Hello again everyone, sorry for this coming so late, unfortunately my laptop decided to go out on me, along with most of my story stuff. Fear not though, I am recreating it as best I can. So, I hope you all enjoyed last chapter, and now we will start moving to more plot territory, so without further ado, let's get this show on the road!

Review Responses

Kyuubi's Death: Wow, that actually means a lot to me, since I can't reread a story unless there is a couple months for me to forget the important parts. So thanks a lot man/woman, seriously. Anyway glad you like the story so far, here is the next chapter.

Ford1114: Yeah, I did take some of the elements of his training from "Guilty Melody", hope the author doesn't mind. Yeah, I plan on Gai being a little different in this story, not just his name.

NoImagination: I'm glad you are still enjoying it, glad you liked the Shuichiro and Yu portion, that was the first one I thought up and there were probably around 3-4 different versions of it. If you all would like I could put the alternate versions of some of the scenes as little Omakes. Anyway, glad to see you still reading!

Td03: Glad to see another person join the fandom! Even more glad to hear that you enjoyed my works as well. Over the next few chapters we will start to focus more and more on Shu as we get into the events of the show, although that doesn't mean everyone else will be idle. Thanks for the compliment, I figured since Inori could control the virus through her singing, and Mana through her dancing, Shu should have something similar, yet all his own.

Carottal: Thank you very much for your compliments! I am glad you enjoyed reading what I have put down so far, and the fact that you enjoy the parts where I wrote about Mana, which I personally thought of as my weakest parts, is very confidence boosting! Now I don't want to spoil anything, but I will try and use as many characters as I can.

Kingdom Hearts Slayer: Thank you, I plan on doing so!

Shuulier: I guess you will just have to read further to find out!

Flopsy Rabbit: Thank you very much!

Da'ath HQ, Tel Aviv Israel, July 15, 2039

Shu mused that he should be celebrating today, after all, it's not every day you turn seventeen. However the mere thought of such a thing left a bitter taste in his mouth, as far as he was concerned he had no family besides the elusive Eve, whose existence even he was beginning to doubt, and no friends to speak of. Oh he could order the members of the organization to throw him a party and shower him with gifts, and they would be more than happy to do so, but it wouldn't feel the same. It wouldn't feel like the birthday's he spent with his family before all of this, his father making time no matter what to visit, Mana's homemade cakes which got better every year, and then eventually Haruka's decorations , and Gai's onetime event of making him breakfast in bed.

Memories of such times almost made him smile before he remembered how insufferably human they also were. How his father seemed to spend as much time away from him as possible as if Shu's very presence hurt him, how Mana would cry whenever she thought he wasn't near once even cursing his very existence for taking her mother away. Haruka overzealously decorating as if she was trying to buy their approval, and Gai spending most of the day talking to Mana and only making polite conversation with the birthday boy.

This might not be the actual events of those days, somewhere deep inside Shu he realized this, however in his current mindset this was the way it appeared to him. So deep had his hatred for humanity run it began to bleed into his memories, only further rationalizing the hatred. If you asked Shu what his main problems with the Human race were, you would need to pull up a chair and perhaps a snack for the lecture you had cosigned yourself for. To surmise, he would point out man's obsession for war, seemingly finding any excuse possible despite claiming to love peace. He would call man out on his hypocrisy, their wanting to help the unfortunate yet only make cursory efforts.

Where we find Shu now is making his way back from the training room, sweet falling from his brow as he greedily drank from a water bottle. Yu was not kidding all those years ago, ever since he discovered his true potential he spent five hours every other day in that room, testing his limits and then pushing said limits. It seemed that his most basic ability was to shape the crystals into any humanoid shape he chose, though the western knight seemed to be the easiest, and give them a set of preset movements. The only drawback was that the entities themselves had no intelligence to speak of, they performed the movements in the order they were given and then stopped, thus Yu had him try and anticipate what an opponent would do and give the entities correct actions. As it was now Shu much preferred to act like a puppeteer, staying out of sight and giving his soldiers, Knights as Yu called them, orders in real time.

As he was about to enter his room he heard hurried footsteps approaching, realizing the only reason anyone would be in this section of the building would be for him, Shu turned and stared at the person coming closer. When the soldier got close he dropped to his knee in subservience, keeping his head bowed he said "My Lord, Master Yu has requested your presence in the meeting room as soon as you are dressed. He says this concerns the search for the Lady Eve."

