Chapter 4: A Brand New World
(OST: "The One Who Is Torn Apart" = Xenogears Soundtrack )
All Akira could see was red. Nothing but an endless dimension of red all around him. Then a burning house appeared in front of him.
"This…..This is where….." spoke Akira, immediately recognizing it.
"You shoudn't underestimate me! I've got a knife, and i know how to use it!" came a familiar, brash, feminine voice. Then a young girl with short brown hair and eyes, an hairbrand, wearing a jumper over a collared shirt and wielding a knife on her left hand appeared. She was surrounded by many men of all ages, wielding katanas, axes, knives and all sorts of other weapons. Said men had a deranged expression on their faces, a mix of insanity, sadism and bloodlust.
"M-Miki?! RUN! IT'S DANGEROUS!" screamed Akira, immediately recognizing the love of his life. He then ran in an attempt to save his girlfriend, only for dark, unknown forces to pin him down by the legs, causing him to tumble on the ground. He could only watch in hopelessness as one of those men, slashed Miki on the back with a katana, a fountain of blood gushing out of the wound on her back, causing her to scream in anguish.
"MIKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Cried Akira out, utterly devastated. He then saw many men, gang up on her, stabbing her body, until her cries, muffled by blood, stopped coming, and her body went limp. Then one of those maniacs, cut off her head with a sword and sticked it up on a stake, lifting it up for all the mob to see.
Tears started to fall uncontrollably on Akira's face as he watched all those men, laugh, rejoice and swing their weapons in the air as the stake with Miki's head impaled on it was waved left and right.
"WE GOT THAT WITCH!"
"DAMN RIGHT WE HAVE!
"SERVES YA RIGHT, YOU FUCKIN' DEMON!"
Shouted countless voices from the mob, every single person of it laughing maniacally, with a look of pure insanity, sadism and cruelty on their faces as they stared at Miki's impaled head. The worst of humanity, was in plain sight, before Akira's own eyes. Monsters, all of them, just like all the demons he had fought up until then.
Akira let out a cry of pain and despair, clutching his head with his hands and then assumed his demon form. With a look of pure fury, grief and outrage he spoke "You… You are the true demons." He then charged towards the entire mob while roaring "GO TO HELL! YOU DAMN MORTAAAALLLSSSS!
And then all faded to black.
(Soundtrack Ends)
Akira woke up with a scream, nervously sweating and panting heavily, once again experiencing the events of that night 20 years ago. Of how the line between humans and demons fell once and for all. Of how it finally became clear, that monsters were omni-present. No matter the species, no matter how many kind, altruistic individuals existed, there would always have been those who, not caring for anything but themselves, would do everything to get what they want or to please themselves, no matter how many crimes, cruelties and suffering they would cause. And the good-hearted would always pay for it.
But then a familiar, soft voice spoke "Akira? Are you alright?" pulling him out of his thoughts and calming him down. Then his gaze meet a familiar pair of yellow slit-pupilled eyes.
"T….. Takae?" spoke Akira, recognizing the girl sitting in front of him, who responded with a soft smile. Then Akira took a look at his surroundings and found out that he was sitting on a bed, in a room. He quickly deduced that he was in a house and then spoke "I'm fine. Just a nightmare. Is this….."
"Yes, Akira. This is our apartment. It's not much, but i hope you slept well. By the way, how's your wound doing?" said Takae, with a caring tone while gesturing first at her house, then at his wound.
Akira in response, took a good look at the scar on his side, then touched it. After letting out a slight grunt of pain he said "Still hurts like hell. Odd, i usually heal up rather quickly from those wounds." Said wound made him realize something. His powers had weakened. That demon from last night shoudn't have caused him too much trouble. Hell, he had clashed with the son of God just 2 days ago, a being so powerful, that it was capable of destroying entire planets. Such a creature should have been nothing in comparison. Yet, not only had Zuboo forced his hand, he had inflicted a big wound on his side. A wound that knocked him unconscious.
Then he remembered.
"Takae…. Last night…." He began, with a worried tone.
He was interrupted by Takae's voice "Thank you. If you hadn't come at the last minute, Takeshi would have been killed. We thought that taking you in our house, tender to your injury, and letting you rest on a nice bed, was the least we could do." she spoke, her voice full of gratitude and happiness towards the young man that had saved her and her boyfriend from that demon.
