The Beginning?
The morning of October 9th X995 was unnaturally dark. The sun was completely blotted out of the sky, hidden behind a thick blanket of black clouds. Not a single ray of light was allowed to penetrate through the gaseous cover. The only illumination came from the impossibly bright and near constant flashes of lightning which was accompanied by the loud booming cracks of thunder. Then there was the rain, heavy and unrelenting. Every single drop of water that fell from the heavens felt like acid on the skins of whoever was unfortunate enough to be caught up in it. Those who found themselves caught out in the rain also had to deal with strong violent winds that threatened to shred away skin from bone.
The household of a certain family could not be concerned about the weather outside being more focused on the problem inside. The problem being that the lady of the house had gone into labour. In an of itself that was of no consequence, as the lady had gotten pregnant several times before and had given birth each time without difficulty. However this time was an exception. Since the early hours of the morning till just an hour after noon she had been stuck in labour, with the baby refusing to come no matter how hard she tried.
Every member of the family felt worry and anxiety jolt through their blood each time they heard the deafening wails of exertion coming from the labour room. The servants were no exception to this and had worry etched into the expression on their faces. The midwives were the most distressed of the servants, and it showed on their faces. They had their eyes brows pulled down in puzzlement and fear for their lady, their faces gleamed with sweat and their bodies were fatigued from hours of tireless work. Each one had heavy eyelids and the only thing keeping them from dropping in exhaustion was the pained screams of the woman they were tending to.
The woman in question screamed once more in sheer agony as she struggled to turn from side to side trying to alleviate the pain. The woman who at any other time would have been considered immensely beautiful looked half dead at the moment. She also felt that way too. Her mind was clouded by nothing but pain. She could hardly hear the voices of the midwives telling her to push over the sheer agony she felt, but she followed their commands anyway. It was the only thing that she could do at this moment. She couldn't say nor do anything else. All she could do was squint her eyes tighter and dig her nails deeper into the mattress as another strangled scream was ripped from her throat with the next push.
There was a dark depressing aura all over the house and the terrible weather outside wasn't helping the mood either. Some had started to see it as a bad omen and that only worsened the dread they felt. Evening came and yet the screams had not ceased, and neither had the rain outside, instead it only seemed to have intensified further. While the agonizing wails made everyone who heard it cringe, it at least provided them some comfort knowing that their mistress was still alive.
Finally just before midnight, the rain let up, and the dark clouds disappearing in an instant. At that very moment, the loudest wail yet sounded from throat of the mother-to-be as she gave one final push. Then there was silence. A chilling eerie silence that put everyone even further on edge.
Then the cries of a child was heard bringing sweet relief to everyone. The maidservants were quick to begin preparing dinner for the undoubtedly exhausted woman.
Meanwhile in the bed chambers of the lady herself, the woman's midwives had begun cleaning up. One of them had her baby cradled in a blanket in her arms and was in the process of checking it's gender. The blonde mother watched as the midwives face scrunched up in annoyance and slight loathing.
"What is it Tania...what's wrong?" She asked amidst slight pants, her voice voice weak and somewhat strained from nearly a full day of abuse.
Tania looked up from the child to answer the woman. "It's a boy, Lady Milica."
Milica picked up on the thinly veiled distaste in the woman's tone when she said the child's gender and she watched as a similar grimace appeared on the faces of the other midwives. She understood why they felt that way and she herself felt sadness well up in her heart, but she refused to allow them treat her son that way.
"Give me...my son." She commanded. Her voice leaving no room for argument. Tania seemed reluctant but still gave the child to the woman.
As Milica held her son, she began to look him over, her eyes trailing over his tiny form. He had quieted down a while ago and now had his eyes tightly shut. He had a few locks of sun-kissed golden hair, bright just like her own and for some reason had three horizontal lines going across each cheek. Probably birthmarks. He sported yet another strange almost tattoo like birthmark on his left arm. Said arm also had a noticeable discoloration starting at the elbow and ending at the fingertips.