Giving an unseen nod he dismissed the man and entered his room, deciding that Yu would simply become like an impatient child if he waited too long Shu began to change into his more formal clothes, realizing that if it concerned Eve Yu would probably call the other heads. As he took off his shirt his eyes were drawn to his right arm, where it had once been completely eclipsed by the crystal, forcing him to wear long sleeves and gloves when searching for Eve, it now looked no different than a regular humans. Shortly after fully realizing his powers he found he was able to control his bodily crystals even better, while he wasn't able to completely remove it, he was able to move the crystals to his wrist, where they hung like a bracelet on his slim frame.

As he was about to step out he glanced at his frame in the mirror, admiring the craftsmanship on his clothes. He wore simple black dress pants which comfortably hugged his hips, above that was a fancier purple button up shirt, and on his back, against his wishes, was a red cape that partially covered his arms, and the symbol on the center of it was a double helix. When he asked Yu why this particular symbol was chosen he simply responded that DNA was what fueled the change of evolution, similar to Shu himself.

Deciding to end his self-admiration he set off down the hallway, no longer even noticing the various soldiers, scientists, and assorted others that bowed as he passed, simply viewing them as corrupted humans despite their devotion to him. As he entered the meeting room he saw that he was correct in assuming the heads would be here. As he stepped toward his seat his eyes ran over each head, starting with the Head of the Treasury. The man had a kind and friendly face, looking to be more of a jolly grandparent than the one of the highest ranking members of an ancient secret society, he had been very kind to the young King, despite the latter's standoffishness . Shu gave a small nod as he passed, getting a large smile and a "Good day, my Lord." from the man.

The next head he passed was the Head of Influence, who might as well have been the exact opposite, apparently having been the brother to the old head of research, he had been hoping for Shu to show mercy to the deranged man. After hearing about Shu's callous execution he began to do all he could, short of actual treason, to cause Shu misery. Whether it be 'forgetting' to book a hotel on a few of Shu's outings, or buying a ticket for the wrong plane. This man might as well have been the epitome of all he hated about humanity, holding a petty grudge for no reason than his so called 'honor'. As Shu passed the man just gave a quiet "My Lord." before turning away.

The final head he passed was the Head of Security, a large brutish man who Shu had never been able to get a good read on. The man had barely said a full sentence to Shu, merely saying when they first met that he expected his King to be someone "A little less scrawny." Other than that the two never interacted at all, he got a simple bowed head from the man as he walked past.

Sitting at the head of the table, though quickly vacating his seat when Shu approached, was Shu's mentor, his guide, and ever since he became what he is now, the closest thing he had to a father. Yu looked almost exactly the same as he had when he had first greeted the young King as he awoke from his coma, making Shu internally wonder how the surely older man was able to do such a thing. As Shu took the seat offered to him and Yu took his position at the Kings shoulder, all eyes turned to the enigmatic blonde wondering what the purpose of the meeting was.

Sensing it was time to begin Yu took a deep breath and began speaking in the slightly condescending tone he used with those under him "Now, I am sure you are all curious as to why I have called you here. The reason behind this being, we are running out of time to find Eve."

At these words the heads looked off put and at the same time curious, before the Head of the Treasury speaking up, saying "But Master Yu, I had thought that as long as Lord Adam kept breathing we had all the time in the world to find Lady Eve. And as the Lazarus project is nearing completion we need never fear losing Lord Adam, or am I mistaken?" Although the older man kept a respectful tone as he spoke, there was an undercurrent of mistrust, of his belief that Yu had kept vital information from the various heads.

Frowning slightly Yu responded, quite bitingly, "No, you are correct. However despite the best efforts of our forces to ensure otherwise, it seems the humans are close to creating a true cure for the Apocalypse virus. If the virus is eradicated and the population made immune to it, then Adam will be unable to perform his purpose in life."

At this the Heads seemed to explode in anger, even the head of influence became enraged that anyone would dare try and stop their organizations noble work, fueling the engine of change that mankind needed to prevent stagnation. Finally the Head of Security spoke up, his deep, monotone voice containing the slightest tint of anger as he inquired "Who seems to be heading the progress on the cure?"

Yu seemed to hesitate before answering, as it was well known that the security department had been asked to make more troublesome and obstructive people "disappear" when ordered to, and the death of an important scientist working to the cure of the most hated virus since Smallpox would surely be looked into. Deciding the man would find out on his own anyway Yu slowly replied "The researcher who seems to be making the most head way is…one Mana Ouma, daughter to the scientist who discovered the virus Kurosu Ouma."

