Hello, everyone! Welcome to my new story: Awakening of the Sins. I REALLY wanted to do a NoahxGopher story because this pairing is in serious need of more love and attention. Seriously! They're one of the only canon yaoi pairings in the whole series and they've got hardly anything to show for it! (Meanwhile Death the Kid, one of my fav characters, gets more love being paired with people he hardly speaks to and has no canon chemistry with) Anyway, now that my rant is out of the way, I wanted to say that this story takes place after the manga and I have modeled the chapters after the Book of Eibon in the manga- this means that the first chapter may be labeled "Prologue", but it's actually the first real chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it!
Also, I do not own the Soul Eater series (If I did, Stein and Spirit would be together and Maka and Soul would have kissed already!) nor do I own Noah or Gopher and I don't profit from this story in any way.
Prologue
It was a bright day filled with warmth and sunlight. The weather was pleasant too- warm enough that one didn't need long sleeves or a jacket, but still cool enough that one would not break a sweat or get sunburned. Truly, it was a perfect day that should have been enjoyed by all who went outside. For one young man, though, even sitting outside under the cooling shade of a tree blooming with flower petals on this gorgeous day couldn't lift his spirits.
The young man was actually a demon tool soldier by the name of Gopher.
Gopher sat under the tree and looked up through the leaves and flower petals at the sunlight that would occasionally peek through, his trademark upside down V-shaped pout on his lips as he sighed softly. "Noah-sama…"
Noah- this was the name of the man that Gopher served, adored, loved, and worshipped with every ounce of his heart and soul. Actually, scratch the "man" part- it was actually "men" now.
Originally, it had just been the one Noah and Gopher for as long as the boy could remember. Then, tragically, the worst day of Gopher's young life came and he saw his beloved master Noah killed. In a state of despair, shock, and rage, Gopher had moved quickly and grabbed his master's treasured book before flying away. After that he had found a tree to sit under and wept, much as he was doing now. Not too long afterwards, though, the book had opened on its own and, to Gopher's surprise and delight, another Noah emerged from the pages of the book! Although he was over joyed to see the face of his beloved master again, Gopher quickly realized that this was not the same Noah that he had known. It hardly made a difference to him, though, as he quickly fell for that Noah and followed his every word just as he had for the previous one. Following his new master, Gopher flew up to the moon and helped his master in his quest to obtain the powerful Kishin Asura. During the fight, though, Gopher was horrified to see his new master swallowed up and absorbed by some person with pink hair using a sphere of black blood. Thankfully, this person returned Noah to him and Gopher was so relieved to find his master unharmed. After he realized the Kishin would be unobtainable for the time being, Gopher had carried Noah outside and found a safe place for them to hide during the ensuing battles. While he was hiding with Noah, though, a thought occurred to Gopher: This Noah came from the book, so were there perhaps other Noah's trapped in the book as well? Realizing that the possible other Noah's were currently trapped inside the Kishin, Gopher waited for an opening during the intense battle and fired his stomach canon at Asura while demanding the other Noah's be given to him. Once again to Gopher's relief and surprise, his request was granted and five more Noah's were expelled from the Kishin's moth. While he was overjoyed and excited that he now had so many Noah's all to himself, Gopher still had enough common sense to realize that it was dangerous to stay on the moon any longer and, while everyone else was distracted with their battle, Gopher quickly gathered up all six of his masters and carried them using the large mouth-like opening on his stomach and flew away using the wings from his wrist. Well…rather than flying, honestly, it was more like gliding since the wings could only flap so much while carrying that much weight. Gopher didn't mind the weight at all, though. To him, this was the weight of happiness! He now had six Noah's all to himself! He was so happy that the corners of his mouth had lifted, changing his upside down V-shaped pout into a W-mouth full of joy.
That, however, had been a few days ago. Almost a week, now that he really thought about it.
While Gopher was still overjoyed at having so many Noah's with him now, there was one major problem that ruined his good mood: None of the Noah's had woken up since they'd returned to the planet.
