said, large crocodile tears filling her eyes as she looked at the student council president. "So-tan is a meanie."
Then, with a twirl of her too-short pink skirt, Miracle Girl Levi-tan disappeared in a shower of sparkles.
Sona pretended not to notice as Serafall Leviathan flashed the entire gymnasium her panties as she cast a spell to alter everyone's memories.
The crowd that had gathered blinked stupidly. Sona could have done without the need to hypnotize the entire gymnasium, as well as leave the sparkles behind, but she still admired the control of her sister's spell.
But now was not the time for that.
Sona needed to focus on crisis management if she wanted to go the entire day without being forced to join a convent out of shame.
Which was a much bigger deal for devils.
It took less than a second for Sona to adjust her uniform, control her hair, and align her glasses before she whirled on the only occupants of the room who hadn't just been mind-wiped.
Saji, Akeno, Xenovia, Issei, and Asia.
Rias wasn't there, likely dealing with her own visitors, which was good. Lord Lucifer or Lord Gremory would let Eren's existence slip to her sister for amusement if they found out about him.
"That was well done," Akeno giggled with a golf clap. "I was expecting you to run away crying and for her to chase you yelling 'So-tan, So-tan!' I am a bit disappointed you learned how to deal with her."
Damn sadists.
"Leviathan is a magical girl," Xenovia was muttering to herself in shock. "Lucifer is henpecked. Both are sis-cons. My entire life has been a lie."
Sona didn't have time to deal with the new Knight's trauma.
"Get Rias from her brother and father," Sona ordered the Queen. "Then tell her to take them home immediately after school. No dawdling."
"Uh," Issei raised his hand in question. "I still don't understand what is going on. Why is a Satan a Magical girl?"
"Not important," Sona cut him off with a swipe of her hand. "What is important is keeping her, my aunt, and Rias' family from discovering Eren."
"Why," Saji said with a pained grimace.
Sona felt sympathy for her Pawn. She really did. She wasn't unaware of his affection for her, and she had tried to let him down easily.
Unlike other devils, she never wanted to leverage her position as King to gain romantic favour from her Peerage.
Still, it didn't mean she would tolerate dawdling just because he felt antagonism towards Eren without ever meeting the boy.
"Lord Lucifer is already aware of him," Akeno shrugged, the sadistic smile still on her face. "We passed Eren's blood samples to him to give to Lord Beelzebub to try and find a cure. It seems like he has taken it as a personal challenge."
"And is Lord Lucifer aware of how much time Rias spends with Eren?" Sona adjusted her glasses so they'd flash ominously. "Or would you like me to tell Lady Lucifuge about some of the outfits you wear when meeting Eren? I haven't heard one of her speeches about propriety in a few years."
If Sona was going down, she wouldn't go alone.
They could all join the same convent.
"Nobody saw them," Akeno hurried to defend herself. "He's blind. And the thought of dressing like that where anybody can catch us... nnnngggg."
Akeno shuddered, and Saji stepped back, eyes wide in surprise. Both Issei and Asia shared beet-red looks.
Xenovia was still traumatized.
Sona was unperturbed, well used to the half-fallen's inclinations.
All the Sitri did was continue to stare down the female pervert until she got the message.
"Fine," Akeno pouted, crossing her arms under her bust so it bounced. "But we can't leave the school early. We're skipping the last classes to free Gasper today."
"Congratulations," Sona said immediately. She was genuinely happy for her friend. Being unable to control Gasper's power had been a significant thorn in Rias' side for years. It also showed she was nearing her goal of Ultimate Class. "But then we'll need to take Eren away for the day. One of us will have to slip away immediately after class without them realizing we're gone."
"Is the Child of Evil a threat?" Xenovia whispered/asked Issei, finally snapping out of her funk. "Can I kill him?"
"What? No!" Issei cried, aghast. "Why are you so set against Eren anyway?"
"He nearly cut off my guardian's leg," Xenovia said seriously.
"Yeah, but Asia healed her, didn't she?"
"It's true," Asia chimed in like an eager puppy sticking its nose into a bag. "I can't heal Mr. Eren, but Miss Griselda is all better. And Mr. Eren is really kind. Um, most of the time."
"He still almost killed her," Xenovia insisted.
Sona ignored their little by-play. She had much more important things to worry about than the former exorcist.
Like preventing her family from embarrassing her in front of the whole school, her friends, and her crush.
Not necessarily in that order.
"I will ask Koneko to sneak off after we let Gasper out," Akeno nodded as she leaned in to conspire with Sona. "She's been trying to get Eren to take her to a new snack store. It shouldn't be too hard. You know he has a soft spot for her. But I don't know how we will keep him hidden with the peace conference happening here."
"Peace conference?" Sona asked.
"Lord Lucifer let it 'slip,'" Akeno rolled her eyes fondly. "They're using Kokabiel's recent attack as an excuse to hold a peace conference between all three factions. It's going to be held at Kuoh."
"And I wasn't told," Sona hissed.
This was big.
Huge really.
The ceasefire had waxed and waned over the years, but all three factions were technically still at war.
That there would be a peace conference, and it was in her territory?
"You probably would be," Akeno shrugged. "Part of the reason Lord Lucifer and Lord Gremory are here is to evaluate the territory before it is finalized. But once it is, Kuoh will be crawling with security from all three factions. Eren will be found unless he leaves town."
"He won't leave," Sona said immediately, and Akeno nodded. Both knew how stubborn that boy could be.
Still, the Sitri heiress' mind was working a mile a minute.
She had never achieved such clarity of thought before, and Sona would have marvelled at it, but it didn't matter.
Right now, all she needed to do was to save Eren's life, her life, and her sanity.
Again, not necessarily in that order.
"But he's human. And the only supernatural aspect about him is his life force, which most can't sense." Sona quickly put together a plan. It was rough, but it might work. "After today, we stay away from him. No visits, no familiars, nothing. Just between when people start to arrive and the end of the peace conference."
"Any security will notice him right away," Akeno pointed out. "He's inside the wards."
"Most will only realize that we 'let' him through the wards of the park. If we don't draw attention, he'll be safe with all the extra security in the area. We'll exploit the blindness most people have towards humans," Sona explained easily. Devils, angels, fallen, or even anyone else of power simply ignored humans without magic, Sacred Gears, or something equivalent. "I don't care if they see him. They just can't connect him to us. Eren just needs to remain unnoticed for a few days."
The only risk would be the church. They might hold a grudge. Sona would keep an eye on them. They'd think of another plan if Griselda arrived as security, but that was unlikely. She was half retired.
More importantly, Sona didn't want her sister or aunt to find him.
It was for Eren's safety, really.
Would it also save Sona from taking vows of chastity and locking herself away from the world out of shame?
Yes, but it was mainly for Eren's sake.
Really.
"It has been a while since I saw Aunty," Akeno asked with a light smile. "Yuuto will be happy. He hasn't seen her in years, either."
Sona's eyebrow twitched, but Issei interrupted before she could say anything.
"Who's your aunt? Is she hot?" he asked eagerly, always happy to talk about women. Asia pouted beside him. "Kiba has a devil girlfriend? He never told me."
"He does not," Sona declared as she crossed her arms in a huff. "She is my sister's Pawn. My adoptive aunt."
"Yuuto had the biggest crush on her," Akeno giggled behind her hand. "He'd follow her around everywhere, asking for training or trying to help her. It was so cute."
"So he's into MILFs," Issei crowed triumphantly. "That's why he never went on a date with his fans, the Damn Handsome. I'm so proud. How's her oppai?"