After hearing who was undoing the work set up for himself, Shu felt himself stiffen in shock before slowly relaxing in his chair, lowering his head to allow his hair to cover his eyes. He shouldn't be surprised to find out his estranged sister was the one at the forefront against him, even if she didn't know it, she likely felt responsible for the outbreak of the virus, a part of him railed that she should feel that way-that she deserved it , and was now attempting to redeem herself. From beneath the shadows on his face a maniacal grin spread, his thoughts gleefully saying, practically cheering, 'Well my dear sister, you may try and stop progress, but I assure you, you won't get far. After all…the charge for going against the King is treason, isn't it?'

Shu was broken from his almost trance like state by Yu, after apparently calming the Heads down, saying "Now, as our time runs short, we must begin to look for Eve in the one area we have so far avoided. Therefore, I have gotten Adam a ticket on a cargo plane headed for Japan, it is set to leave tonight. Adam, you will be staying with Shuichiro Keido, posing as his adoptive amnesiac son. Which leads me to our next point, Shuichiro will be taking the empty position of Head of Research, though he will be operating in Japan he will still join our conferences through phone calls, and constant reports."

The Head of Influence seemed to be uncomfortable with this fact, obviously still grieving his treasonous brother, but kept his mouth shut out of fear of Yu's retaliation. As no more points of contention were brought up, the meeting was adjourned and Shu returned to his room. Laying down on his bed he allowed his body to rest while his brain went wild with the possibilities of his homecoming, would Mana recognize him? Was she still with Triton? And finally, how would his Japanese hold up after years of not using it? Sure he still studied it but he was very rusty, more accustomed to speaking English, Hebrew, and Arabic, which were needed for his current residence. Deciding he would deal with this problem as it showed itself, Shu decided to get some sleep in now, in order to lessen the effects of the jetlag he was sure he would soon be feeling.

Ruppongi District, Minato Tokyo Japan, July 15

Gai sighed as he stared at the plans laid out on the table in front of him, going over any last minute corrections he thought might be necessary. He had to make sure everything was perfect, he had been building his forces and now with the new intel he had gained he was forced to reveal his hand. He had about one hundred to one hundred and fifty ground troops ready and trained, he had even been able to get a Jumeau Endlave from a black market dealer. While not as advanced as the Gautier that the GHQ had access to, it would be enough to help with the initial punch through, and then hold off any reinforcements that came. 'Besides,' he mused as he gathered his material and began to walk to the meeting room, 'The pilot we've been training seems to be a natural, hopefully she can keep the GHQ off our backs while we take the objective.'

As Gai entered the room, he was greeted by the sight of fourteen people eagerly waiting for their leader, these were the twelve he had chosen to lead the various squads for this mission, as well as the Endlave pilot Ayase Shinomina, and the technical adept of their group Tsugumi. Standing at the desk in the front of the group Gai took no time and began detailing the mission, "Alright, now then you all know what we are doing, so I'll skip the pleasantries. We are going to be attacking one of the GHQ's subsidiary bases, they have reportedly been doing human experimentation and we plan to stop them."

He paused when a young man with black hair on his sides and blonde hair on the top raised his hand, after Gai nodded to him the young man said "So, what's our objective for this mission, I don't imagine reckless destruction is going to win us any points with the public."

Gai nodded and said "That's right, while we will try and free as many of the people being experimented on, our primary objective is a pod at the center , supposedly it is part of a plan GHQ has in store. No matter what it is, we cannot allow them to keep it, the more their plans are pushed back, the more time we have to expel them from our nation." Gesturing to the papers on the desk Gai began to explain "First, We will have Squads Five through Ten move in on the right side of the building, drawing as many of the GHQ soldiers as they can before retreating into the sewers to make their escape. While they escape, Squads Eleven, Twelve, and One through four along with Ayase controlling the Endlave will attack the opposite side, after Ayase opens a hole into the building she and Squads Eleven and Twelve will hold off any reinforcements from the outside. Meanwhile each of the remaining Squads will go to their respective sectors and free as many patients as they can, with Squad One following me to the primary objective."

Taking a pause and pointing at another GHQ station he continued "We will have to act quickly though, if the main forces from this station manage to make their way to the sub base, we won't be able to break through the encirclement they put up, we will have Tsugumi disrupting their communications as much as we can, but we will have to act as if they start to reinforce immediately. Everyone understand?"

Getting nods and mutters of confirmation from the various leaders Gai cast a sympathetic look at them before saying in a soft voice "I understand that you are nervous about going through with this, if our overall goal of freeing Japan isn't completed we will be counted as terrorists by the entire world. Few, if any, of you have combat experience, and I won't lie to you, even in my best predictions we lose around thirty percent of everyone we bring. I want you all to listen to my words, and pass them on to those under you, if you are not ready for this, ready to give your lives, then back out now."

