Devilman: The Rebirth

by Nanto99

Akira had lost everything: his friends, his home, the love of his life and at the end his own life. But what happens when fate decides to give him a second chance at life? Now, reborn in a similar yet completely different world, watch as Akira meets new friends, old enemies from the past and discovers his new place in this world. Watch the rebirth of Devilman.

9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Acquaintances

A heartbreaking sight stood before Kaim, after the bolt of lightning that summoned him on the shore of the lake faded away. His beloved one stood in front of him, before the end of a forest, now a mere shadow of her former glory. Bloodied, tarnished, impaled by her own talons and missing her left wing, torn off by her nemesis.

"K… Kaim!" she spoke, utterly disbelieved to see her friend standing before her, sent by her king to aid her.

"Sirene, use my body. We must unite." replied Kaim, his voice calm, devoid of any doubt and uncertainty.

"It is useless, Kaim. Look at my wounds. I will die soon… " replied the Demon Bird, resignation apparent in her voice at her imminent demise.

Kaim simply closed his eyes before replying "I know." in a disheartened tone.

"After we unite… if my consciousness survives the union and we defeat Devilman….. We will still die….." Spoke Sirene with a worried and saddened tone "But if your consciousness remains we might somehow survive….. but until we unite, we won't know for certain…" her eyes then met Kaim's own before she asked "Can you accept this?"

In response Kaim opened his eyes before replying "I do not wish to live long, Sirene. I want you to use my body and its power. I want you to defeat Devilman, to feel the glory of victory one final time." There was not a single trace of hesitation in his eyes, not a single bit of regret. Instead his voice was firm and absolute, his love towards her undaunted, unsullied, pure.

"W…. why?" asked Sirene, her eyes widening up at Kaim's resolve. Their gazes remained locked with each other for what seemed like an eternity before Kaim made his final decision.

"Sirene…..." He spoke one final time, before his tail coiled around his head "Even covered in blood, you are beautiful…" finally confessing his feelings to his beloved.

"K-Kaim!" She called out with a gasp of shock, after realizying what was about to happen, but it was too late. Kaim swiftly ripped off his head with his tail, white blood gushing out profusely from his neck, offering his body to her.

"KAAAAAAIIIIIIIMMMMM!""" Screamed Sirene in utter grief, sorrow and despair, before flying towards Kaim's body. A blue light enveloped the two bodies before they merged together.

(Flashback ends)

Kaim woke up with a start, panting nervously, as the last memories before his sacrifice flashed once again in his mind. He still remembered perfectly the last moments, the last time he saw Sirene, before he gave away his body, his life, offering it to her, giving her the power to defeat Devilman. Seeing her in such a state broke his heart. He thought that by merging, they would have remained together for eternity, but it wasn't meant to be. Fate had once again set them apart. They never found each other in hell. But now in this new world they will be reunited. Kaim could feel it. And by meeting his former enemy, now a friend, he had regained hope.

"You're up." came Akira's voice, pulling Kaim out of his thoughts. He quickly spotted the half-devil on his left who was smoking a cigarette. Then Kaim took a look of his surroundings. He was sitting on the grass of a riverbank, specifically Edo river's riverbank. A bridge could be seen on the right. And the sun had risen just an hour earlier.

"What…. What happened?" spoke Kaim while putting a hand on his forehead, trying to recall what had happened the day before.

"Well…." Began Akira, cigarette still in his mouth "Let's just say that, you've had too many drinks. Apparently even demons suck at holding alcohol…." he continued, with a teasing tone and a chuckle.

As soon as those words left Akira's mouth, it all came back to Kaim. Ever since he integrated himself in human society, he had developed somewhat of a liking to alcoholic beverage. He found out that not only did some drinks taste good, but their effects temporarily quelled his melancholy, allowing him to inebriate his thoughs and alleviate his depression, at least before he found out that he wasn't the only one left of his kind.

"No, i haven't." replied Kaim with a denying tone "I have only drank one bott- UGHHH!" he was interrupted by his stomach contents coming back up, his face turning green, causing him to cover his mouth with both of his hands. He then promply scrambled towards a nearby bush and let out the contents of whatever meal he had yesterday, causing Akira to sweat-drop. Apparently Kaim hadn't realised that he had drunk an entire bottle of Vodka the day before.