When she finished looking at his body the boy then opened his eyelids revealing the brightest pair of blue eyes she had ever seen. It was obvious he didn't get them from her, her own eyes being a light grey with a slight greenish tint to them.
He stared at her, seemingly looking her over himself through squinted eyes before reaching up at her face with his tiny arms, and she responded by giving him a gentle smile. She tickled his sides gently and he cooed and babbled happily in response.
The other midwives who were still waiting in the room looked at the scene seemingly conflicted. One of them finally spoke our and moved closer to the woman and her son. "Lady Milica, I don't believe it is wise for you to-"
She was cut off by when a hand was held in front of her face and the steely look in her mistress's eyes. The young woman was instantly silenced and bowed her head to the floor knowing that her lady wasn't interested in anything she had to say.
"Leave us, all of you. Inform the rest of the house that my son has been born. Go now!" She ordered and the women all hurriedly left to do as she wished. As soon as the last one left and the door of the room was shut, the stern look on her face vanished and was replaced by a much softer melancholic expression.
She sat on the mattress alone clutching her son close to her as she allowed him to nurse, her nipple trapped between his lips as he suckled hungrily, blissfully unaware of the danger he was faced with. Unfortunately she was not, for as much as she wished to be just as ignorant, she had suffered too many times to be able to ignore it
Her eyes reflected the great sadness that filled her heart. She was painfully aware of the heartache she would feel and the grief that would tear at her being when he would almost certainly succumb to death as had many others before him. Still she allowed herself to hope that maybe this time would be different. She wasn't convinced that anything would happen any differently this time but she would allow herself hope anyway.
"I promise you my son, that from this moment till the day you eventually draw your last breath. I will always love you." She lowered her lips to place a small kiss on his forehead. "My Alexander."
Blue eyes sparkled open once again.at the promise and a surprising calm settled over the mother as she stared in those blue eyes. Eyes that seemed to convey a promise of their own, a promise that she couldn't understand now, but still reassured her all the same.
HumanxFaction
A young teenage boy lay flat on his back, his face angled up at the sky as he watched the clouds float idly by. His eyes trailed over the blues, whites and slight streaks of orange. His mind lazily interpreting the ever changing art of the sky, the clouds that brought infinite images of beauty. There was something in that feeling of tranquility, at being able to spend a moment like this gazing into the blue, that relaxed him so completely. The warmth of the Japanese climate, the feeling of the blades of grass against him, and the small breeze that ruffled through his golden hair. The calm was incredibly soothing and he could already felt the soft lull of a peaceful sleep and sweet dreams. At this moment he was completely at ease as he always was when outdoors like this.
He had his eyes closed and a peaceful smile on his face. That smile grew larger when the sound of a familiar set of silent footsteps reached his ears, yet he still didn't open his eyes. The teen kept his eyes closed even as whoever was approaching drew nearer. Only when they came to a stop near his head did his eyelids flutter open. Playful blue met stern violet as the blond boy looked into the eyes of the spectacles brunette staring down at him.
The two kept up their staring match, neither saying a word as they held the other's gaze. The blond's smile remained intact and his eyes danced with mirth even as he could feel the slight irritation building up in the black haired girl standing above him. He knew she was going to cave soon.
And cave she did. Her formal, almost tense posture soon mellowed out becoming a bit more relaxed as she let out a small sigh.
"You should really stop skipping class Uzumaki-kun." She said slipping into a sitting position on the small rock beside him. "It is rather unbecoming for a student of Kuoh Academy, and while we're on the subject, your uniform is also unacceptable."
The blond looked towards here with his smile still intact as he answered. "I keep telling you to just call me Naruto, sheesh. As for skipping class, if it's such a bad thing, then why are you out here and not in class, aren't you supposed to be leaving a good example, Kaichou." The blue eyed boy noe named Naruto said, teasingly drawing out the last word.
"I would have been in class but I have last period free and I also noticed that you had decided to skip again as usual and so I was forced to look for you." The girl said, trying and mostly succeeding in keeping her tone calm and even. The blond however just grinned mischievously and his whiskers only added to that effect.