Ignoring the shocked looks on his audiences faces he continued "If you have not made your peace, and cannot face death with a smile on your face then you will only endanger others if you go with us. I won't look at you any differently if you decide to stay, that is your choice and I will respect it. The reason I ask you to be ready, is that we represent progress, and progress has a toll, and that toll is death. Death of the innocent, death of the ready, and death of the unknowing. I will not ask you to give your lives without reason however, but if you wish to go along with this, then I ask you this…"

Here he gained a hardened conviction in his eyes, each member of his audience felt captivated by this as he finished "Give me your lives, I cannot promise that I will be able to return them, but know that I will cherish them and see to it that if they are given up, that it is in order to return our country to its rightful owners, the people, not these tyrants." Giving each person in the room a nod personally, Gai said as he walked out of the room "I want to have a list of all squad members that do not wish to participate in my room by Eighteen hundred hours, I will put them as assistants in the med bays."

Later, as Gai himself was preparing for the upcoming battle, the lists were turned into him and what he saw made him smile with pride, and at the same time hope that what he was doing was the right thing, that he didn't involve these people solely for his own personal vendetta.

On each of the lists was a blank piece of paper.

GHQ Setagaya Subsidiary Base, Setagaya Tokyo Japan, Two A.M. July 16

Shu gratefully took a sip of the hot tea placed in front of him, savoring the warmth and the caffeine as it flowed down his throat. Immediately after getting off the plan Shu was told he would not be allowed to go straight to Shuichiro's home and get some much needed rest, instead he would be meeting the man himself despite the ungodly hour. Heaving a tired sigh he rested his cheek on his right hand, idly musing if he could get some rest before his new guardian would arrive.

However before he could even attempt such a thing he heard the door open and turned his attention to the man walking inside. He was on the taller side, easily dwarfing Shu himself, his light brown hair was beginning to grey, as shown by the streak of it at the top of his head. Other than the bushy moustache on his face there was nothing particularly extraordinary about the man, he was dressed similarly to many of the scientists at this base. Shu's inspection of the man was ended by Shuichiro sitting at his desk and saying "I apologize for the delay Adam, it seems some of the locals have taken to trying and oust us with force. Rest assured, they are being taken care of as we speak."

Deciding to have some fun with this human, Shu drew an innocent look on his face and had a large smile as he replied "Oh it's quite alright, unforeseen circumstances are impossible to prevent. Is that not correct, Father?"

Shu was internally cackling as the uncomfortable look passed over the older man's face, although he was curious why he also had a pained look on his face at the same time. Shuichiro adjusted his collar and said "Well, un, that is right. And may I ask why you are so formal when speaking Adam? I was under the impression that you grew up here in Japan, I would have thought you would speak more casually in your native tongue."

Shu merely kept his smile and said "While that is true, it has been many years since I have spoken my native language. As such I am a bit rusty, I believe I will become more casual the longer I speak, which if we find Eve quickly I will not have to do."

As Shuichiro was about to respond the building was rocked by a far off action, causing both of the rooms occupants to almost fall out of their chairs. As soon as the rocking was calmed down Shuichiro grabbed a walkie-talkie and began to bark questions on the situation, the only response that was given by a guard with a shaky voice broke the silence in the room. "Sir, I'm sorry, it looks like when the reserves went to go chase the terrorists from before, another group hit the left side of the building. It looks like they made a hole to get in and the-"

The man's voice suddenly cut out with the bark of gunfire, a strangled scream being the last sound in the room, echoing in its occupants minds. As Shuichiro was about to instruct the King to go and get to safety, he noticed with surprise that Adam's seat was empty, and the door which was previously closed was now wide open. Cursing his inattentiveness Shuichiro scrambled for the door, hoping to find the King before he got into too much trouble.

GHQ Setagaya Subsidiary Base, Setagaya Tokyo Japan, Simultaneously

Gai gave a grimace of self-loathing as he shot the unsuspecting guard, knowing the man was simply doing his job, before repressing such feelings and deciding to deal with them later. Giving the all clear signal, he joined with Squad One as they methodically moved through the halls of the building, callously and mercilessly taking care of any guards that were unfortunate enough to amble into their path.

The group only slowed down when they reached a large vault like door, Gai put one finger to his ear and spoke "Tsugumi, we need this door open, ASAP. How are the other squads doing?"

Tsugumi, sitting safe in the mobile base along with Ayase's body, said "I'll see what I can do Gai, but it might take a bit. Squad two says that they are about thirty percent done with their mission, apparently there weren't too many guards on their end. Squad three is still cleaning up their section, sounds like the guards were waiting for them, and squad Four is going to help out squad three, turns out there weren't very many to save on their end."