"You….. you're welcome. I guess i should also thank you for sheltering me, a guy that you never knew until yesterday. Very few people i knew would do that." replied Akira, visibly touched by the kindness and the gratitude of the demonic couple.
"No one has ever done what you did for us. Not since we became what we are." said Takae, her voice taking a somber tone.
Upon noticing her tone and after taking a look at her horns, Akira spoke "Takae. Are you too, you know…." while pointing at her horns.
"It's complicated. How about we discuss this over breakfast?" replied Takae, her voice regaining its cheerfulness.
"Breakfast? But who's…." before he could finish, a familiar voice shouted "Breakfast's ready!" then Takeshi entered the room and saw that Akira was awake "Oh… Akira! You're awake. How are you feeling?" asked Takeshi with a worried tone.
"I've been worse. Thank you for taking me in. Haven't slept on a nice bed for a long time." replied Akira with a reassuring smile.
"Don't sweat it. It was the least we could do. I'd be toad food it it wasn't for you." he said, looking away in shame.
"Hey, everything alright?" asked Akira, noticing Takeshi's shame on his face. The young devil beast replied "Some boyfriend i am, eh? A beast i am, yet it only takes a few punches and i go down like a sack of potatoes. How can i protect those i love if i-"
He was interrupted by Akira, who placed a hand on his shoulder, recognizing a lot of himself in Takeshi "It's alright. What matters is that you tried. You stood up for her, that is more than enough to prove just how much you care about her." he said. He then continued "Before i became what i am i could never stand up for myself, always relied on others to do that. Crying was all i was good at. In fact i used to cry so much that people back at school nicknamed me "Fire Alarm"." said nickname caused Takae and Takeshi to giggle a little. "But you must always fight for what you believe in, to protect those you love." concluded Akira, with the slightest hint of sadness in his voice.
At that moment Takae and Takeshi realized from the look on his face, that he was just like them. He had definetely been through a lot, ever since he became…. Different. There was no mistaking it. That sadness in his eyes meant that he had, most-likely lost people he cared about, if not watched them die before him.
"Akira…. Thank you. You have no idea just how much that means to me. If something ever happened to Takae, i would never forgive myself." spoke Takeshi, his spirit now fully restored. Then Takae came at his side and said "You have nothing to prove to me, Tak. Ever since you defended me from those goons of the Human Alliance and bailed us out from the concentration camp, i've never doubted you."
Then the two exchanged a look of happiness at each other, causing Akira's heart to warm up. He could clearly see that between them there was nothing but pure, untainted love. He recalled the good memories of the time he spent with Miki, of how love slowly blossomed between the two of them.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Takeshi "But enough about that. I'm pretty sure you have much to talk about, right Akira?" he said. "Yep. Of course, if you don't mind." he replied.
"Well, then what are we waiting for? Diner room's right there." pointed Takae, before continuing "But before that….." she then picked up a couple of clothes "Here, take these. I thought, you would need them since, well… the last pair got ripped to shreds." she said with sarcasm, while handing Akira a blue shirt with long sleeves and a pair of black pants.
As Akira was putting on his clothes, Takeshi asked "You know, ever since we've met i've wondered about one thing. If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?" After pondering for a couple of seconds, Akira replied "Would you believe me if i were to tell you…. That i'm not from this world?"
Said reply earned a look of perplexity on the young couple's faces. Any normal person would have dismissed what Akira said, as silly. But given what Takae and Takeshi were, all the crap they went through and all the things they saw, the idea of someone coming from a different world or universe didn't seem that far-fetched.
"Yep, this is gonna take a while…." Said Akira with a sigh.
A couple of minutes later
"So lemme get this straight: your best friend was the son of God in disguise as a human, who rebelled against his father to protect the demons, hid himself and the demons for millions of years, came back from his hibernation and decided to exterminate humanity, because he thought they had stolen the Earth from the demons?" Spoke Takeshi, after taking in all that Akira said, while the latter was in the process of eating scrambled eggs, sausages and various other things, Takeshi made.
"Pretty much." he replied. He was honestly surprised ad just how well Takeshi took all of that in.