"So you say Souna-chan, but you didn't have to follow me out here, besides it's not like I have any classes right now anyway." He grinned.
"That is incorrect, your class schedule dictates that right now you're supposed to be having a History class." Souna countered strictly, her face and tone still as even as before while the blond stared at her incredulously.
"Do you have my timetable memorized or something?" He asked as he sat up a bit, he had his mouth slightly agape in shock and was even more dumbfounded when she nodded affirmatively.
"Of course I do. As the student council president I have the responsibility of ensuring that none of our students does anything to bring shame upon this reputable school as I've told you many times before. Memorizing the schedules of each student helps in detecting possible truant like yourself." She stated casually though her voice bordered on teasing near the end.
Naruto just shook his head slightly before laying his head back on the ground and returning his gaze back up to the clouds. "Technically I'm not skipping class if there isn't a teacher around to teach it."
Souna raised a brow at that.
"It's true that Yuno-sensei called in sick yes, but the student council already made arrangements for a substitute to handle it."
"Are you talking about Akeno-senpai, there's no way I'm going back into that classroom if she's the one in charge. Why the hell would you choose her as a substitute, she's still a student!" The blond yelled.
"Well, we really didn't have any other options, she is also rather proficient in the subject and as such should have no problems teaching it." The black haired girl listed off to the blond. Besides she was rather eager to volunteer to do it."
"Of course she was." Naruto muttered under his breath. "Either way I'm not going back to class especially with 'Akeno-sensei' there. Like she wasn't terrifying enough as just a senior, now she actually has the power to boss me around for real." The blond grumbled.
"I didn't know you were so frightened by Himejima-san, perhaps I should ask her to ensure that you behave properly. Who knows, she might even be able to get you to wear your uniform properly." The spectacles girl said with a slight smirk.
"Okay, firstly I'm not scared of Akeno-senpai, and secondly I'm not changing my uniform for any reason, and you can't make me." The blond said sticking his tongue out childishly at her to which she responded with an eye roll before he turned somewhat serious. "Hey Souna-chan, aren't you supposed to be in the council office preparing for whatever it is you student councils do."
Souna simply inclined her head in agreement.
"In that case, shouldn't you be over there getting ready to start? What if they come looking for you." The blond asked quirkiness a brow at her as she had done previously.
"W-Well, I already asked Tsubaki to take care of everything and I told her not to disturb us." Souna said with a small stutter.
"Oh so you told them not to disturb us, if I didn't know any better I'd say you planned on skipping class with me, Kaichou." Naruto said playfully as he rolled her title off his tongue the way he usually did when he was teasing, causing the girl to go slightly red in the face. "I don't blame you. class is so boring even the ever dutiful student council president got tired of it. Besides who wouldn't want to spend time with Naruto Uzumaki, I'm awesome."
The student council president couldn't help but roll her eyes at his cockiness. Then her entire demeanour became serious once again which the blond noticed. "Hey Souna-chan what's going on, you've got that look that you have when you're trying to get me to do stuff."
"I was just wondering if you'd ever thought about joining the student council?" The brunette asked. The blond thought about it for all of one second before giving his answer.
"Nope." He stated bluntly.
"And why not?" She asked.
At this Naruto turned to look at her seriously. "I don't really like being made to do stuff, especially not school stuff. Besides isn't the student council like super exclusive and nobody can join it unless they're invited to join it by the president aka you. No offence Souna-chan but if you're the one selecting the members then everybody in it is gonna be like super mega ultra serious bookworms and I don't see myself fitting into a group like that."
"You have the highest grades in the school second only to myself, wouldn't that make you a bookworm as well Naruto-san?" She inquired of the blond.
"Nope, it just means that I'm super smart!" He grinned infectiously causing her to return it with a smile of her own.
"So there's nothing I can do to convince you to join the council?" She asked seemingly giving up on trying to convince him for now at least.
