A/N : This fic follows the 3DS version and the comic at certain points. Last but not least, Devil Survivor is sadly not mine. Enjoy
We Know Each Other
The Weeks Before
Naoya stood inside the Shomonkai headquarter for a considerable time. He was waiting for the "Summoning Vessel" to be completed. He had done his share, which is converting and transferring data of summoning ritual process into Shomonkai's COMPs and let them handle the rest. While he is a very patience person, he can't help drumming his fingers against his crossing arms hidden beneath his coat.
He knows that the cult, while it is a spiritual group, also consists of people with expertise in technology. He knows that they able to carry their parts into fruition based only on a single glance from him when Amane and the leader introduced those talented people to him.
He could do all of the work by himself. It is not a really problem for him since it will still be finished before the fateful days, but sometimes things don't exactly went with plan. It could be annoying, but this one could benefit for his plan as well. Shomonkai apparently have the same agenda to him in the upcoming war. They also managed to get a hold of someone with the ability of primal common tongue, Aya of D-VA. It is the primary thing one must have for a successful summoning ritual.
While it is a pity that she had an accident which resulted in her entering the demon world by herself, he just managed to convert it into data in his store and completed the base in the process. It should be completed by now…
Just as he finished his thought, Amane Kuzuryu entered with her usual attire. Shomonkai Maiden robe. She walks towards him with an aura of a leader.
It is a pity, really. She is a naturally gifted woman with a massive spiritual power, yet because of that, Shomonkai turned her into a living machine by sealing Jezebel inside her soul. Well, almost. At some instances, he caught her emotions through her eye. He once saw her being content as she was seeing a group of kids playing on an empty field across the headquarters through a window. Her happiness seemed to fade away as she tried to keep her neutral expression before she walks away from the window, observing how her followers are doing. If only her father is not an imbecile to begin with. Then again, had that person not taught her how to live, everything will not be as it is now.
"The "Summoning Vessel" is complete. Will you continue to lend us your strength?" She asked after she stopped in front of him. Naoya contemplate his answer for a while before he answer.
"I've done nothing. The primal common tongue summoned them.. I follow no god." He answered as he sensed something different from her. Something that will brought that calm nuances to ordinary people. Something… Angelic.
TSK….Angels… Naoya thought bitterly as he kept a straight face.
He then smiled inwardly as one of his steps for his own quest is completed. After a while, he began to walk to the exit. With this done, their… contract, he could say, is completed. Just as he about to enter the door, he caught Amane's last words
"Thank you for everything, Naoya"
He just managed to contain his sympathetic smile from forming.
Day 5
Naoya stood there in the middle of what used to be a playground. While it still maintain the shape of one, it has severely lost its function since the lockdown begun. There is no one playing around here, and even if there is some, they merely looking for a place to survive this lockdown.
He was on his way to meet his dear "brother" again. Naoya promised he will answer one of his questions if he defeats Beldr. And he did. Loki, who watched the battle, described the battle as" fun and amusing to watch"
It is also time to test him a little to see if he is worthy enough to advance forward as the contender for the throne of Bel. He even planned to give him answers for what is truly happening in Yamanote Circle if he pass the test swiftly and effectively. He hates to admit it, but he truly cares of his brother. True, he wants Kazuya to rebel against Him, but he wishes the best for him in everything life could offer. He does not want history to repeat itself. He feels he will lose it if Kazuya die.
After he composed himself, he sensed a familiar presence he felt not long ago. A familiar person he met when he had fulfilled the contract with Shomonkai. Then, he saw a blue haired maiden sitting on a bench.
"It is a surprise to see you here, Naoya" Said Amane as she got up from the bench. The said girl always gives a charismatic aura to everyone near her. Naoya is not an exception. Though that seemed to be a bit off to him the more he stayed near her.
"I never would have thought I will meet you here as well, Amane" Said Naoya. Truthfully, it is a pleasant surprise to see her in this kind of place. He always thought that Amane will be with the Shomonkai if not with with Kazuya and his friends for most of the time. He still have some time before the test, and from how the situation looks, he begun to contemplate this.