The first day they'd returned, Gopher didn't dwell on it too much since he was busy trying to find a place for all of them to stay. After flying around for a while, Gopher had found an old abandoned church in the middle of a forest. While it may not have been as magnificent as the church they'd used as their last base, it was still in good shape- no bad holes in the roof, doors that could be locked, windows that could be closed or boarded up, and the wood wasn't rotted away to the point of being unstable yet. What was also handy was that this church appeared to have been used as a sort of orphanage or vagrant home, from what Gopher could assume based on the large number of beds that were still around. Gopher had carefully set all of the Noah's down before picking them up one at a time and placing each one on their own bed. He searched around the church and found a storage room that still had blankets and pillows. After sniffing and looking them over to find the ones that weren't dirty or covered in mold, Gopher gave each Noah their own pillow to rest their heads on and tucked each one in with their own blanket- leaving one blanket and pillow aside to use for himself later. By this point Gopher had become very tired from all of the flying and fighting he'd done that day, so he made sure the building was locked up securely before curling up in his own bed with his blanket.
The second day, Gopher woke up early (as he usually did) and carefully made his bed before checking on his masters. Seeing that they were all still asleep, Gopher decided that he would make himself more presentable for when his masters woke up. He spent an hour or so exploring the church and found a large bathroom that had a few brushes and combs. After messing around with the sink until the water ran properly again, Gopher washed the dust off of the brushes and combs, washed his hands and face, brushed his hair until it looked perfect (to him) again, and dusted off his clothes until he looked presentable. He then returned to the large sleeping quarters, eager to greet his new masters, but was slightly disappointed to see that they were all still asleep. Gopher sat on his bed for what felt like forever to him. After what must have been a few hours (judging by the amount of sunlight that was visible through the windows), Gopher's stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten anything for the past few days other than an apple. Although he wasn't a human, Gopher's body did still require some form of fuel to operate and eating regular food usually worked just fine for him. He got up and went to the kitchen he'd found earlier, but kept the door to the big bedroom open so he could hear his masters easier should one of them awaken. Gopher searched through every shelf of the pantry, every cupboard in the kitchen, and was even brave enough to check the de-powered refrigerator (needless to say, nothing from that was salvageable). He covered his mouth and nose with the sleeve of one arm while using the hand of the other one to check for expiration dates, mold, or growths on all of the food, throwing everything outdated or inedible into a dumpster he found outside the kitchen window. After he was done disposing of the expired food, Gopher looked at what was left: A few cans of beans, some boxes of pasta and rice, and a large box of dry, unflavored crackers. Gopher opted for the crackers since he didn't feel like digging out any pots to cook something after all the moldy food he'd just seen. Once he had enough food to keep him going for at least a few more hours, Gopher took another good look at the kitchen and realized just how truly DISGUSTING it looked. There was dust, mold, and grime everywhere he looked. He couldn't let his beloved masters eat anything that came out of a kitchen that looked like that, let alone LIVE in a place like that at all! So, after putting the remaining food away and checking to make sure all of the Noah's were still asleep, Gopher rolled up his sleeves and spent the rest of the day cleaning the entire church from top (using his wings to fly up and dust off the rafters and wash the stained glass windows) to bottom (even making sure to clean underneath every bed and dresser in the bedroom; he also made sure to scrub that fridge clean of any life forms that had evolved from the mold). By the time he'd finished messing around with the pipes of every sink and bath tub in the church to make sure the water came out clean, Gopher realized that the sun had set and it was starting to get dark again. While there was still enough light to see, Gopher grabbed a candelabra he'd found and cleaned earlier, lit it using a box of matches he'd found in a drawer, and decided to call it a night. He ate some more crackers before going to bed, slightly troubled by the fact that all of the Noah's were still asleep but too tired to dwell on it as he blew out the candles and fell asleep.