"So you are a demon?" Asked Takae with interest apparent in her voice to which Akira replied "Actually i'm half-demon. I fused with a powerful demon named Amon, who tried to possess me while i was at a party at a friend's house. Normally when a demon possesses a human, it erases the consciousness of a person and then takes over its body." he explained, gaining a frightened look on Takae and Takeshi's faces.
"Damn…. It sounds horrible." said the young girl with shock in her voice.
"It's just like what happens when people become beasts." concluded Takeshi,
"Beasts?" questioned Akira, with a raised eyebrow, to which Takeshi answered "In this world, when undergoing a specific psycologic or physical event, some humans can become demon-like creatures through the activation of a specific genetic factor in the DNA, the Beast Factor. Those creatures are called Devil-Beasts. In becoming Beasts, most of them lose their humanity, replaced by a vicious instinct to feed and survive, reducing them to nothing more than wild animals. Others, retain their sentience but develop a superiority complex, viewing themselves as superior life-forms."
Akira, despite mainting a stoic face, was utterly petrified inside at the reveal. He had fought all kinds of grotesque, sadistic and vicious demons. He had seen the worst of humanity with his own eyes. But humans evolving into demons through the activation of a genetic factor? And some of them being horrible, immoral persons and retaining their consciousness after becoming monsters? He shuddered at the mere thought.
"But a select few, like me and Takae, preserve their humanity even after what we have become. We are referred to as Devilmen." concluded Takeshi. Then it all made sense to Akira.
"I see. It's just like what happened to me. If a person is pure of heart or has an indomitable will, they can resist the temptations of the demons, and so they take control of a demon's powers and appearance, even accessing all the memories of said demon. That is what a Devilman is, at least from where i came from." spoke Akira, finally realizing that Takae and Takeshi were just like him.
The young demonic couple stared at the half-demon with wide eyes, realizing the same. Then Takae spoke, astonished "You….. you are just like us."
Takeshi, then added "You must have been through a lot. Must have been hard ever since you became a devilman."
Akira, briefly beaming up, replied "You know, at first it wasn't all that bad. Well, except for all those demons i had to fight against. I got myself a killer-body, became more daring, brave and brooding, taught some bullies a lesson….." he then eyed Takeshi, put a hand perpendiculary to his mouth and whispered to him "banged my girlfriend." with a devious smile, causing Takeshi to chuckle a bit. But unfortunately…
"I HEARD THAT!" then Takeshi was smacked on the back of his head by Takae's fist, causing his face to slam on the table. "Wh-why did….. you hit me…" said Takeshi weakly, seeing stars all around him and with a bump on his head.
"Just because i'm still not an adult yet, doesn't mean i'm not allowed to hear such things!" replied Takae with a blush, veins popping above one of her eyes, eyebrows twitching, and with her fist still held up.
Akira sweat-dropped. He had forgotten that, among other things, being a Devilman, drastically increased your hearing. Regaining his composure, he spoke "Anyway. I had a good time for a while. But then…" he paused as his voice became filled with sadness and his face took a stern, grim look "…. It all went to hell."
He then recounted of how humanity went on a rampage on each other as soon as the existence of demons was revealed to the entire world, the 20 year war between demons and devilmen and the extinction of both races. He chose to omit Miki's fate though. He still wasn't ready to talk about it. It brought back way too much pain and despair.
Takeshi and Takae could only listen in shock and downheartness at how Akira's world ended. Of how humans brought their end on themselves, of how two entire races were annihilated. They shuddered at the thought that what happened on Akira's world almost happened to their own.
"It all culminated in that final battle on what used to be China. We fought until the end, until nobody but me and Satan, or rather, my former friend, Ryo, remained. But in the end…" Akira stopped, sadness present in every corner of his face, his lips trembling as he recalled those final moments "I lost. I never stood a chance against him. He tore me apart with about as much effort as you would peel off an orange." he said, his hand starting to shake, on the verge of tears.
But then Takae, noticing Akira's distress, laid her hand on Akira's own and said "It's alright. You don't need to say more if it pains you." with reassuring eyes.
Akira then spoke "And yet, after that, he laid alongside me. What remained of my best friend revealed to me why he rebelled against God. He rebelled against his father to defend the demons from him, who wanted to exterminate them because he thought of them as nothing more than mindless beasts. Only in those years of war, he realized that what he did to humanity, was the same as how God treated the demons. Ironic isn'it? His plan went perfectly, except for one thing: me. He fell in love with me. And yet….. it wasn't enough….. to avoid this tragedy…" finished Akira, with a single tear coming down from his left eye.