"It seems you know what I will do" From how things turn out, He can only guess it won't be pretty. That being said, he must keep his emotions in check in case he overlooked something.
"I know that you will give him answers for this lockdown and test him in the process. I will not let you left him astray from His path"
"…I will not force Kazuya if that is what you mean. I will only show him another path he could take, Amane…. Or should I say, Remiel" There is no way Amane will go to such length for him as a Shomonkai maiden. The only theory that made sense was that she received order from those angels he truly hates. Judging by her tone and her eyes, it is most likely she is. That nuances from her surely did not help things.
"It seems that you have understand, Naoya. Yes, I have been ordered by God to prevent you from achieving what you want" He is more than certain Amane is the one talking to him. He felt mocked by this. It was not about how he failed to foresee this before as he actually done so. It is the fact that he just realized how awful it would be. For you to side with the angels…
He regained his composure a moment later. He has his own agenda to complete and he will not let something like this get on his way. Even if it is her, the woman he have considerable amount of respect to.
He began to walk away from Amane, heading to his original destination. Just after he took the first step, he felt Amane softly held his dark coat.
"Naoya, after all this year… No. After all the years you have lived, do you not feel alone?"
That very sentence struck deeper within Naoya than he would ever think.
"… Sometimes, I do"
He continues to walk away
.
.
.
"I am truly sorry for this, Naoya. I have to do this"
.
.
He continues his way
Day 6, 23:45
He was waiting in an amusement park. Waiting for his dear brother Abel to choose his side and be an Overlord. He barely hide his impatience as he finally has the chance complete his quest of vengeance. He had waited for hours and he will not let this golden opportunity slips away. Then, He suddenly remembered his encounter with Amane yesterday.
After all the years you have lived on, do you not feel alone?
No. Not now! He checked his watch. It's already Sunday. He realized that time has passed and there is no use anymore waiting for him. He can only hope that it is not as bad as he thought.
"Hello there, Naoya" Said Loki as he appears right in front of his eyes with his usual smug grin, surrounded with mystical mist. The mist then disappears as Loki finished what appears to be a teleportation. "I have some news for you"
"Get to the point, Loki" Anger and anxiousness barely concealed on Naoya's face as he answered. Loki still kept his grin intact as if things will get even more interesting for both of them.
"Your dear brother has chosen the maiden's path. It seems that you will have to go with Plan B, Naoya"
"What of the singer?" As much as he Naoya wanted to let his anger out, he must keep his emotions in check and see the bigger picture. He must not overlook something again. Just like what happened in his first life, and in yesterday's encounter.
"Apparently this Gin guy beat some Shomonkai fellows led by Azuma with the help of the maiden in the evening. You may not want to look into the details for this"
For the singer to side with the angels as well…
Why Abel? Why Amane? Why does it have to be like this!?
Day 7
Roppongi Hills was filled with chaos as Naoya tried to prevent Kazuya and his peers to reach the top and summon Babel. Naoya had scattered COMPs in the battlefield to help him. At least that was he originally thought. With talented people and the diva in his brother's side, it is just a matter of time for them to defeat Naoya. However, he will not go down without a fight. Not until he has achieved his quest for vengeance. Not until he has finally found peace after what happened in his first life. And it is for that exact reason he will use every single resources he had in his store.
Memories of his first life with Abel came back to his mind as the battle progressed like a great flood. All he can saw at that exact moment was just him and Abel, not Naoya and Kazuya. Even the battlefield felt like a faraway place for him as he can't help but mentioned his first life out of the blue.
"Don't you remember brother? Ages ago, I cultivated the earth, and you tended sheep" Kaido brutally slashed a Spriggan in half on the eastern side.
"Thinking back… That was the start of favoritism. If our places were switched…" Everyone was at shock as he apparently murmurs things they don't even understand, except for Amane. Amane seemed to be composed with shock definitely was the last thing to describe her expression. It was almost as if she had foreseen this.