With a sigh, Akira replied "Famous last words….." before tossing the cigarette away. He then walked towards Kaim and patted him lightly on his back before saying "Easy there fella."

After getting himself back together Kaim and Akira sat down on the riverbank and the former spoke "There is one thing i don't understand though. Why am i not in the pub?" in a serious voice.

"I knocked you out." replied Akira in a deadpan tone, taking Kaim completely by surprise "You kinda went on a rampage due to how drunk you were." he continued his tone turning into a half-joking one.

In response a worried look formed on Kaim's face and he replied "H… Have i hurt others?" with an equally worried tone. This caused Akira to chuckle even more before said chuckle turned into a laugh and he replied "Hehehehehe….If by hurt you mean, flipping all kinds of tables, spilling countless drinks on the floor and on others, yes….."

Upon noticing that Kaim's face was still full of preoccupation, he added "No, my friend, you haven't." in a reassuring tone. The demon in disquise calmed down, worry now absent from his face.

"I still don't understand. Why are we here when….." began Kaim, only to be interrupted by Akira who answered with a smile and a casual tone, before Kaim could finish his question "Well, let's just say that, i had to go to work, serve dinner to a couple dozen customers. So i hid your body behind the cart shop. Luckily for me, you were sleeping so deeply, not even fireworks would have woken you up."

This earned an astounded look on Kaim's face. His former enemy had protected him? Had Devilman truly let no harm befall his body? After a few moments of silence he managed "You…. You looked after my body?" his voice full of disbelief.

In response Akira nodded before saying "Yep. And plus, it was the least i could do after what you did for the girls." in his usual, carefree tone.

In response, Kaim averted his eyes from Akira's own in shame before replying "I apologize. Being in that state is something i am not too proud of. But…." he paused. In the ancient times, he would have been ridiculed by his fellow demons if they ever saw him, one their greatest warriors in that sorry state.

Noticing his shame, Akira put one of his arms around Kaim's shoulders and spoke "I know. It relaxes you, clouds you senses and judgment. But it also brings pleasure, warmth, peace of mind." earning a nod from Kaim. He then continued "You don't need to feel too guilty about it. Everyone's been through that at least once in their lives. It is a common habit in our world. It momentarily distracts you from the hardships of life." with a reassuring tone.

"Indeed. You humans surely have many interesting ways to pass the time." replied Kaim, his shame now gone, but still looking down towards the river. "In the ancient times, very few of us demons had the luxury to enjoy ourselves. The majority of us, including myself, fought almost every single day, just to survive." with a distant tone, recalling all the battles he went through, millions of years ago.

Noticing the demon in disquise reflecting on his past, Akira replied "I see. It was just like how the animal kingdom is today." with a laid back tone, earning a nod from Kaim who replied "Indeed. It was a world where only the strong survived and the weak were quickly disposed of." he then eyed Akira before continuing "It still fascinates me how, so many of you humans managed to put aside your differences in order to create such widespread tribes." with praise apparent in his voice.

With a smile, Akira replied "Actually the correct name is Country. Each one has its own society and civilization and of course its own fair share of customs and traditions." while Kaim listened, intrigued.

"The world wasn't always this peaceful though. Many wars had broken out in human civilization's milleniums of history, sometimes even for the pettiest of reasons." continued Akira, his voice now taking a serious tone. "Believe me, if you thought your kind was capable of all kinds of violence and heinous acts, then you haven't heard of all the crimes the human race has commited on itself, in all the milleniums of its history, in particular those of World War II."

"World War II?" asked Kaim in his usual calm, collected voice.

"Yes. It was the most destructive war in the history of mankind and it happened just less than sixty years ago. Some eighty-five million people died in six long years of war. And it was the stage of some of the cruelest, vilest atrocities ever committed by humanity. " continued Akira, now staring towards the river with a blank look on his face. He then turned towards Kaim before asking "Have you ever seen thousands of thousands of people including women and children taken away from their homes, sent to labour camps and forced to work themselves to death, or be executed in gas chambers once they had outlived their usefulness all the while being mocked, starved and beaten up for the sole crime of being different?" in a serious, frank tone, referring to the German Concentration Camps, unsettling Kaim.