The young couple was almost heartbroken. They had no idea that Akira held so much pain and sorrow in himself. They had no idea that he had lost so much.
"Akira….. i….. i'm sorry. I had no idea that you had to go through so much." said Takae, on the verge of tears. She knew far too well how it would feel to watch someone close to you die before your own eyes. She still remembered it like it was yesterday, the day when Chika, her best friend, was gunned down like a wild animal, for the sole crime of defending her friends.
"I…. I don't know what to say…. I'm sorry, man. I can't even imagine how it must have felt. To have watched every single one of your friends die." spoke Takeshi, himself just as saddened as her girlfriend. He saw first-hand just how low humanity could sink . He saw how humans would be quick to mistreat people different from them. But the mere thought that humans would exterminate each other for the mere reveal that another race of sentient beings existed and was hiding in their world, terrified him. And the fact that such a thing, actually happened, in another universe? Takeshi was horrified and disgusted at the fact that what happened in Akira's world, almost happened in his world.
Akira, noticing the sadness in the couple's faces, replied "It's okay. I can tell, that you have been through a lot as well. But it warms my heart to know that destiny has given me a second chance at life. I'm happy to have met two kind souls like you. And i'm glad that your world hasn't met the same fate as mine." he spoke, this time with happiness in his voice, hoping to lift Takae and Takeshi's mood.
"Actually….." spoke Takeshi with a serious tone "It almost did." surprising Akira.
"What? What do you mean it almost did?" replied the half-demon slightly surprised.
(OST: /FvbOwDpYr1k = Yu Yu Hakusho Chapter Black music)
After exchanging a brief look with Takae, Takeshi spoke "Maybe i should start from the beginning. We Devil Beasts have existed ever since ancient times. We became responsible for humanity's legends of mythological creatures and monsters. Yet it was only decades ago that humanity first became aware of our existence"
The revelation left Akira speechless. These creatures had been around ever since the first human civilizations arose? And somehow they were able to thrive for thousands of years, undetected?
Akira was then pulled out of his thoughts by Takeshi continuing "Afterwards a secret international organization called the Human Alliance was formed. Their goal? To hunt us down and keep our existence hidden from the public."
Takae then added, with anger in her face and curling up her hands into fists "They even went as far as locking us in concentration camps, torturing us, experimenting on us and eventually disposing of us as if we were nothing."
Akira was not the least bit surprised. After all the carnage, brutality and savageness he witnessed during humanity's rampage, what Takae and Takeshi spoke of seemed tame by comparison.
Then Takeshi continued: "But here's the kicker: it was all a facade. In the end it was nothing but years of manipulation by the leader of the Human Alliance, a woman named Lan Asuka, who tur-"
"DID YOU SAY ASUKA?!" swiftly interrupted Akira, upon hearing an all too familiar name.
"Yes, Akira. I bet you just reacted like that because she has the same name as your former friend, right?" chimed in Takae, earning a nod from Akira. "You don't have to worry about that. She's no longer among the living." she continued, earning a puzzled look from the young devilman.
"As i was saying, Lan Asuka was herself an extremely powerful Devil Beast, who for many years, had plotted to wittle down the Devil Beast population, so as to have no competition when the time would come for her to show her true colors and dominate the world. She also studied how we beasts, evolved over the years in order for her to achieve godhood through a different form of evolution. Eventually, with her psychic powers, she seized control of every single human being on the planet, stealing their free will, stopping all wars, while simultaneously keeping us beast imprisoned." resumed Takeshi.
This earned a deep scowl from Akira. At least Satan, for all his misdeeds, wanted to protect the demons. At least the demons, no matter how brutal and bloodthirsty they would be, deeply cared about each other. But this Lan Asuka? From how the couple described her, there was nothing redeemable about her. He could clearly hear hatred in their voice at the mere mention of her name. He concluded that this woman most-likely cared about nothing but herself, manipulated countless innocent people and then disposed of them when they outlived their usefulness. Honestly he was disgusted at the idea, that Ryo's counterpart in this world was much, MUCH worse than his former best friend.