The third day, Gopher once again woke up early, brushed his hair, and made sure he looked presentable. Once again, though, he was disappointed to see that all of the Noah's were STILL asleep. He tried to gently shake them awake, calling out to each one of them as he did. At one point he was even brave enough to get a glass of water and try spilling a little on each of them. Nothing seemed to work, though. After trying several fruitless methods to wake up his masters, Gopher realized that they wouldn't awaken anytime soon. He reasoned with himself that maybe it was because the magic used to create them was fickle and they needed to sleep for so long to build up their energy. Although he knew that wasn't true, since the second Noah had come out of the book fully awake and ready to fight, Gopher didn't want to believe that his masters wouldn't wake up and had his mind set on that being the reason they were still asleep. Gopher didn't despair, though. He would stay with them and look after his masters until they woke up! To kill time as the day dragged on, Gopher spent some more time exploring the church and found a generator and a hot water heater in the basement. While he wasn't the most clever or tech-savvy person in the world, Gopher was gifted with a decent memory and the ability to follow instructions- both of which helped him as he remembered seeing instruction manuals for the generator and hot water heater while he'd been cleaning the previous day. He easily found the books again, along with some tools from one of the storage rooms, and spent most of the day in the basement working on the two machines. By the end of the day he'd managed to get the hot water heater working perfectly again and the generator to the point that all it needed was some gas and it would work just as well. Realizing it was late and he had worked up a sweat by this point, Gopher decided to take advantage of the now working hot water and took a relaxing bath before going to bed that night.
The fourth day, Gopher woke up to the sound of his own stomach growling early in the morning and went straight to the kitchen without brushing his hair first since his masters were still dead asleep and wouldn't see him anyway. He got the box of crackers out of the pantry and sat on one of the counters as he ate. While eating, he noticed that the box was starting to get empty and he'd likely only have enough for one or two more meals if he was careful. Honestly, though, he was getting tired of crackers and tap water and wanted something else to eat. Now that he really thought about it, his masters would probably be hungry too when they finally woke up and beans and rice could only last so long with so many mouths to feed. Also, they would probably want clothes considering that most of them were only wearing pants. There was also still the matter of picking up gas for the generator. Gopher NEEDED to find a town and go shopping. He was worried, though- what if one or more of the Noah's woke up while he was gone? What if they left? Gopher paced back and forth in the kitchen for a while, arguing with himself about if he should go or not while idly eating the crackers out of the box. When his hand reached in to get another cracker and only came up with crumbs, surprising him when he realized he'd eaten all of them so quickly, he knew that he'd have to go. After he brushed his hair and made himself presentable once again Gopher went all over the church to make sure every door and window was locked firmly. Before leaving he quickly wrote out a note and taped it to the door of the bedroom- it read "Dear Noah-samas, I had to go get supplies. I'll be back soon. Please don't leave the church. Love, your loyal servant Gopher~3". With the note in place and all of the exits locked, Gopher could only hope that his masters would be alright until he returned and used his wings to fly up and leave through a very high window that most wouldn't be able to reach with ease. After flying around for a while Gopher spotted a town that was far enough from the church that he wouldn't be followed back but close enough that it wouldn't exhaust him to carry stuff back and forth while flying. He landed just outside of the town so no one would see his wings- he couldn't be too careful, after all, those kids and teachers from Shibusen could still be looking for them. Gopher spent a good amount of time walking around town and peeking into shop windows to get an idea of what was available in this town and how much money he would need to get everything. After he had the approximate amount set in his mind, Gopher got to work on "borrowing" money from people he passed on the sidewalks and roads. This was a skill he'd developed a long time ago while working for the first Noah. When Noah needed something but they didn't want to stand out too much, he'd have Gopher pick pockets and take a few bills here and there until he had enough money to buy whatever he wanted- or he'd just have Gopher pocket the item if it was smaller and easy enough to take. Gopher put these skills to good use as he walked around town and took the money he'd need to pay for everything- plus a bit extra for emergency purchases. After he had the money Gopher relaxed and enjoyed himself