"Have you ever seen hundreds of thousands of innocents who up until then, had never picked up a weapon before, being suddenly obliterated by a gigantic bomb?" he continued, referring to the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki unnerving Kaim even more.

"Have you ever seen thousands of thousands of women and children being raped and then executed by thousands of soldiers simply for amusement, after said soldiers had conquered their city?" he concluded, referring to the Siege and Rape of Nanjing. Those events were never taught in school obviously due to how dark they were. Instead Akira in those 20 years of war had learned of such events from several Devilmen he met and then led into battle. They only proved even further to Akira that as bad as the demons were, the humans could be just as bad, if not worse.

Kaim was now profoundly shocked. The demons due to their perceived superiority always felt that they had the right to do everything. After all they were strong and the humans were weak. As such, Kaim always believed that nothing could match the brutality and the atrocities the demons were capable of. While he never sought any harm against humanity, he, like the rest of his kind looked down on them for their perceived fragility, albeit much less so compared to other demons. But never would he have imagined that humans were also capable of such violence and cruelty, especially on their own kind.

"In a way, war is part of our nature. No matter how much we try to avoid it, to circumvent it with peace, it'll always come back.." spoke Akira in a somewhat sad, distant tone after a few moments of silence, looking towards the river and the city on the background. He then turned towards Kaim before speaking "In a way we are no different from your kind, Kaim. Ever since the day i became what i am, i believed that you were monsters, beasts driven only by bloodlust and violence. But then i saw humanity's worst with my own eyes and at that moment black and white blurred." he continued while Kaim listened, downhearted. "At least you demons, never hid your nature behind petty excuses like we do. At least everything your kind did had a reason: to survive, to reclaim your rightful world." he then paused for a few seconds. Recalling all those horrifying events was taking a heavy toll on Akira. Nonetheless he finished by saying "I saw countless people torture and butcher each other simply out of fear. Men, women, children, it didn't matter. They were all demons in their eyes. The revelation that you existed sent all of humanity in a senseless rampage on each other."

Kaim could now see the sadness in Akira's eyes. He pitied the half-devil in front of him: he had to experience the hard way the harsh reality: that humans were no different than the demons. Just like how Kaim came to the realization, in hell, that what his kind did was completely unjustified. How tragic it is: to live your entire existence believing that everything your kind did was for the best, only to realize that they were wrong all along. And how ironic it was that humanity brought extinction upon itself entirely by themselves. Truly, one's demise is always one's own making.

"How ironic isn'it? At least the bonds between you demons were stronger than our own. Unlike o-" began Akira, once again averting his gaze from Kaim's eyes…..

"Enough."

….Only to be stopped by Kaim, who could no longer bear to hear such tragedy and misery. He put one hand on Akira's left shoulder before speaking "Humans may be capable of great evil themselves but what my kind did was wrong. We coudn't forgive you, because we believed that you had stolen our world from us. Such hypocrites we were. We had dissappeared for millions of years, hibernating, waiting for the time of the final battle against the forces of heaven to come. What right did we have to persecute your kind, who didn't even chose to exist?"

Akira was completely taken aback. Indignation, regret and resentment could be clearly heard from Kaim's voice. He had no more doubts about it: Kaim had opened his eyes. As if it wasn't made clear from the first time Akira met him or by killing the three lesser demons who were about to rape the girls, Kaim had repudiated his kind. He no longer wanted to be associated with them. After hearing from Akira and seeing in hell, what the demons had done, he realized that they would always remain exactly the same as they were in the past. Sadistic, bloodthirsty, imperious and selfish. They would have never improved.

"And to think that even i, shared that outlook on humans up until the moment i sacrificed myself. What a fool i was. To look down on them when we were no better than them." he paused, before his eyes once again met with Akira's own "But then i met you Devilman. Meeting another kind, honorable soul like you, affirmed my beliefs. That anyone can change if they want it to. For that, you shall always have my gratitude." he finished, his voice going from regretful to joyful.

"And i must thank you, Kaim. You taught me that even demons are capable of doing good things. That if they want it to even they can leave their past behind and change for the better." he spoke with a soothing smile, shaking his hand with Kaim's own. Their friendship was now complete. Now they will help each other out, no matter what. Now they would stand together, as equals in the battles to come.