Gai gave a nod of understanding at the last comment, muttering curses at the scientists who allowed this to happen without saying a word. He was pulled out of his cursing by the large doors creaking open, signaling everyone to get into position he pulled out his own gun and aimed at the slowly widening gap in the door.

As the door completely opened Gai was dumbstruck to find that the room was completely empty of people, pondering if they had all abandoned the room when they heard about an attack, or if the group responsible for this area wasn't here to begin with. Throwing such superfluous thoughts from his mind, Gai told the Squad to take defensive positions around the room, while he personally approached the cylindrical pod in the center of the room. Once he was close enough he was able to see the pods contents, it seemed to be filled with a silvery liquid, and in the center was a sight that caused him to rear back in shock.

Floating in the liquid with an oxygen mask over her mouth, was a young woman only a couple years his junior, she seemed to have pink hair that lightened to pure white at her roots. Keeping his eyes above her neck out of decency, Gai could only wonder how this woman looked like a younger version of his one-time companion Mana Ouma. Throwing such thoughts from his mind he began to search the console next to the pod for a release, after eventually finding it Gai was able to release the young woman, throw his coat over her, and hand her to one of his, female, subordinates.

With the objective in hand his squad began to make their way back to the entrance, when Tsugumi's panic filled voice blared in his ears "Gai! Finally, there must be a jammer or something in their, I've been trying to contact you for the last ten minutes! There's some kind of monster at Squad Threes objective, last I heard he was slaughtering them like cattle. Listen to this!"

Later, Gai would count what he heard on a level close to what he experienced as a child soldier in Africa. It was the panic filled voice of the leader of Squad Three, a middle aged man who joined after learning of his wife's death at the hands of GHQ soldiers. He said "If anyone can hear me, please send help now! This kid, if he even is human is tearing us apart, watch out for the soldiers, they are the real threat, it's like he's orchestrating the-"

The man's voice was cut off along with the sound of a blade entering flesh and shattering bone as it moved as an unstoppable force. Suddenly Gai heard a young voice saying, although muffled by the distance he was from the receiver, "Tch, typical human, try and save your skin by hiding amongst the corpses of the fallen, disgusting. Come along you fools, there's bound to be more trash guarding the entrance they made." The sound of footsteps faded until there was no sound other than silence and the recording ended.

Gai grit his teeth in anger as he went over the mysterious man's words, calling his comrades such insults, his blood was practically boiling. Seeing the squad he was with having either the same expression or one of horror only propelled him further, they were now practically sprinting through the corridor. As they reached their newly added entrance they saw a scene that could have been straight from a war.

Gai's soldiers, or those who remained, were in a close knit semicircle, with their backside being protected by the Endlave they had brought with them for the mission, now seemingly destroyed with a piece of debris stuck in its lower back. They were furiously fending off their hellish attackers with whatever arms they had left, some still depressing their triggers despite having run out of ammo.

Their attackers seemed to truly be otherworldly, instead of flesh or armor they seemed to be completely covered in crystals, even the weapons they wielded were made of the same substance. There were only three of them but that seemed to be more than enough, the one in the front seemed to wield a short sword and a European medieval shield. The next one was much larger than the other two, standing a good head taller and appearing to be much more bulky, in its hands it held a large war hammer, a large spike protruding from the opposite end, this being seemed to keep to the left of the first one, waiting for its chance. The final one was similarly built to the first, yet carried a large two handed sword that it would use to cow any who seemed like they would try and run.

Standing far off and to the side of this carnage was what appeared to be a young man wearing a cloak with the hood covering his face. He was moving his arms in intricate and precise motions, and the beasts seemed to be responding to his movements. Deciding to try and cut off the head, Gai brought up his rifle and began to fire at the young man, but was surprised when the shield touting beast dived and took the shots for the young man, who took this opportunity to run into the GHQ building.

Without the young man to control them, the beasts simply shattered into multiple pieces, allowing Gai and his men to escape before the reinforcements arrived, but not before creating the legend of "Death's Maestro". As he ran, Gai began to wonder what he would do with the young lady they had saved, and only one person came to mind who would know.

Authors note: First off, how is everyone doing? Good I hope. Secondly… I AM SO SORRY! I honestly did not mean for there to be such a large period before I got this chapter out. However I had a performance to do, then I got caught up in Tokyo Ghoul, and am now starting two, possibly three, more stories lead to this chapter coming out much later than I wanted. Well, that's all I have for now.

As always, stay classy internet.