"The Old Testament…. Genesis" She murmured as if to confirm what is before her. Kazuya was battling with a horde of demons on the west with Yuzu, Atsuro and Keisuke. Gin was guarding Haru from an Abaddon as she prepares her part. Amane was left supporting and healing both of them. A simple, yet a good tactic for this battle. She was about to say something else if not for a surprise attack behind her by a demon. He couldn't care less about that as Kazuya managed to break through and closing in on him.
"What God wanted was you. Someone who blindly followed Him, unlike me… If that's all it was, it would have been fine. I wouldn't have needed to kill you" Kazuya stopped before him. Credulous was apparent on his face.
"As the earth tender, I offered God my finest crops. But what God wanted was blood!"
"Blood does not run in crops! God asked the impossible of me, knowing I was a farmer!"
"That's why I killed you! I pierced your heart over and over, and offered Him blood!"
"Naoya! What are you talking about!? I don't understand everything!" Kazuya's confusion only got worse as the only reply that came from him was laughter similar to a maniac losing his mind. Naoya then kept a face of a loving and caring brother to Kazuya, albeit his next question will contradict it.
"Hey, Abel. My beloved younger brother. You hate me don't you?" He said mockingly to his supposed brother. Kazuya can only stare in shock.
"In the depths of your heart, you want to kill me, right!? You must, or you never could have earned the right to become King of Bel! …Tell me how you really feel. Don't you hate me?"
Agonizing seconds passed before the answer Naoya waiting for. Out of their sight, Amane has slain the ambushing demon and approached them discreetly.
"No, Naoya. I don't hate you" Naoya's eyes turned red immediately. All hope "I will never hate you no matter what you did"
.
.
.
"I won't… I. WILL. NOT. Acknowledge This, Abel! You are my younger brother! Now…hate me! I will not allow you to go back to God" He cast a Megidolaon out of rage. The spell would have hit them if not for a demon covering them from that Almighty type attack. The mentioned demon then collapsed before them from the damage it received
"So it is true… You are Cain incarnate…" All Naoya can saw through the eyes of Amane was pity. "I will protect him if that is the last thing I have to do"
WHY must you pity me Amane!?
It was at that moment the table has been turned, no matter what happened afterward.
The Days After
Tokyo is a city known for its business and pop culture. That's all changed when Yamanote Circle has been locked down. It has become a bloodbath for human and demons alike. Communication to outside of the circle has been terminated for seven days. The only way for them to survive is either to run away or to fight for dear life. With each passing days, more and more people became insane. The knowledge that a single comp could have the effect to summon the very demon that we fear did not help the situation.
How has it that very seven days only to became rumours when it can be described as apocalypse itself? God knows how, but he speculated it involves a certain blue haired messiah and his friends conspiring with the government and angels for all he cares.
Naoya sat on a bench of an amusement park in central Tokyo. He sat there feeding pigeons with bread crumbs, something that Naoya rarely did in all his life. He took a handful of those and threw it gently to the nearby pigeons, then he silently sat there as he reminisced what happened during the final day.
Naoya has escaped from the battle heavily injured on almost every parts of his body, save for his face as he got only minor bruises here and there. He had teleported himself somehere still near Shinjuku Hills. He ponders what went wrong from his plan before he screamed his lungs out. Was it out of anger? Was it out of frustration? Or maybe even something as weird as sadness? He certainly did not care as he then kneeled on the ground.
He kneeled there wondering, not only why he failed miserably, but also why he even bother to let out all of his frustration in such way. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a massive red portal began to form in the air. Moments later, Babel fell down towards the top of the Shinjuku Hills, creating a severe damage to the building on impact. He just watch the events began to unfold by itself – Kazuya and his friends battling Babel for the throne. He then noticed Amane, still with her role to support and heal her peer, still looking pensive as ever albeit smiling slightly.
