Chapter 1

The world fades in and a body falls forward, then silence. But different silence from that one found inside the destroyed walls of Uruk. Rather than just wing, searching for any remnants of life, quiet sounds of life moved through the area.

Distant voices, feet of small animals moving around eventually scattering, determined not to be caught. The quiet rustle of grass. Finally, and the loudest of all, so many foreign sounds. Buzzes, clicks, earth humming while strange machines move across it.

Breathe in and out. Even the air felt different.

One movement after another, Kingu's body slowly recovered, sat up, and looked around. It was… a place. Kingu himself sat on a stone-paved path, but around him were patches of neatly maintained grass and flowers, pink trees in bloom currently hidden both by the darkness of night and a transparent mist, but also illuminated by a strange artificial light, attached to a tall pole.

Strange.

Unfortunately, his attempt at standing up only resulted in him tripping over his own clothes and eventually face planting into the ground, again.

Curses.

A fist hit the ground but what would have left a very visible dent some while ago, only made a quiet ´thump´.

Curse that man and his whims. Curse Enkidu and his desire to protect humans. This situation is embarrassing beyond belief as if it was not enough that the world around him looked a few sizes too big due to his smaller, fragile state.

Up again, but now slower and more careful, he grabbed the way too big clothes in an attempt to manage them.

Kingu ventures out.


His first impression of this place was that it is.. even stranger. People walk around at night without the smallest worry, no walls to protect them, machinery not only on every corner but in people's pockets. Strange clothes, strange buildings, strange streets. There was nothing that couldn´t be described as strange. But the strangest thing of all was to see the abundance of everything.

People of Uruk, while certainly not poor, wouldn't be able to construct tall glittering towers, taller than even Gil´s ziggurat, boldly pointing towards the sky, almost as if mocking gods of old, if anything, that vain annoying goddess would have it torn down immediately and then force people responsible to repent not only for the rest of their short lives but for the rest of eternity. The Ishtar, as Enkidu remembered her, was nowhere near as pleasant to be around in comparison with the one summoned by the priestesses of Uruk during Kingu's short lifetime.

But these humans? They were seemingly expanding without the smallest trace of worry.

Kingu snatched the first free piece of cloth he could find and placed it over his head. It was not comfortable but it would fulfill its purpose and hide him. Moving from shadow to shadow, he explored and found more of the same strangeness, same carelessness, and same abundance.


Before long, he found himself on top of one of those glittering structures, looking down onto the organized chaos and he couldn't help but wonder whether the Uruk´s king had seen anything like this in his visions. Tens or perhaps hundreds of times larger than Uruk, the artificial lights of this city seemed to go forever.

No. The king must have seen this, a future that he has fought for - there was no way this could have occurred during the age of gods - the age when humans prosper, just like the glittering buildings, age of humanity.

Kingu raised his small hands and looked at them, frowning.

"Who is there?"

The only reaction Kingu gave was a small twitch. Kingu stood up, slowly, and looked around. On the roof stood a human, dressed in even stranger attire than that of those below them, something comparable to what that foreign sun goddess wore - flashy and colorful.

He honestly couldn't help but make a face. In return, the human looked surprised.

"Hello there, are you lost? I am really sorry, but you can't be here."

The male approached, kneeled down to be on Kingu's eye level when the surprise turned to worry. "Are you injured? Don't be worried I am sure that we will find your parents." He said as he reached out.

Kingu slapped away the hand, turned around, and walked away towards the building´s edge. "Run along while your limbs still function human." He uttered while pushing the thought of that man out of his mind, chains disappearing as quietly as they appeared.

Careless fool, couldn't even feel the death looming over him.

The sea of lights under him still drew his eyes, overpowering the light of stars above.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the son of man was determined to get his attention - and he did it in the most effective of ways.

Kingu´s eyes widened in surprise as his mind tried to process the sight before him. Kingu stood right at the edge, the wind almost strong enough to knock over a weaker being, this time only managing to remove the colorful cloth.

Honestly, It was not really about the thing Kingu saw, he had seen his fair share of things, but rather, it was about what is responsible for it. The man stood on a small wooden board, suspended in mid-air by an invisible force. A force clearly and undeniably controlled by a human.

Is this how far humans have gone?

The son of a man stood there, hands extended and ready to catch him, expression belonging to someone who is trying his best to be brave, but terrified on the inside. Kingu saw plenty of those.

"Kid? Do you hear me?"

The look of surprise disappeared to be replaced by the look of indifference again.

"It is really not safe around here. Come on, I´ll - hey! Hey!"

Seeing that his basic functions were slowly coming back to him, he jumped forward into the light behind the man, leaving the billowing wind and the son of the man behind.


Uruk had its fair share of events occurring inside its walls, at least according to records left behind in this body. whether they were weddings, celebrating the gods, or any other occasions that called for people to come together, dress up, dance, and eat food.

It appears that some things do not change. Kingu did not even know how he stumbled into the event. The foods, dances, and dresses were different but still were an occasion that seemed familiar though only because Kingu used Enkidu´s records as a standard.

"Here!" Leaned down a bulky looking man, wearing one of those costumes. "There you go!"