"Uuuu," Asia whined piteously, looking down at her own modest bust.
"Leviathan's Pawn?" Xenovia murmured to herself. "I have never heard of her."
"She's pretty," Akeno giggled in answer to Issei as Sona's eyebrow twitch returned with extra force. "But I'm bigger."
Just for emphasis, Akeno put an arm under her boobs and bounced them suggestively while shooting a challenging look at Sona.
The twitching was getting worse.
Was everyone trying to anger her today? And shouldn't they be focusing on the crisis here?
Sona didn't want to join a convent.
"But yes, Aunty is beautiful. And you wouldn't have heard of her Xenovia. She was reincarnated before we were born and rarely leaves her land. She doesn't like to fight. And since Satan Peerages don't fight in Rating Games, if they don't take missions, they can go years without being seen if they want."
"Still," Xenovia crossed her arms in thought. "As exorcists, we needed to study all the Satan's Peerages in case we run into them in the field, as well as all well-known devils and their abilities. That I was never told about her is suspicious."
"It isn't," Sona denied, wanting to end this topic. "Aunty's last mission was years ago. One of her only ones. And the church would not want to talk about it to their younger members."
"Why?"
"I made them look bad."
Sona whirled, eyes lighting up with joy as she caught sight of the familiar woman. The small smile on her face, so rare and precious, lit up Sona's heart.
"Aunty," she said with joy as she hugged the older woman.
"It is good to see you, Sona," her aunt said softly, pulling her tight.
""Whoa."" She heard Issei and Saji say at the same time.
She couldn't blame them, even if she wanted to tell them to stop staring.
Mikasa Ackerman wasn't as voluptuous or sexy as most natural devils, but she was still very pretty.
With Asian and European mixed features, long black hair, and a body built from training, she fulfilled the image of classical beauty the Japanese had. Her conservative clothing belied the dense muscles and undersold just how deadly the woman really was.
Hers was an intense beauty, unlike the softness of Akeno, Rias or even Serafall. She held herself like a blade, accentuated by her training and form-fitting clothes. Sharp and ready for action.
The only extraneous ornament on her was the red scarf she never went anywhere without, and even then, it was tucked tight so as not to get caught by enemies.
"Um, they look alike," Asia commented with wonder.
Sona's cheeks burned, embarrassment warring with pride. Sona had always looked up to her sister's Pawn.
Mikasa's competence, her maturity and grace, and even her confidence, she admired it all.
Sona was self-aware enough to know that her honorary aunt had been the greatest female role model in her life.
She broke the hug and met her aunt's gaze.
"You've grown again," Mikasa said gently. That was true. Now, Sona was only a few inches, about ten centimetres, shorter than the older woman.
"It is good to see you," Sona said with a small smile. "Did sister find you?"
"I must have missed her," her aunt shook her head. "You know how she is. Especially today."
"You didn't have to tell her about visiting day," Sona said with a light glare. Mikasa must have remembered the date from last year after they had missed it.
"You should not have tried to hide it," her aunt glared right back, but it was softer. Sadder. "Serafall is a bit excitable, but she loves you. Do not lose precious time together because you are embarrassed."
Chastised, Sona reluctantly nodded. Her aunt smiled again and pulled a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Introduce me to your friends?" Mikasa's smile fell to her usual expression of neutrality as she looked over at the gawking students.
"You already know, Akeno," Sona started.
"It is good to see you again, Aunty," Akeno said with a curtsy.
"You look... better," her aunt nodded, looking the Queen up and down.
"Ufufufu, thank you," Akeno giggled, placing a hand on her cheek and idly rubbing it. "I had a bit of a rough wake-up call, I am afraid."
Her aunt didn't say anything, just watching the girl with a critical eye.
"This is my newest pawn, Genshiro Saji," Sona gestured to the boy. He had only been reincarnated recently, and they would have been introduced this summer during the break.
"Pleased to meet you," Saji said as he bowed formally. Sona beamed with pride. Clearly, their etiquette practice had paid off.
"Please take care of Sona," Mikasa nodded, and Sona felt the tip of her ears turn red. She hurried to continue the introductions to distract everyone.
"This is Asia Argentio, Rias' Bishop, Issei Hyoudou, her Rook, and Xenovia Quarta, her newest Knight."
Again, the Pawn didn't say anything, just looking over all three critically. Sona knew she was a woman of few words, except when around those she was close to.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Issei said energetically as he bowed.
Sona noticed, with some schadenfreude, that his bow was far from Saji's in neatness or fluidity.
"Please take care of me," Asia tried to bow at the same time as curtsy and ended up tripping on her own legs. "Uuueee."
Thankfully, Issei caught her and held her in place as she regained her balance. The teenager held his girlfriend close and seemed lost in each other's eyes for a second.
Xenovia, thank the Satans, saved Sona from having to stare at the happy couple.
"What did you mean when you said you made the church look bad," Xenovia asked. Her aunt evaluated the girl for a long second before answering.
"I was the one that broke up the Holy Sword Project and a few others," she eventually said. "They wanted to deal with it themselves."
"No wonder Kiba likes her," Issei said under his breath as he released Asia. Then he tilted his head as if listening to something.
Her aunt didn't say anything despite hearing the Rook's words. Sona knew she knew of the Knight's crush but hadn't given it much thought.
Her aunt didn't deal with romance and was likely waiting for Kiba's infatuation to disappear rather than addressing it.
Mikasa didn't really talk about her past. All Sona knew about her aunt's life before Serafall reincarnated her except her unique birth location and the fact she had outlived all her friends and once had a child.
"Ddraig said I should be careful," Issei reported. "He says you're dangerous."
For the slightest second, Sona saw a grimace on her aunt's face as she looked at the boy.
"You are honest," the older woman nodded. "And I am not surprised. I killed the last Red Dragon Emperor."
That got some wide eyes from the group, even Sona.
"How come I never heard of this," the student council president asked.
"It was before you were born," her aunt said with a shrug. "It wasn't a big fight. The Red Dragon Emperor is only dangerous if you give them time to ramp up. I didn't."
"Ddraig wants to know why you finally took the challenge," Issei said, looking at his hand curiously. "They had been trying to get your attention for days. He said you were mad about a tree?"
It was only because of her long familiarity with the woman that Sona noticed the tenseness of her jaw. It made the scar on her cheek more noticeable.
"Something like that," Mikasa said simply.
There was less than a year between Sona's birth and her aunt's reincarnation. A newly reincarnated devil, without magic or a Sacred Gear, had killed last generation's holder of Boosted Gear?
"How did you do it," Sona asked, curious.
It had nothing to do with her inevitable Rating Games against Rias' Peerage.
Sona was all about self-delusions today.
"Surprise," her aunt shook her head. "The fight ended quickly. Only a few people heard of it."
"Why?" Akeno asked, morbidly curious.
She, like Sona, knew that getting her aunt angry was almost impossible. Whatever the last holder of Boosted Gear had done must have been vile to actually provoke the Pawn.
"She heard about me and was rampaging around my territory in the human world," Mikasa said, keeping her words short. "She killed the last devil to control the area and didn't like someone else taking over. I didn't care and left her alone. She found where I lived and tried to anger me. She succeeded. She destroyed something she shouldn't. A grave."
Sona shared a look with Akeno. They both knew the Pawn's unique situation, and that story didn't line up. Not when they knew she had been born and died beyond the Gap.
If it was before Sona was born, it must have been right after she was reincarnated. Mikasa wouldn't have known anyone who had died in this world. Her aunt didn't get close to people easily.