Amane Kuzuryu. A woman he have a considerable amount of respect to. Not only for her mystical prowess, but also because they share something similar. That similarity itself was that they are not normal to begin with. He can understand the pain not to be able to get the life you want He can understand the jealousy that he also felt towards some stupid teenagers at times. Still, that doesn't really add up to why he was this miserable. Sure, they have a pleasant talk at times, but did she affecting him this way, or is there something he forgot? Why does he even care anyway?
Before he knew it, Haru had uploaded the song, causing every single demon, but Babel, to disappear from the world. The party then set to fight Babel for one last time. As he predicted, they emerged victorious with everyone backing Kazuya for the battle.
Thus ended the crowning of the Bel King.
He was still left bitter to this day as he was so close to achieve what he wants. Instead of an entire city prepared itself for a heavenly invasion and rallying supports to a Bel King, he got a normal humane city with almost no trace of demonic invasion, ready to move on for the future. Instead of who was supposed to be a Demon King preparing himself for a demonic invasion to The Heaven, he got a dear little brother moving on with his life while at the same time desperately chasing Naoya, just because he and his parents, who have no knowledge about what truly happened, want Naoya to be there again like the normal days.
It is funny. To see his brother went on with his life as a teenager hanging out with his friends, and not even caring to carry his role as a Messiah. Maybe God love him so much like the last messenger that he fulfilled his wish. That being said, he can imagine some sort of agreement that he must be a leading figure one day for the exchange.
"Excuse me, may I sit here?"
A voice he hadn't heard for a long time surprised him to his very core. Waking himself from his rumination, he look up to see Amane wearing a casual school outfit consists of a white shirt covered with blue navy school blazer, save for a light blue bow tie, and a blue navy skirt. She still wears her distinctive lotus headband which makes her appearance quite radiant for him. He realized he was smiling all along and he composed himself. He also notice that Amane was blushing a little
"Sure" She sat beside him. If this was still a battlefield it was, this occurrence might not be happening at all. But time has moved on, and he let her as he didn't have any reason to reject. The other plan is quite long from even beginning anyway. "I must say, it is quite lonely without you"
That caught him off guard. Never would he expect Amane to said that of all people. Amane is that person who will just walk away after a business is done. Though all things considered, including something that just came to his mind, he is not surprised anymore. "Is that what I expected?" Said Naoya who was a still bit reluctant to face her. As if looking at her is the same as opening up an old wound. With everything happened, he is not to blame
"Maybe. Maybe not" Naoya can't help but notice how this woman has changed drastically from a maiden brought up with no emotions to a girl that could make everyone melt with her smile
"You have changed, Amane"
"I realize that I was a little jealous of everyone else, expressing everything with honesty. In order to help me, Kazuya asked the government to put me to put me in his school as an exchange student"
"That's bold for you, Amane. Considering you are quite sensitive person with that ability" No person could live normal live with ana ability like that. His past lives has proven that. This live is not really any different either
"Sure, it is tough. But thankfully, Kazuya and everyone else helped me with that to this day"
They sat there in silence, letting everything sink in. For Naoya, Amane now is a far cry from her previous self. With this vibrant look and attitude, she can almost easily get along with everyone well with that demeanor, not that she have to. He imagine she must have been a well-known in her class and get along with everyone well, but mostly comfortable with her little group of 3 students.
Remembering what she had said before about her being lonely without him, questions came to his thoughts like a flood. Why did she said it? Does she even need him? Even if she meant those words, then as what?
"If it is not bothering you, may I keep you in company once in a while?" Amane said as she put her right hand on top of his left. Naoya looked down at their touching hands. An honest smile take it's form as he faced Amane. He can sense her honesty with her smile apparent on her face, lacking signs of act that he had thought before. Maybe this time, it would not be as bad as he thought.
"Sure. It is getting a bit lonely here as well" He said as he entwine their hands. A gesture that confirmed his intention for their sake. Living alone is not good for your life anyway.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading this corny fic I've unintentionally buried for the last 6 months. Yes, the ending is a bit plain. I just have to finish this one quickly otherwise I will just keep it in my files for God knows how long. Constructive review is more than welcome. Again, thank you for reading this fanfic.
Companion story coming up!