while shopping for clothes, deciding to save the food for last so the fresher items wouldn't spoil. He went to several different stores and purchased several outfits and accessories for his masters to wear, stealing the smaller items that he could get away with. He even picked out a couple outfits for himself with the extra money he'd stolen. Whenever his arms got too full, he'd simply slip off into an alleyway and fly up onto the flat roof of a tall building on the edge of town that didn't have easy access and set his purchases down there. After Gopher felt he had enough clothes he bought a few large containers for gas and filled them up at a local station, storing those on the roof too. The last place he went for the day was the grocery store. While shopping, he found a cookbook that was on sale in the store's display window and flipped through it. The recipes weren't bad, so he picked up ingredients for those plus extra produce, snacks, drinks, cleaning chemicals and detergents, lightbulbs, tooth brushes and toothpaste, and everything else he could think that they'd need. By the time he was done shopping he'd spent 80% of the money he had, but at least he'd gotten enough supplies to last them for a couple of weeks. He gathered everything he'd stored up on the roof and used the mouth-like opening on his stomach to carry everything as he flew back to the church. When he returned, he was relieved to see that all six Noah's were safe and sound (though a little disappointed that they were still sleeping). He smiled a little to himself while he put the groceries away, left the new clothes in the laundry room to be washed, and filled the generator with enough gas to get it started. He was proud of himself for getting so much done that day and couldn't wait for his masters to wake up and see what an amazing job he did. Gopher ate some snacks before going to bed that night, eagerly awaiting the next day in hopes that his masters would wake up.
The fifth day, however, only held disappointment for Gopher as his masters were still sleeping peacefully. Starting to feel lonely and a little depressed, Gopher spent the day replacing burnt out and damaged lightbulbs around the church, fixing up anything that looked broken or in need of mending, and washing clothes and blankets, hanging them out to dry, and folding them at the end of the day when they were dry.
Now, on the sixth day, Gopher was sitting under a tree in front of the church, pouting because his masters still weren't waking up no matter what he tried. He hated feeling this lonely and depressed. When he had been depressed before, over the first Noah's death, he didn't have to wallow in despair for long before the second came out of the book…
He sighed and stretched out his arms and legs that had gotten stiff from sitting in place so long. As he brought his arms back down, Gopher heard something rustle and remembered what he had in the compartment on the inside of his vest. He opened the vest and pulled out 7 pieces of paper that he'd had hidden in there so long that he'd almost forgotten they were there. He hadn't forgotten what they were, though: pages from the Book of Eibon. Every now and then, when he worked with the first Noah, he'd find a page that had fallen out and would pick it up, tucking it safely in his pocket. He had hoped that one day Noah would make a comment about missing a few pages from the book- giving Gopher an opportunity to earn some of his beloved master's praise by presenting the pages and saying that he found them on the floor. But Noah had never brought it up, so maybe the pages weren't that important.
Gopher looked the pages over but couldn't really tell what they said since he'd never learned how to read this type of writing. He went to tuck them back into his vest but stopped when he got a good look at his clothes and realized how dirty they'd gotten over the past week. He frowned a bit and smelled his sleeve, immediately recoiling from the foul scent. He certainly couldn't greet his masters (whenever they woke up) wearing something so dirty. With this in mind, Gopher got up and went back inside the church, locking the front door behind him to keep anyone from sneaking inside.
After throwing his dirty clothes into a basket in the laundry room, Gopher walked back to the bedroom, feeling no shame at all walking around naked for anyone to see. It's not like there was anyone else here besides his masters that would see him in this state…and he really wouldn't mind if they did…of course, they were all still asleep when he got to the bedroom, so his dirty thoughts and shameless behavior didn't matter.
Gopher selected something he'd picked out the previous day that he found cute- a long black sleeper tee with a golden flower printed on the front that went down to his thighs and hung off of one shoulder- and happily put it on. The only downside of changing his clothes was that he no longer had a pocket to keep the seven pages in. Not wanting to lose track of them, Gopher decided to tuck them under his pillow before going to bed that night. As he settled into bed, he found some comfort in sliding one hand under the pillow so that his fingers rested on the pages. He fell asleep with a soft sigh. "Noah-sama…"