Coming to care for someone in less than a year? There was no way.
But at the same time, her aunt looked so sad, so lonely, standing there and touching the scar on her cheek that neither wanted to press.
"Everyone back to class," Sona said instead. "The bell will ring in a few minutes."
She had told a little white lie to get her sister to leave. Sue her.
"I'll follow you," her aunt said, snapping out of her funk. "Serafall will find us, I'm sure."
Sona twitched and shot a look at Akeno, who nodded.
"Will you be staying for a while," the Queen asked with feigned casualness.
"No. I am visiting today and will return as Serafall's bodyguard for the conference."
Sona read between the lines.
Bodyguard meant babysitter between the two friends. There was a possibility that Gabriel would come from Heaven's faction, and Mikasa was one of the only people Serafall would listen to.
This wasn't the worst outcome, Sona thought. Koneko would have time to get Eren off campus today and again on the conference day. So long as Eren was off premises, Sona's life (read: pride) was safe.
"Ano," Asia said hesitantly in the silence that fell as they walked back to class. "Are you Japanese, Miss? Your hair is really pretty."
"...Thank you. But, no, I am not Japanese. My mother was from the East, though. I got my hair from her." Almost self-consciously, the Pawn ran a hand through her long locks. "And you can call me Mikasa... or Ackerman if you want to use Japanese standards."
"That's German, right," Saji said, eager to show off.
Sona wanted to smack him but held her control. He had no idea how much of a minefield that was for her aunt. Sometimes, she questioned whether or not his friendship with Issei was good. He definitely seemed more interested in girls, rather than his duties, when around the Rook.
"No. I'm not German, either. It's not a secret or anything," Mikasa said, and it was like listening to Eren when they first met. Her voice was dead. Empty. "I'm Eldian. The only Eldian in this world."
********
Mwahahaha *Evil Laughter Intensifies*.
There is so much and so little in this chapter. I won't say anything more and will let you all digest it. Just that I will see you all next week on the bench.
PS: ...Mwahahaha.
verycoolname
Not actually cool
Holey Moley. I was not expecting that.
I don't want to wait an entire week for the next chapter, especially since the big reveal probably won't be coming for a while.
I don't want to wait an entire week for the next chapter, especially since the big reveal probably won't be coming for a while.
I want to start by insulting...but I can't, lest they fine me. Author friend, I don't care if in the end the two die, if when they meet they hate each other or any variation of the fact, but that the reunion of Eren and Mikasa occurs no later than 2 to 3 chapters, it is necessary and above all, lengthening it would not serve to the plot of the story, also and more importantly, I want to see them together whether they kill each other or live together, we all want that meeting!!!
Please I ask you, do not extend it!!!
thanks
Please I ask you, do not extend it!!!
thanks
- Location
- Somewhere
This was an extremely fun read over the last few days. Overall, the story has a rather unique feeling. I enjoyed Eren's conversations with Akeno, Issei, Rias and Kiba quite a bit. There is something very fundamental about them that you can start extrapolating to your own life and difficulties. My favourite conversation topic has been around the idea of making choices. Or "freedom" to do so. The four above characters all discussed this in different ways with Eren IIRC.
In my opinion, what Eren usually says comes down to: have courage and resolve. Make choices, stick to them, accept the consequences, go forward. Very good mentality for readers as well, to carry IRL for getting stuff done. I love decisiveness. I really like when I can read a story and have it affect how I think IRL! This is super cool!
I like that I can recognize all of the characters as true to their inherent personalities. Also, I really liked your handling of Issei. "Akeno, do it" was really good. As well, Eren's saying "Hey Rias, you can't take back what you've done to Issei, but you can move forward", and then his follow-up conversation with Issei was really good.
None of these conversations required Eren to be of any importance in the world of DxD. If Eren had no power whatsoever, those aspects of the story remain strong. However, it looks like Eren is important and strong in this world, enough to get recognition from bigger players. That's cool. From the author notes and the way they indicate you think, I'm guessing you have planned a lot of the crossover building already.
I will remark that I was surprised when it was shown so egregiously to us in the Kokabiel POV. He was wary of Eren. That was actually one of the chapters where I was sorta neutral to what was going on, as opposed to very actively liking the chapter. My issue with that section was: I didn't understand what they were talking about. Maybe there's some philosophy in their conversations, but it all went over my head and didn't feel like it applied to me IRL unlike previous conversations.
There was the cool aspect of Kokabiel giving Eren a lot of respect, telling us as the reader "Hey, Eren seems to be really scary in some ways". This is a feels-good moment as a reader, because all readers like their preferred protags to get respect and win. This is how I enjoy most fantasy stories. Get stronger, getting respect, wish fulfillment and all of that good stuff is what I'm used to seeing. However, here in this story, it's almost unnecessary. I mean this in the best possible way. The feels-good I got from reading the Eren x ORC crew philosophy is more lasting and fulfilling because it gives you courage to do things IRL. If Akeno, Rias, Issei and Kiba can use the Eren lens on life sometimes, so can the readers. I almost felt like having this entire second aspect of the story and greater worldbuilding distracts from the valuable life perspective I observed (lmao sorry if that sounds too snooty). That's my hot take.
I should clarify that I don't think anything is bad in the story. It's more like choosing between two flavors of good. You've got the standard good stuff in general worldbuilding and secretly OP Eren, and then you've got that deluxe gourmet stuff in Eren x ORC conversations.
The Mikasa appearance and introduction is really well done. Hmm... I wonder what Mikasa thinks of Eren's views on life? Eren's views on life are an awesome story enhancer because you can apply them to literally anyone having a problem and have interesting results.
Oh yeah, I'll mention that I know very little of AoT, because I didn't watch beyond the first anime season. S2 actually didn't capture my attention so I dropped it quickly, despite a lot of my family telling me to watch it anyway. However, this story makes Eren seem very interesting and compelling! I'm guessing you like AoT a lot, and you've done a good job repping it's protag, so awesome work there! Thanks for writing and sharing!
In my opinion, what Eren usually says comes down to: have courage and resolve. Make choices, stick to them, accept the consequences, go forward. Very good mentality for readers as well, to carry IRL for getting stuff done. I love decisiveness. I really like when I can read a story and have it affect how I think IRL! This is super cool!
I like that I can recognize all of the characters as true to their inherent personalities. Also, I really liked your handling of Issei. "Akeno, do it" was really good. As well, Eren's saying "Hey Rias, you can't take back what you've done to Issei, but you can move forward", and then his follow-up conversation with Issei was really good.
None of these conversations required Eren to be of any importance in the world of DxD. If Eren had no power whatsoever, those aspects of the story remain strong. However, it looks like Eren is important and strong in this world, enough to get recognition from bigger players. That's cool. From the author notes and the way they indicate you think, I'm guessing you have planned a lot of the crossover building already.
I will remark that I was surprised when it was shown so egregiously to us in the Kokabiel POV. He was wary of Eren. That was actually one of the chapters where I was sorta neutral to what was going on, as opposed to very actively liking the chapter. My issue with that section was: I didn't understand what they were talking about. Maybe there's some philosophy in their conversations, but it all went over my head and didn't feel like it applied to me IRL unlike previous conversations.