Suddenly a notification sound was heard. Akira had in fact, bought a new phone several weeks prior, with what little money he had gained ever since he opened up his cart shop. Browsing throught the message list, Akira found the message and it read:

"Yo Akira! Are you free today? We and the girls were thinking about going out for lunch today. Would you like to join us?" - Takeshi

A smile formed on Akira's face. It was the perfect opportunity to introduce Kaim to the gang. Not wasting a second he texted back:

"Sure thing. And get ready cause i'm bringing a friend." - Akira

Kaim watched intrigued. "Such an interesting form of comunication. You humans truly are full of surprises. Your creativity never ceases to amaze me." he spoke with an equally intrigued tone.

"I know. And if you think this is interesting, you've seen nothing." he replied with a smile. He then got up and after motioning Kaim to do the same, he spoke "Come on, we're gonna meet some friends of mine. And i'm sure that they will be happy to know you."

(OST: Yu Yu Hakusho unreleased track : watch?v=VX24C1DvyfA )

With a nod, Kaim got up and the two left.

(Later)

Akira and Kaim were now walking in one of Tokyo's many parks. Today in particular, it was crowded with all kinds of people, many beasts among the crowd.

After many minutes of silence, Kaim spoke "Devilman." earning Akira's attention. "Yeah?" he replied simply.

"I was wondering one thing for a while: what are those humanoid creatures with animal-like features? He said, pointing to some beasts chatting together. "Ever since my awakening i coudn't help but notice them. At first i believed them to be fellow demons, but upon closer inspection i found out that they were different."

Akira sighed before replying "It's complicated. Luckily for you, my friends will be able to explain it to you properly." He was actually curious to see just how Kaim would react upon finding out what the devil-beasts were.

Luckily his answer didn't have to wait too long.

Soon enough, Akira spotted his friends. He then ran towards them, leaving Kaim behind while waving at them and shouting happily "GUYS!"

In response Takeshi, Takae, Misaki and Kyoko all smiled just as happily and waved back before shouting "AKIRAAA!" then Misaki and Kyoko ran towards him.

He laughed happily as the two girls hugged him, almost making him fall backwards. He then returned the hug, petting the two girls's heads and saying "Woah! Easy there girls!" causing them to laugh happily as well.

"How have you been?" asked Misaki happily, after parting from the hug. "Fine. Well, work has been rather…. Productive these last couple of days, but hey, at least i earned some money." replied the half-devil, in a casual tone.

"Well you know what they say: No effort, No result!" added Kyoko in her usual upbeat tone, causing the three of them to laugh even more.

They were interrupted by Takae and Takeshi coming towards them "Well, i see that you're still in one piece." spoke jokingly Akira earning a chuckle from Takeshi who then replied "Unlike you i tend to stay out of trouble." causing Akira to return the chuckle, before they both laughed happily and shook hands in a manly manner.

"Plus he's got someone to take care of in the future." added Takae while pointing at her belly, causing the boys to part from their handshake. Turning his eyes towards the horned girl, Akira spoke "Well, good morning to you too, Takae." earning a smile from her.

A smile formed on Kaim's face as he watched in the distance the display of friendship between Akira and these people. Back during ancient times the closest he had to friends, aside from Sirene and Amon, were the harpies of the Sirene tribe, having aided them in battle many times before the tribe's annihilation and even then it was a friendship forged through countless battles.

(soundtrack ends)

But then Takae spotted Kaim a few dozens meters away from them. She could only gasp in utter shock as she recognized the bouncer from the club, a week prior. An uneasy look formed on Kaim's face as he recognized the girl from a week ago. The one who had been almost raped by that lizard demon.

(OST: Yu Yu Hakusho unreleased piano song: watch?v=ZsjHsKUIGn8&t=28s =)

The horned girl was completely astonished, not managing to turn away her eyes from him. This gathered Takeshi and the other girls's attention, before the former spoke "Takae? Is there something w-" he abruptly cut himself short upon noticing Kaim in the distance. "You….." he began, before his face stirred up in a scowl.

But before he could move towards him, Akira put a hand on Takeshi's shoulder, stopping him. He then spoke in a reassuring tone "Relax. He's a friend." taking the devil-beast completely by surprise.