"Nope, not right now at least. I kinda like being free to do whatever I want." He then noticed the dirty look Souna was shooting him and quickly added. "Within the constraints of the school rules of course."
This seemed to successfully appease the short haired girl as she nodded her head in satisfaction.
"I see. I'd just like to ask you one more question Naruto-san."
"Sure thing, go ahead." The blond agreed.
"Do you believe in God?" Souna asked, her eyes seemingly scrutinizing him from behind her glasses.
"Well that's totally not random at all." The blond muttered sarcastically before he stared ahead of him, furrowing his brows as he thought over his answer. "I have reason to acknowledge his existence but as for anything else I don't really have much of an opinion on it. I'm not exactly big on religion."
Sona kept silent for a while longer, thinking over his words for a bit longer before she nodded to herself seemingly coming to a conclusion. 'Not yet.'
A moment of silence passed between them and then came the sound of the bell, signifying the end of the school day, and for some, the start of extracurricular club activities.
"It seems that school is over, I'm sure that you're eager to leave the school and I have some council duties to attend to so I'll be leaving now." Souna said getting up from her seat as the blond did the same.
"Alright, no problem. I'll see you tomorrow Souna-chan." The blond said with a grin as he slung his backpack, which she had somehow failed to notice even though it had been propped up against the rock she'd been sitting on.
"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow Naruto-san." She said with a smile of her own before the two turned to leave in opposite directions, with Naruto heading for the school gate while Souna moved towards the student council office in the main school building.
The bob-cut haired girl made her way into the council office which had only one other occupants for now. It was another girl with long knee length black hair with different colored eyes, the left being violet and the right brown. She also wore light blue rectangular rimmed reading glasses. She is Tsubaki Shinra, the student council vice president of Kuoh Academy.
"Sona, you're back, were you able to convince Uzumaki-kun to join the peerage?" Tsubaki asked her tone somewhat clipped and respectful and her face remained serious as it normally was.
"Not yet Tsubaki, I wasn't able to suggest more than him joining the student council." Souna or rather Sona admitted with a small sigh as she walked towards her desk and sat down while Tsubaki raised a brow in puzzlement.
"Pardon me Sona, but I've never seen you be so hesitant to approach a potential peerage member but you seem to keep holding off on approaching Uzumaki-kun. You've shown interest in recruiting him since he first transferred to this school but you still haven't made any moves to do so."
"That's because I'm not sure what to expect with Naruto-san, he seems different from most humans and there's no telling how he might react to the idea of being reincarnated as one of us." Sona said calmly though her voice betrayed that that wasn't the entire reason, something Tsubaki noticed but decided not to comment on
"It is understandable that you're exercising caution but we can easily wipe his memory if chooses to reject the offer or if he reacts unpleasantly to the idea. So there really is nothing stopping you from approaching him." Tsubaki said. "Besides Rias-sama might also be interested in him and may try to recruit him to her peerage."
"Rias doesn't look for the kind of potential I look for when scouting for peerage members. She favors direct combat and her peerage choices are primarily heavy hitters or sacred gear wielders. Naruto-san hasn't demonstrated himself to be either of the above so it is unlikely that Rias would be scouting him out." Sona argued. "And if she isn't, then that gives me time to properly plan on getting him to join my peerage."
"There is still something I don't understand, Uzumaki-kun doesn't seem to have any extraordinary abilities, his physical strength and physique, while reasonably above average don't seem too extraordinary. And we've already confirmed that he doesn't have a sacred gear or magical reserves. For all intents and purposes he seems to be a normal human and it would be wasteful to try to recruit him but you still want to do it anyway, why?" The long haired girl asked.
Sona turned in her chair to stare out the window at the blond boy in question who had just gotten on his motorcycle and was now riding away from the school.
"To be honest I'm not really sure myself. All the evidence shows that he really is nothing but a normal human, and yet he is still able to rival my intellect even though he skips most, if not all his classes. That alone makes me think that there might be more to him than meets the eye."