There was the cool aspect of Kokabiel giving Eren a lot of respect, telling us as the reader "Hey, Eren seems to be really scary in some ways". This is a feels-good moment as a reader, because all readers like their preferred protags to get respect and win. This is how I enjoy most fantasy stories. Get stronger, getting respect, wish fulfillment and all of that good stuff is what I'm used to seeing. However, here in this story, it's almost unnecessary. I mean this in the best possible way. The feels-good I got from reading the Eren x ORC crew philosophy is more lasting and fulfilling because it gives you courage to do things IRL. If Akeno, Rias, Issei and Kiba can use the Eren lens on life sometimes, so can the readers. I almost felt like having this entire second aspect of the story and greater worldbuilding distracts from the valuable life perspective I observed (lmao sorry if that sounds too snooty). That's my hot take.
I should clarify that I don't think anything is bad in the story. It's more like choosing between two flavors of good. You've got the standard good stuff in general worldbuilding and secretly OP Eren, and then you've got that deluxe gourmet stuff in Eren x ORC conversations.
The Mikasa appearance and introduction is really well done. Hmm... I wonder what Mikasa thinks of Eren's views on life? Eren's views on life are an awesome story enhancer because you can apply them to literally anyone having a problem and have interesting results.
Oh yeah, I'll mention that I know very little of AoT, because I didn't watch beyond the first anime season. S2 actually didn't capture my attention so I dropped it quickly, despite a lot of my family telling me to watch it anyway. However, this story makes Eren seem very interesting and compelling! I'm guessing you like AoT a lot, and you've done a good job repping it's protag, so awesome work there! Thanks for writing and sharing!
Well. That's one name I didn't expect to see at all. Now if only she could meet Eren I would be fulfilled.
Beat, Fall, Buckle
He had been looking for his rival.
Not for a fight, of course. It was too soon.
Issei Hyoudou had potential, but he had started way behind Vali. It would be years before he would be fun enough to challenge.
More than that, Ddraig was simply not the mountain he once was. Albion's rivalry remained, but Vali had a different goal.
Still, that didn't mean the Red Dragon Emperor wasn't worth noticing. Vali had only gotten a distant look at the boy during the Kokabiel incident, so getting a better understanding of the reincarnated devil was worth some time.
Besides, Vali was bored.
Azazel was wandering around town, making a nuisance of himself while waiting for the conference, and Vali had time to kill.
So he had gone looking for his 'destined rival.'
Instead, Vali found a boy on a bench.
It took a long second to realize what he was looking at.
Who he was looking at.
Long black hair that reached past the boy's shoulders. Pale and thin, the boy's clothes hung off his frame loosely. Thick white bandages wrapped the top half of his head, covering everything from the bridge of his nose to his forehead. Those unfamiliar factors threw Vali off.
Then he saw the cane with its two stylized wings as the figure turned to face the White Dragon Emperor.
"Hello, Vali."
Vali saw red.
The half-devil seethed, launching forward and punching the boy across the jaw with his full strength.
Eren's jaw shattered. Teeth, bone and blood exploded as the enter bottom half of the boy's head was torn from his skull.
He went flying, body spinning with the force, as he was thrown from the bench to crash into a nearby tree, shattering it and the two others behind it.
Vali did not let up. He chased.
He was on the boy in an instant.
How dare he.
Vali continued to hammer into the insate body below him.
How fucking dare you be here. Here!
[Vali!]
After everything he did, he didn't get to just show up! [Vali!] He was going to tear this bastard to pieces! Today was the day's final kick his ass.
[VALI!!!]
"WHAT?" Vali growled as he continued to pummel away.
[Look at him!]
Albion's voice cut through the haze of rage, and Vali looked at the boy below him.
Vali hadn't focused on hitting one place in particular but rather on hurting the boy in any way he could.
Eren's shirt was gone, and his chest was a bloody smear along the ground, a hollow bowl in the shape of a torso. Delicate human organs had pulped and ran with bone in a disgusting slurry. His arms were bent in unnatural angles, bone peaking out through the skin.
He didn't look alive.
"What?" Vali asked in disbelief, stumbling away from the body. He was covered in blood and viscera. "That... this is fake. It has to be. Where are you, Eren!?" He shouted, looking around the woods. "Very funny. You tricked me again! Now come out here and fight ME!"
[Vali,] Albion said, his voice gentle. [That is him. It wasn't a trick.]
"It has to be," Vali insisted, even as he looked at the bloody mush that was starting to waft steam. "If it wasn't, he would have stopped me. He would have... done something! This has to be planned. A trap."
[It could be,] Albion said, but Vali heard the doubt in his voice. [Some sort of long play. The Titan is good at that.]
"Right," Vali took a deep breath, regaining his calm. He smelled the gore. "He better have a plan. Or I really will kick his ass."
Vali ignored the seed of fear in his heart.
Instead, he walked back toward the pile of blood and bone in the vague shape of a man, grabbed the head by the hair and roughly dragged it back toward the bench.
If he bumped into roots and rocks along the way, well, accidents happen.
With a careless throw, he dropped the carcass in the sunlight as he took a seat on the bench.
It was incredibly uncomfortable.
It was like the wood and nails were all positioned to make it as annoying to sit on without hurting people. Grabbing the cane from where it had fallen, Vali drew the sword.
It was a fresh blade, he could tell. Eren had changed it recently. But apart from that, it was the same as when Eren first got it. The same crossed wings painted white and blue. The same hidden trigger to eject and replace the blade.
Vali sat there, idly playing with the cane as the bloody body reknit itself into something vaguely human-shaped. Steam continued to billow, dissipating in the morning sun.
It took a while. Over an hour.
That was much too long.
The seed of fear in Vali's heart grew, but he ignored it. He was wrong. Vali had to be wrong.
It was lucky that nobody came to investigate. The devils were still in school, and the security forces had already combed this area, or they would have seen what looked like a brutal murder scene.
A finger twitched against the dirt.
"Why didn't you use Touki?" Vali demanded instantly as soon as Eren's jaw healed.
"Hello Vali," Eren rasped, voice gravely as he lay on the ground. With one trembling hand, he reached over and re-broke his other arm, lining it up so it would heal correctly.
"Answer the question." Vali's hand tightened on the cane.
"You took me by surprise." It was Eren's usual voice. Dead. Void of emotion. Even as he took his properly healed arm and realigned the other, he emoted no more than usual.
Vali closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been right.
Satans, damn it, he didn't want to be right.
"How is that possible?"
Eren didn't answer, steam continuing to waft from his body as he healed. With a painful effort, he sat up and rose to his feet.
Vali got a good look at him then.
His long hair was matted with dirt, blood, and wood from tree fragments. Eren was still taller than the half-devil by an inch or so. He still had muscles, meaning he hadn't let himself go completely, but they were much thinner than they used to be.
His skin was also paler, like he wasn't getting enough sun. The bandages around his eyes had shifted, revealing the deep groves in his skin below them. They were half dyed with blood.
Eren adjusted the bandages to cover his upper face again as, with slow steps, he walked to the bench and fell back on it with a grunt.
Vali asked the second question, the one he hoped Eren wouldn't answer.
"How long do you have left?"
"Less than a year."
The same matter-of-fact voice.
"Damn it," Vali cursed, standing from the bench and starting to pace. "Damn it!" He punched another tree, rendering it to pulp.
He was very careful not to damage the cane.
"Clean that up before you leave. And I told you already," Eren said, and for once, there was something in his voice. It was softer. Almost kinder. "When we first met."
"That doesn't make it better!" Vali snapped. "You're the Satan-damn Titan! You don't get to die of some fucking sickness! You don't get to waste away alone! There has to be something we can do. Anything!"
"There isn't," Eren said simply. "It is not something that can be cured. As soon as I was born, I had an expiration date."
"Let me tell Azazel," Vali urged. "He'll figure something out."