(Soundtrack ends)
But then a thought popped in Akira's mind "Then i must ask: if this Asuka had plotted for years, orchestrating all sorts of crimes and machinations, what is it that brought upon her undoing? Surely there must have been something that didn't go according to plan." he asked.
After exchanging a look for several seconds, Takae and Takeshi decided to answer the question that Akira had ever since he first met them.
"Akira" began Takae "Remember how we reacted when you first told us your surname?" she said, earning a nod from him.
Then Takeshi continued "It wasn't because we never heard your surname, no. It was because you share the surname with the one who saved not just us beasts, but also the entire human race from Asuka and the Human Alliance. Not only that, but your demon form resembles hers a lot."
And with those words, every single doubt vanished from Akira's mind and it all made sense. "By chance, is that someone called Jun? Jun Fudo?" he spoke.
The look of disbelief on Takae and Takeshi's faces had to be seen to be believed "H…. How did you find it out?! Have you…." began Takae only to be interrupted by Akira "Easy. All i had to to was pick up a fashion magazine. Turns out your saviour is a model. At first i coudn't believe it. Thougth it was all just a coincidence. But now i have no doubt: she's probably my counterpart of this world." he concluded.
"Either way, if it wasn't for her we would have been imprisoned for eternity. It it wasn't for her, humans and devil beasts would have never have managed to put aside their differences and learn how to coexist in peace." spoke Takeshi.
Akira was sure to have misheard "C-come again?!" he spoke, completely incredolous at what he just heard.
"Yes, Akira, you heard perfectly. Thanks to the efforts of Miss Fudo, or i shoud say, Devil Lady, humans and beasts now live together in peace and harmony." spoke Takae with joy in her voice "If not for her…." she continued while putting a hand on her belly "Our child would have grown up in a hard, merciless world."
Akira was left speechless. Humans and Demons living together in peace and harmony? Such a concept felt just as absurd as the teories of the Earth being flat and not spherical. The two races were just too different. While the humans had learned to control themselves throught a set of rules in the form of the law, the demons still believed in the survival of the fittest and as such they still followed the laws of nature. In no way, shape or form would the two races have coexisted back on Akira's world. And yet here, it happened.
And that name….. Devil Lady. It proved once and for all, that the young, attractive woman Akira saw in that magazine, was her counterpart of this universe. He had a feeling that someday the two would have crossed paths. After all it was only natural for demons and devilmen to find each other.
He put his thoughts aside as he remember the last words the horned girl said "Takae…. Did you?" spoke Akira while pointing at her belly.
"Yes, Akira. It all happened in the concentration camp. Before we knew it, we fell in love with each other. And sure enough, shortly afterwards we expressed our love." answered Takeshi, while putting his hand over Takae's on her belly,
earning a passionate look from his girlfriend.
Akira, his heart becoming filled with happiness spoke "I… i don't know what to say. I'm happy for you two. It warms my heart to know, that you, and many others like us have been able to find their place in this world." he concluded with the tone of his voice once again turning sour.
Those words also warmed the young couple's hearts. Takae then pulled one of Akira's hands on the table and put her own on top of his after noticing the young devilman's face once again becoming sad. "No one should ever experience what you went through. But know this: you are not alone. You will always have our gratitude for what you did for us yesterday." she said, her yellow eyes making contact with Akira's own, once again lifting Akira's mood.
"About that….", chimed in Takeshi after taking a look at his watch, "I have to find a way to repay you. How 'bout this: would you like to have lunch with us later? We were thinking about going out for a walk, with two of our friends and then going at a place to eat together. How's that sound to you?" spoke the young man with his arms crossed and with a smile.
Akira answered with a smile of his own. Then, after noticing that it was 11 a.m. he got off his chair and replied "That again, huh? Well, who am i to refuse such an offer, after you two welcomed me in your house? Plus it's always nice to make new friends. I'm in." while giving a thumbs-up.
"Well then, what are we waiting for! Let's go!" exclaimed happily Takae, excited and eager to introduce Akira to her friends.
Akira was overjoyed. Less than two days after he was reborn in this world, he had already made friends with two kind and gentle souls. And now he was gonna meet more new people. He had learned that this is not a world, where demons prey on the weak, but one where demons and humans coexist. And he will do anything to protect this world. As long as he will breathe, he will not let any harm befall these people. Never again.
Shortly afterwards the trio left the house, in search of these people. And a good place to eat of course.