At the same time Misaki and Kyoko also noticed Kaim. Incredolous, they both walked towards the demon in disquise, who towered over them, stopping only a few meters before him, causing Kaim's face to fill with even more with anxiety and discomposure. He was afraid that the two girls in front of him were going to be scared by the realization that even though he had saved them, he was part of the race of which those 3 lesser demons almost ended their lives.

Instead Misaki, after putting herself in front of Kyoko (who was holding her hands together on her chest out of anxiety), began to sense the nature of the demon in disquise in front of her. After what seemed like a couple of minutes, Misaki's eyes widened and she gasped in astonishment, covering her mouth with one of her hands. She had sensed that the scent of the man in front of her was exactly the same of the majestic pachiderm-like creature who had rescued her and her friends.

Tears of happiness started to fall from her eyes before she exclaimed "IT'S YOU! her voice full of joy, before running towards Kaim and hugging him deeply, astonishing the demon. Soon afterwards all of Kyoko's anxiety dissappeared as soon as she realized who Kaim was. Tears of joy started to fall from her eyes as well, her face filling with happiness and joy before she also ran towards Kaim before exclaiming "Y-YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SAVED US!" and hugging him too.

Kaim was taken completely aback by the girls's joyful cries. No one, not even Sirene had ever shown this much gratitude and affection to him in all the eons of his existence. Instinctively, he smiled softly, before returning the hug, holding the two girls, both of which only reached out to his chest, with one arm each. For the first time ever, he felt warmth. He had always been looked on with respect and admiration ever since he distinguished himself in battle among the demons. But this was the first time he had experienced the feeling of gratitude and affection.

"I….. i only did what had to be done. I could not stand aside and watch." replied softly Kaim, visibly touched by the two young girls's gratitude. All the while Akira smiled happily. That went even better than he expected.

Meanwhile, as soon as the girls hugged Kaim, all of Takeshi's suspicions vanished from his face and he too, smiled. Finally, the one who had saved his girlfriend and the other girls was in front of him. Before he could walk towards him to thank him, Takae beat him to it and began to walk towards Kaim. After noticing the horned girl in front of him, Kaim and the girls parted away from their hug before Takae spoke "So it was you then." in a still amazed tone.

"Indeed. I believe we did not have the chance to introduce ourselves. My name is Kaim." he spoke, putting a had on his chest, introducing himself.

"I'm Takae. Nice to meet you!" she replied, introducing herself in her usual upbeat tone. "And these are Misaki and Kyoko." she continued gesturing to her friends, who both put their hands behind their backs and smiled happily.

(Soundtrack ends)

"The pleasure is mine." replied Kaim with a smile. Then he noticed Akira and Takeshi coming towards them. Takae took the opportunity to introduce her boyfriend "And this right here is my boyfriend, Takeshi." she said, gesturing towards him. Then Takeshi walked towards Kaim, stopping only a few meters before him. He bowed slightly, closing his eyes before replying "Pleased to make your aquaintance. And thank you. If not for you, the girls woudn't have made it." with an obliged, almost apologetic tone.

"At ease, young one." replied Kaim in a reassuring tone, while putting a hand on Takeshi's shoulder, taking him completely by surprise "It was the right thing to do. Besides, those scumbags had it coming."

Reassured and with his mood lifted, Takeshi replied "Yeah." then he turned towards Akira, after Kaim removed his hand from his shoulder and spoke "So this is what you were doing in the last couple of days, eh?" earning a nod from the half-devil.

"Yep." he replied in a casual tone while walking towards them "Long story short, he came to me four days ago after i was done serving dinner, we went for a walk, talked for a couple hours before setting off on our own at dawn."

"We had a couple of differences to settle. But now, the past is behind us." added Kaim in his usual calm and collected voice.

The four young beasts however were utterly shocked by what Kaim said. After a few moments of silence, Takae exclaimed "You….YOU TWO KNOW EACH OTHER?!" her voice once again full of disbelief at what she had just heard.

Silence once again fell on the group. A serious look formed on Akira and Kaim's faces. There was a lot of explaining to do. And Kaim hoped that he would not be judged by what his kind did in the past.

"Sort of. It's complicated." Began Akira with a serious tone before his voice beamed up "How about discussing it over some food?" he proposed, earning a nod from Takeshi and the girls.

And so they left.