"No," Eren denied simply. "He won't. What's wrong with me is not something this world can handle. And if you tell him, the plan fails. Tell him everything else, but not about me."
"Screw the plan!" Vali denied. "I will get my revenge myself. The bastard has lasted this long. He'll last long enough for me to grow stronger. But you aren't allowed to die. Not before I can beat you."
"I told you," Eren repeated, his voice almost amused. "You'll never beat me."
"I thought you were bragging," Vali laughed hollowly, collapsing on the bench. Still damn uncomfortable. "That you were stronger than me. I wanted to punch you so damn hard."
"You just did," Eren said. "Count that as your victory."
"No," Vali spat. "If I can't beat you at your best, it doesn't count." Taking a deep breath, the White Dragon Emperor recentered himself for the second time in as many hours. Eren could always get under his skin. "Why are you here, Eren?"
"This bench is where I'll die," Eren said.
Vali bit his lip, forcing himself to not snap again. Instead, he threw the cane at the boy.
It hit him in the leg and clattered to the ground.
Watching Eren paw around for it hollowed out Vali's heart, and he had to look away.
"Kuroka cried."
The cane clattered to the ground again behind him.
Those two words hurt Eren more than every punch Vali had landed, but they needed to be said.
"Is that so," Eren said softly as he bent to pick it up again. "You've been taking care of her?"
"'Taking care of her?'" Vali repeated sarcastically as he whirled and stomped back to the older boy. Grabbing Eren by his bloody shirt, Vali snarled down at him. "Listen, you blockhead. You don't get it both ways. Either you care about her, in which case you shouldn't have disappeared for OVER A YEAR!" Vali took a deep breath and said the rest quietly. "Or you don't. In which case, you can go die alone! You clearly want to. But you don't get to hand her over like a used tool. That's not how love works."
Eren didn't say anything, but he sagged in Vali's arms.
"I know," Eren eventually said, his voice mournful. "I just... she deserves better than I can give her."
"That's not for you to decide," Vali said, releasing his best friend and sitting on the bench beside him. "It's her choice who to love. And I know she would rather spend what time you have left with you than try to move on."
"I suppose I thought it would work like last time," Eren sighed. "I should have known Kuroka is different than..." Eren trailed off.
Vali knew he was thinking about the woman he used to love. The one a world away. Eren never talked about her or his former best friend, but they weighed on him.
Even after all these years.
"You could give her what she wants," Vali said, shifting the topic slightly. "Even if you die, she'll have something to remember you by."
"No." Eren denied firmly, snapping out of his funk. "I will never have children."
"Will not? Or don't want to?" Vali asked.
This was an aspect he always wanted to ask about. How much did Eren see? Despite what some might think, he wasn't perfect, and there were clear limits to his power, but there was no denying his abilities.
Where did the boundaries lie?
"Both," Eren said gravely. "I am the only one in the Path. There will never be another of Ymir's descendants in this world. And there shouldn't be. When I die, I will take this curse with me. If I did ever have children, I know what would happen. I will not allow that."
Vali wanted to ask what would happen but held off. Instead, he asked about something else.
"Why did you decide to stay here," Vali asked, running a hand to comb his hair back as he regained his usual cool. "It was a smart move. We never thought you'd hide near Shirone."
"I didn't decide," Eren shrugged. "I stopped by here to check up on her before I went looking for this bench. When I found it, I decided to stay."
"But why this bench specifically," Vali asked and then elaborated before Eren could speak. "I know you said you die here, but why is that?"
Eren remained silent for a long moment, idly rubbing his fingers along the twin wings on his cane. Eventually, he spoke.
"The Path," Eren started, then stopped and started again. "My power comes in two forms. The first is what will happen. It is me, sending my memory back to myself of what will happen. It is ironclad. Nothing I do can change. The act of sending those memories back is what determines that future. But..."
Eren struggled for words before continuing.
"My other ability connects past, present, and future. I live in all those times. It is more... open. Combined with the first ability, I see what will happen and what can happen. Both are limited to me. I cannot see anything not connected to the Path. I am the only thing connected to the Path, so I can only control my actions and might not see their consequences."
"Isn't the second ability... redundant?" Vali asked. For years, he had asked Eren about his foresight and never got an answer. Now, he couldn't help himself. "If you know exactly what will happen, why look for what can happen?"
"Because I still get to choose the future," Eren sighed, and Vali couldn't help but notice that it was almost joyful. "These two abilities were never meant to be contained within one person. And certainly not without... someone else to regulate them. It wasn't until I was reborn in this world that I could wield the second as I wished. Usually, it is limited to one bloodline that I am not a part of. I choose which future to walk and live in and then send it back to myself so I will make the same choices. A loop of my choosing. A way to determine the future of my own choice."
"So when you say there is no cure?" Vali felt despair creep up his heart.
"There isn't," Eren nodded. "No matter what future I choose, I always die. The Path ends. There is no saving me."
Vali bit his lip and turned back to the original topic.
"So coming to this bench to die is the best future?"
"It is."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You... don't know?" Vali asked in disbelief. "You just said you see the future. Twice over!"
"I decide what I see," Eren sighed. "I have to send the memories back. If I don't, I don't know. The other part, the... Coordinate isn't optional. I always live it. Except when I am on this bench."
Vali wasn't the most accomplished devil regarding magic or enchantment. Kuroka, Le Fey, and Azazel were much better. Still, even he should have been able to feel something from the bench if it was able to prevent Eren from using his powers.
He didn't feel anything.
It was just a bench. An uncomfortable bench, but just a bench.
Instead, Vali tried to puzzle out what Eren meant when he said he wasn't seeing the 'set in stone' future.
"So, by hiding your memories from yourself, you are ensuring that future happens?" Vali guessed, and Eren nodded. "How do you know it's the best one?"
"I don't. I have to trust that my future self made the best choice. And..." Eren paused, debating whether to tell Vali something, then sighed. "In that future, I die alone. But... I am smiling."
Vali stared.
He had known Eren Yeager for almost a decade. Had seen him do things that should have been impossible. Yet, not once had Eren Yeager ever smiled.
"I am chasing that smile," Eren admitted as if confessing a sin. "Why do I look like that? I have asked myself that question for almost thirteen years. And I still don't know. I can't know. Because if I do, it will never happen. I don't know what half my actions will accomplish, but I do them anyway. All for that future. I hurt you, I hurt Kuroka, and I will hurt others just because I am trusting that future and that smile. I have to trust it. It's the only way I can move forward."
Vali felt... he didn't know what he felt.
Angry? He had every right to be angry. One of his best friends had disappeared for a year, and he didn't know why.
Should he be hurt? Was all their time together worth nothing compared to a future Eren couldn't even see?
Sympathy? There was no doubt Eren had gone through and been forced to do terrible things. He was going to die young. Eren deserved happiness.
In the end, Vali was worn down. This emotional roller coaster was not what he expected when he decided to tour Kuoh. He usually kept his emotions tightly lidded, portraying a calm, confident exterior. He wasn't cut out for these sorts of emotions.
Vali wanted to fight something.
Having regained his calm, Vali leaned back on the bench, arms spread casually as he stared at the sky.
"If I ask you to transform, will you? I could really use a good spar."
"I can't," Eren sighed. "I only have two shifts left. Each time I shift, my time shortens. Sorry."
"Damn it," Vali cursed again, but there was no heat to it. "And asking you to never shift again won't work. You're on that 'path' of yours."
"I need to," Eren nodded sadly. "If I don't, I can't keep my word to you, Kuroka, or any others. And yes, that is part of the future I want. If the plan fails... Not all the futures I see are good ones."
Vali realized then. The price Eren paid to choose his own future. He had to see what could be.
If Vali could see anything and everything that could happen to himself, would he be able to handle it?
If Vali could see the future where he failed, where he died, where those he loved had atrocity after atrocity inflicted on them, could he remain sane?
If he was always aware of how close he was to failure, and its price, could he do anything?
The memories of his mother already tore at Vali. Seeing that every day, every second, would he be able to walk forward?
[You've changed, Titan.] Albion said, manifesting the white wings below Vali's clothes to talk with the boy.
"In what way?" Eren asked with a tilt of his head.
[You are softer.] Albion answered, but it didn't sound like an insult. [When we met, you were like a dog on a leash. Rabid, wanting to tear the world apart. But directed. The rage I felt isn't gone. But it is not everything anymore. Even if you do not have the smile you want, you are more emotive than you ever were before you left. A year ago, you would not have told us all this.]
"It is the bench," Eren nodded. "While I sit on it, part of my power is limited. I can't see anything. Not the past or the future. While I sit on the bench, I am blind."
"That's how I surprised you," Vali grinned. "Not going to lie, that felt good. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."
"I think I do," Eren said dryly.
[You are like Ddraig and I.] Albion rumbled. [It is only when we were confined within our prison that we were able to let the haze of rage dissipate. It will never leave us, but we now see a world we were blind to.]
"I am not..." Eren paused as if Albion's words surprised him more than Vali's attack. "You are right. I have changed. Thank you, Albion. You just answered one of my questions about my Path."
[Just remember your promise.]
Vali felt his Sacred Gear retract, leaving him alone with Eren again.
They sat there in companionable silence for a long while.
"You will stay here?" Vali eventually asked.
"Until it is time," Eren nodded. "I still have a meeting to wait for."
"I'm going to tell Kuroka." Vali watched Eren's face for any sign of disagreement. If Eren tried to stop him, he would punch him again. The other boy simply nodded. "That won't mess up your 'path'?" Vali asked sarcastically.
He still wasn't over the fact that Eren had left them for over a year.
"I honestly don't know," Eren said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I can't see anything while on the bench. I don't know if I will do something to destroy my future myself, or if meeting you here already did that. But I don't think trying to stop you telling her will ruin anything."
"Why not? You won't let me go to Azazel."
"Because the leaders of the three factions can't know about my abilities. That would ruin the plan and accomplish nothing," Eren said softly. "But if you truly did that, I wouldn't stop you. I simply offer a choice. I will never fight for a future where my friends aren't as free as I am."
"Even if it will ruin your plan?"
"If the only way for you to be free is to stand against me? So be it."
Vali did end up cleaning his mess with a spell before he left. It was easy for the Lucifer descendent. The little park looked as pristine as he found it.
He also gave Eren one last punch for good measure.
Then he left.
He'd see Eren again when it was time.
Until then, he had no desire to watch the man he considered a big brother waste away on the bench.
********
Hoo boy. I think the last chapter was the single most divisive thing I've ever written. I sure got a lot of responses. I will stick with it, though. Unlike other writers, I only publish something once I know how it will end. I appreciate feedback, advice, and even ideas, but by the time a story is released, I generally do not change it based on fan response. That way, it maintains cohesion.
I am not surprised by the response. Mikasa is an increadibly divisive character, perhaps even more than Eren. I won't give my thoughts one way or the other here, but I will say: One, I don't plan to drag things on; two, just as Eren is post-Rumbling, so is Mikasa from after the ending. As I mentioned in the first chapter, this story follows canon as closely as possible. Including the parts some people will not like. That is the only way it can be the continuation and closure I want from it.
About this chapter, I admit to leaning a lot more about later volumes of Vali's character. He simply doesn't get much characterization in the early seasons/light novels. Also, the explanation of the Attack Titan and Founding Titan is incomplete; it is just what Eren wanted to tell Vali. More will be explained later.
Though the ability to see 'possibilities' is canon. That's how Eren saw what the cabin he'd share with Mikasa if they ran away together. The Attack Titan works on memories, so it is what 'Will Happen,' because they've already happened, there is no escaping it. The Founding Titan sees what 'Is Happening and Has Happened,' not the future. Only when they are combined (in Ymir and Eren) do you get the omniscience and timeless view that trapped Eren. Otherwise, all of the Founder's hosts would have been able to see the future of the Rumbling.
Anyway, I hope this has answered a few questions (and given a few more) and I will see you next time on the bench.
Not for a fight, of course. It was too soon.
Issei Hyoudou had potential, but he had started way behind Vali. It would be years before he would be fun enough to challenge.
More than that, Ddraig was simply not the mountain he once was. Albion's rivalry remained, but Vali had a different goal.
Still, that didn't mean the Red Dragon Emperor wasn't worth noticing. Vali had only gotten a distant look at the boy during the Kokabiel incident, so getting a better understanding of the reincarnated devil was worth some time.
Besides, Vali was bored.
Azazel was wandering around town, making a nuisance of himself while waiting for the conference, and Vali had time to kill.
So he had gone looking for his 'destined rival.'
Instead, Vali found a boy on a bench.
It took a long second to realize what he was looking at.
Who he was looking at.
Long black hair that reached past the boy's shoulders. Pale and thin, the boy's clothes hung off his frame loosely. Thick white bandages wrapped the top half of his head, covering everything from the bridge of his nose to his forehead. Those unfamiliar factors threw Vali off.
Then he saw the cane with its two stylized wings as the figure turned to face the White Dragon Emperor.
"Hello, Vali."
Vali saw red.
The half-devil seethed, launching forward and punching the boy across the jaw with his full strength.
Eren's jaw shattered. Teeth, bone and blood exploded as the enter bottom half of the boy's head was torn from his skull.
He went flying, body spinning with the force, as he was thrown from the bench to crash into a nearby tree, shattering it and the two others behind it.
Vali did not let up. He chased.
He was on the boy in an instant.
How dare he.
Vali continued to hammer into the insate body below him.
How fucking dare you be here. Here!
[Vali!]
After everything he did, he didn't get to just show up! [Vali!] He was going to tear this bastard to pieces! Today was the day's final kick his ass.
[VALI!!!]
"WHAT?" Vali growled as he continued to pummel away.
[Look at him!]
Albion's voice cut through the haze of rage, and Vali looked at the boy below him.
Vali hadn't focused on hitting one place in particular but rather on hurting the boy in any way he could.
Eren's shirt was gone, and his chest was a bloody smear along the ground, a hollow bowl in the shape of a torso. Delicate human organs had pulped and ran with bone in a disgusting slurry. His arms were bent in unnatural angles, bone peaking out through the skin.
He didn't look alive.
"What?" Vali asked in disbelief, stumbling away from the body. He was covered in blood and viscera. "That... this is fake. It has to be. Where are you, Eren!?" He shouted, looking around the woods. "Very funny. You tricked me again! Now come out here and fight ME!"
[Vali,] Albion said, his voice gentle. [That is him. It wasn't a trick.]
"It has to be," Vali insisted, even as he looked at the bloody mush that was starting to waft steam. "If it wasn't, he would have stopped me. He would have... done something! This has to be planned. A trap."
[It could be,] Albion said, but Vali heard the doubt in his voice. [Some sort of long play. The Titan is good at that.]
"Right," Vali took a deep breath, regaining his calm. He smelled the gore. "He better have a plan. Or I really will kick his ass."
Vali ignored the seed of fear in his heart.
Instead, he walked back toward the pile of blood and bone in the vague shape of a man, grabbed the head by the hair and roughly dragged it back toward the bench.
If he bumped into roots and rocks along the way, well, accidents happen.
With a careless throw, he dropped the carcass in the sunlight as he took a seat on the bench.
It was incredibly uncomfortable.
It was like the wood and nails were all positioned to make it as annoying to sit on without hurting people. Grabbing the cane from where it had fallen, Vali drew the sword.
It was a fresh blade, he could tell. Eren had changed it recently. But apart from that, it was the same as when Eren first got it. The same crossed wings painted white and blue. The same hidden trigger to eject and replace the blade.
Vali sat there, idly playing with the cane as the bloody body reknit itself into something vaguely human-shaped. Steam continued to billow, dissipating in the morning sun.
It took a while. Over an hour.
That was much too long.
The seed of fear in Vali's heart grew, but he ignored it. He was wrong. Vali had to be wrong.
It was lucky that nobody came to investigate. The devils were still in school, and the security forces had already combed this area, or they would have seen what looked like a brutal murder scene.
A finger twitched against the dirt.
"Why didn't you use Touki?" Vali demanded instantly as soon as Eren's jaw healed.
"Hello Vali," Eren rasped, voice gravely as he lay on the ground. With one trembling hand, he reached over and re-broke his other arm, lining it up so it would heal correctly.
"Answer the question." Vali's hand tightened on the cane.
"You took me by surprise." It was Eren's usual voice. Dead. Void of emotion. Even as he took his properly healed arm and realigned the other, he emoted no more than usual.
Vali closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been right.
Satans, damn it, he didn't want to be right.
"How is that possible?"
Eren didn't answer, steam continuing to waft from his body as he healed. With a painful effort, he sat up and rose to his feet.
Vali got a good look at him then.
His long hair was matted with dirt, blood, and wood from tree fragments. Eren was still taller than the half-devil by an inch or so. He still had muscles, meaning he hadn't let himself go completely, but they were much thinner than they used to be.
His skin was also paler, like he wasn't getting enough sun. The bandages around his eyes had shifted, revealing the deep groves in his skin below them. They were half dyed with blood.
Eren adjusted the bandages to cover his upper face again as, with slow steps, he walked to the bench and fell back on it with a grunt.
Vali asked the second question, the one he hoped Eren wouldn't answer.
"How long do you have left?"
"Less than a year."
The same matter-of-fact voice.
"Damn it," Vali cursed, standing from the bench and starting to pace. "Damn it!" He punched another tree, rendering it to pulp.
He was very careful not to damage the cane.
"Clean that up before you leave. And I told you already," Eren said, and for once, there was something in his voice. It was softer. Almost kinder. "When we first met."
"That doesn't make it better!" Vali snapped. "You're the Satan-damn Titan! You don't get to die of some fucking sickness! You don't get to waste away alone! There has to be something we can do. Anything!"
"There isn't," Eren said simply. "It is not something that can be cured. As soon as I was born, I had an expiration date."
"Let me tell Azazel," Vali urged. "He'll figure something out."
"No," Eren denied simply. "He won't. What's wrong with me is not something this world can handle. And if you tell him, the plan fails. Tell him everything else, but not about me."
"Screw the plan!" Vali denied. "I will get my revenge myself. The bastard has lasted this long. He'll last long enough for me to grow stronger. But you aren't allowed to die. Not before I can beat you."
"I told you," Eren repeated, his voice almost amused. "You'll never beat me."
"I thought you were bragging," Vali laughed hollowly, collapsing on the bench. Still damn uncomfortable. "That you were stronger than me. I wanted to punch you so damn hard."
"You just did," Eren said. "Count that as your victory."
"No," Vali spat. "If I can't beat you at your best, it doesn't count." Taking a deep breath, the White Dragon Emperor recentered himself for the second time in as many hours. Eren could always get under his skin. "Why are you here, Eren?"
"This bench is where I'll die," Eren said.
Vali bit his lip, forcing himself to not snap again. Instead, he threw the cane at the boy.
It hit him in the leg and clattered to the ground.
Watching Eren paw around for it hollowed out Vali's heart, and he had to look away.
"Kuroka cried."
The cane clattered to the ground again behind him.
Those two words hurt Eren more than every punch Vali had landed, but they needed to be said.
"Is that so," Eren said softly as he bent to pick it up again. "You've been taking care of her?"
"'Taking care of her?'" Vali repeated sarcastically as he whirled and stomped back to the older boy. Grabbing Eren by his bloody shirt, Vali snarled down at him. "Listen, you blockhead. You don't get it both ways. Either you care about her, in which case you shouldn't have disappeared for OVER A YEAR!" Vali took a deep breath and said the rest quietly. "Or you don't. In which case, you can go die alone! You clearly want to. But you don't get to hand her over like a used tool. That's not how love works."
Eren didn't say anything, but he sagged in Vali's arms.
"I know," Eren eventually said, his voice mournful. "I just... she deserves better than I can give her."
"That's not for you to decide," Vali said, releasing his best friend and sitting on the bench beside him. "It's her choice who to love. And I know she would rather spend what time you have left with you than try to move on."
"I suppose I thought it would work like last time," Eren sighed. "I should have known Kuroka is different than..." Eren trailed off.
Vali knew he was thinking about the woman he used to love. The one a world away. Eren never talked about her or his former best friend, but they weighed on him.
Even after all these years.
"You could give her what she wants," Vali said, shifting the topic slightly. "Even if you die, she'll have something to remember you by."
"No." Eren denied firmly, snapping out of his funk. "I will never have children."
"Will not? Or don't want to?" Vali asked.
This was an aspect he always wanted to ask about. How much did Eren see? Despite what some might think, he wasn't perfect, and there were clear limits to his power, but there was no denying his abilities.
Where did the boundaries lie?
"Both," Eren said gravely. "I am the only one in the Path. There will never be another of Ymir's descendants in this world. And there shouldn't be. When I die, I will take this curse with me. If I did ever have children, I know what would happen. I will not allow that."
Vali wanted to ask what would happen but held off. Instead, he asked about something else.
"Why did you decide to stay here," Vali asked, running a hand to comb his hair back as he regained his usual cool. "It was a smart move. We never thought you'd hide near Shirone."
"I didn't decide," Eren shrugged. "I stopped by here to check up on her before I went looking for this bench. When I found it, I decided to stay."
"But why this bench specifically," Vali asked and then elaborated before Eren could speak. "I know you said you die here, but why is that?"
Eren remained silent for a long moment, idly rubbing his fingers along the twin wings on his cane. Eventually, he spoke.
"The Path," Eren started, then stopped and started again. "My power comes in two forms. The first is what will happen. It is me, sending my memory back to myself of what will happen. It is ironclad. Nothing I do can change. The act of sending those memories back is what determines that future. But..."
Eren struggled for words before continuing.
"My other ability connects past, present, and future. I live in all those times. It is more... open. Combined with the first ability, I see what will happen and what can happen. Both are limited to me. I cannot see anything not connected to the Path. I am the only thing connected to the Path, so I can only control my actions and might not see their consequences."
"Isn't the second ability... redundant?" Vali asked. For years, he had asked Eren about his foresight and never got an answer. Now, he couldn't help himself. "If you know exactly what will happen, why look for what can happen?"
"Because I still get to choose the future," Eren sighed, and Vali couldn't help but notice that it was almost joyful. "These two abilities were never meant to be contained within one person. And certainly not without... someone else to regulate them. It wasn't until I was reborn in this world that I could wield the second as I wished. Usually, it is limited to one bloodline that I am not a part of. I choose which future to walk and live in and then send it back to myself so I will make the same choices. A loop of my choosing. A way to determine the future of my own choice."
"So when you say there is no cure?" Vali felt despair creep up his heart.
"There isn't," Eren nodded. "No matter what future I choose, I always die. The Path ends. There is no saving me."
Vali bit his lip and turned back to the original topic.
"So coming to this bench to die is the best future?"
"It is."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You... don't know?" Vali asked in disbelief. "You just said you see the future. Twice over!"
"I decide what I see," Eren sighed. "I have to send the memories back. If I don't, I don't know. The other part, the... Coordinate isn't optional. I always live it. Except when I am on this bench."
Vali wasn't the most accomplished devil regarding magic or enchantment. Kuroka, Le Fey, and Azazel were much better. Still, even he should have been able to feel something from the bench if it was able to prevent Eren from using his powers.
He didn't feel anything.
It was just a bench. An uncomfortable bench, but just a bench.
Instead, Vali tried to puzzle out what Eren meant when he said he wasn't seeing the 'set in stone' future.
"So, by hiding your memories from yourself, you are ensuring that future happens?" Vali guessed, and Eren nodded. "How do you know it's the best one?"
"I don't. I have to trust that my future self made the best choice. And..." Eren paused, debating whether to tell Vali something, then sighed. "In that future, I die alone. But... I am smiling."
Vali stared.
He had known Eren Yeager for almost a decade. Had seen him do things that should have been impossible. Yet, not once had Eren Yeager ever smiled.
"I am chasing that smile," Eren admitted as if confessing a sin. "Why do I look like that? I have asked myself that question for almost thirteen years. And I still don't know. I can't know. Because if I do, it will never happen. I don't know what half my actions will accomplish, but I do them anyway. All for that future. I hurt you, I hurt Kuroka, and I will hurt others just because I am trusting that future and that smile. I have to trust it. It's the only way I can move forward."
Vali felt... he didn't know what he felt.
Angry? He had every right to be angry. One of his best friends had disappeared for a year, and he didn't know why.
Should he be hurt? Was all their time together worth nothing compared to a future Eren couldn't even see?
Sympathy? There was no doubt Eren had gone through and been forced to do terrible things. He was going to die young. Eren deserved happiness.
In the end, Vali was worn down. This emotional roller coaster was not what he expected when he decided to tour Kuoh. He usually kept his emotions tightly lidded, portraying a calm, confident exterior. He wasn't cut out for these sorts of emotions.
Vali wanted to fight something.
Having regained his calm, Vali leaned back on the bench, arms spread casually as he stared at the sky.
"If I ask you to transform, will you? I could really use a good spar."
"I can't," Eren sighed. "I only have two shifts left. Each time I shift, my time shortens. Sorry."
"Damn it," Vali cursed again, but there was no heat to it. "And asking you to never shift again won't work. You're on that 'path' of yours."
"I need to," Eren nodded sadly. "If I don't, I can't keep my word to you, Kuroka, or any others. And yes, that is part of the future I want. If the plan fails... Not all the futures I see are good ones."
Vali realized then. The price Eren paid to choose his own future. He had to see what could be.
If Vali could see anything and everything that could happen to himself, would he be able to handle it?
If Vali could see the future where he failed, where he died, where those he loved had atrocity after atrocity inflicted on them, could he remain sane?
If he was always aware of how close he was to failure, and its price, could he do anything?
The memories of his mother already tore at Vali. Seeing that every day, every second, would he be able to walk forward?
[You've changed, Titan.] Albion said, manifesting the white wings below Vali's clothes to talk with the boy.
"In what way?" Eren asked with a tilt of his head.
[You are softer.] Albion answered, but it didn't sound like an insult. [When we met, you were like a dog on a leash. Rabid, wanting to tear the world apart. But directed. The rage I felt isn't gone. But it is not everything anymore. Even if you do not have the smile you want, you are more emotive than you ever were before you left. A year ago, you would not have told us all this.]
"It is the bench," Eren nodded. "While I sit on it, part of my power is limited. I can't see anything. Not the past or the future. While I sit on the bench, I am blind."
"That's how I surprised you," Vali grinned. "Not going to lie, that felt good. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."
"I think I do," Eren said dryly.
[You are like Ddraig and I.] Albion rumbled. [It is only when we were confined within our prison that we were able to let the haze of rage dissipate. It will never leave us, but we now see a world we were blind to.]
"I am not..." Eren paused as if Albion's words surprised him more than Vali's attack. "You are right. I have changed. Thank you, Albion. You just answered one of my questions about my Path."
[Just remember your promise.]
Vali felt his Sacred Gear retract, leaving him alone with Eren again.
They sat there in companionable silence for a long while.
"You will stay here?" Vali eventually asked.
"Until it is time," Eren nodded. "I still have a meeting to wait for."
"I'm going to tell Kuroka." Vali watched Eren's face for any sign of disagreement. If Eren tried to stop him, he would punch him again. The other boy simply nodded. "That won't mess up your 'path'?" Vali asked sarcastically.
He still wasn't over the fact that Eren had left them for over a year.
"I honestly don't know," Eren said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I can't see anything while on the bench. I don't know if I will do something to destroy my future myself, or if meeting you here already did that. But I don't think trying to stop you telling her will ruin anything."
"Why not? You won't let me go to Azazel."
"Because the leaders of the three factions can't know about my abilities. That would ruin the plan and accomplish nothing," Eren said softly. "But if you truly did that, I wouldn't stop you. I simply offer a choice. I will never fight for a future where my friends aren't as free as I am."
"Even if it will ruin your plan?"
"If the only way for you to be free is to stand against me? So be it."
Vali did end up cleaning his mess with a spell before he left. It was easy for the Lucifer descendent. The little park looked as pristine as he found it.
He also gave Eren one last punch for good measure.
Then he left.
He'd see Eren again when it was time.
Until then, he had no desire to watch the man he considered a big brother waste away on the bench.
********
Hoo boy. I think the last chapter was the single most divisive thing I've ever written. I sure got a lot of responses. I will stick with it, though. Unlike other writers, I only publish something once I know how it will end. I appreciate feedback, advice, and even ideas, but by the time a story is released, I generally do not change it based on fan response. That way, it maintains cohesion.
I am not surprised by the response. Mikasa is an increadibly divisive character, perhaps even more than Eren. I won't give my thoughts one way or the other here, but I will say: One, I don't plan to drag things on; two, just as Eren is post-Rumbling, so is Mikasa from after the ending. As I mentioned in the first chapter, this story follows canon as closely as possible. Including the parts some people will not like. That is the only way it can be the continuation and closure I want from it.
About this chapter, I admit to leaning a lot more about later volumes of Vali's character. He simply doesn't get much characterization in the early seasons/light novels. Also, the explanation of the Attack Titan and Founding Titan is incomplete; it is just what Eren wanted to tell Vali. More will be explained later.
Though the ability to see 'possibilities' is canon. That's how Eren saw what the cabin he'd share with Mikasa if they ran away together. The Attack Titan works on memories, so it is what 'Will Happen,' because they've already happened, there is no escaping it. The Founding Titan sees what 'Is Happening and Has Happened,' not the future. Only when they are combined (in Ymir and Eren) do you get the omniscience and timeless view that trapped Eren. Otherwise, all of the Founder's hosts would have been able to see the future of the Rumbling.
Anyway, I hope this has answered a few questions (and given a few more) and I will see you next time on the bench.