It took Kingu a moment to process what he just experienced as he stared down at the colorful 'candy'. "I am not a kid!"

"Of course you are not!"

The candy promptly ended in the man's forehead as he stumbled backward, laughing. Even more, laughter could be heard from people around. Embarrassed, he turns around and leaves.

Idiot king! He is certainly not helping him next time, hope his soul rots away in the deepest parts of Kur, in the cold hands of Ereshkigal. Fool, imbecile, incompetent moron.

Humans are crazy!

Huffing and puffing, he sat down further away from the crowd. Except that it seemed that he couldn't find some peace there either. "Hey, nice costume!"

"It is not a costume!" Kingu snaps back at the boy talking to him. The kid makes a face and crosses his arms. Kingu answers with his own glare.

"If it is not a costume then what is it?"

"Clothes."

The boy bursts into a fit of laughter, Kingu turns red in the face. "They are normal, well-fitting clothes!"

"Man, your parents must suck!"

"What did you say?!" Seeing the reaction, the kid can no longer take it. He bends over, laughing even more than before. "Stop it! It- it is you that is being weird!" As if it was not enough that he stumbled over his own words, the last sentence seemed to only add more fuel to the fire.

Kingu, not seeing a way to persuade the boy, puts his head between his feet, hands on the head, swearing.

Someone, please get him out of there.

Kingu never prayed to anyone and he would go back to being a dead pile of clay before anyone caught him, but this time he really wished to just go home. This place is too much.


Sunsets and darkness fall. Some children leave, some appear and some remain. Luckily for Kingu, the little brat had decided that he has better things to do than to annoy him.

Earlier the bulky man came again and placed the candy next to him before leaving. Kingu observes as the kids play, using small sticks to draw their own game boards before finding suitable rocks for game pieces, laughing happily, imitating some things they have seen the 'grown-ups' do before getting scolded, then using that power inside them to continue in their mischief.

"I wonder how those kids are doing." Whether they have escaped Tiamat's mud and the claws of many demonic beasts.

Or maybe these kids are their faraway descendants.

The weapon of the gods closed his eyes, resting.


He couldn't tell how much time had passed, seeing that his perception of time is slightly different from what a common human could perceive. When he opened his eyes they, the kids, were no longer there. Their boards and game pieces all carefully stacked next to each other, waiting to be used again the next day. The candy next to him was still there with maybe a few pieces missing.

However, that did not seem to be the reason why he felt the need to move. It wasn't loud, but there certainly was something in the air. In between the amicable chatting, he could hear the hushed worried voices, making the air feel heavy.

"We sincerely apologize, but the event is closed for today."

"Huh? But according to the ads, this is supposed to last much longer!"

"We are sorry."

The crowds of people were peacefully asked to leave the area. Kingu moved, jumped down from the bench where he had been resting, and walked into the crowd.

"Please move this way!" Ignoring the directions, he moved against the increasing numbers of people, sure enough, he soon found what he had been looking for. The boy from before stood there with whom Kingu assumed were his parents. "But Dad! I don't want to go!"

A moment later, he turned around, seeing as there was no point in staring.

He was leaving when it had happened.

One moment the sky was empty, nothing but stars above but then it was not. Long metal pillars appeared out of nowhere, accompanied by pieces of rocks and wood, someone somewhere in the distance laughed.

The people around barely had the time to register what was happening above their heads before the tons of materials started falling to the ground. Kingu turned around as he heard screaming, beginning with just a few, more adding immediately.

The boy tripped over, staring at the sky frozen in fear, parents nowhere in sight - there was no time to think. Lightning races across the crowds, not even a second later, gold light fills the area and the sky is being held up by countless numbers of glittering chains. Kingu himself races, grabs the boy, and runs.


Once the crowd clears from underneath the rubble, new people arrive. Careful not to be underneath in case the chains let go, but also quickly searching the area for anyone lost, the area is completely clean. The humans observe the results of Kingu's work, from the chains to the golden ripples. Unfortunately for them, Kingu does not have the time for this. Glaring towards a dark alley, he allows a few of the chains to disappear before all of them vanish at once, crushing all of the stands underneath.


"Exactly what do you think you are doing?"

The villain did not have the time to react, suddenly he found himself in a very unpleasant grip of chains, much like those that stopped his plan from working. "Wha-" What he assumed was a hand, grabbed his face, and smashed it against the dirty, blackened walls.

The force alone was almost enough to knock him out.

This is bad. Very bad.

Luckily for him, he had a handy quirk, anything he has touched within the last few minutes could be teleported to a place of his own choice and within a certain distance, including himself. It is what had allowed him to escape his imprisonment a few times - he actually sucked at fighting so he got caught a lot.

A quick movement later and… nothing.

His quirk did not activate, he was still trapped, but instead, the chain around his neck tightened.

What?

"It seems like some things do not change after all." Said a silky voice, likely the quirk owner.

Another hand connected with his body, his chest area, he wanted to scream as something pierced his chest. It hurt. What did he do? What is going on?

One more thing to know, the villain, Araragi was never exactly a brave person.

Help me. Please help me.

As if someone heard his plea, the restrains let go, Araragi's body hit the ground, one hand to his neck, the other one to his chest. The wound was not that deep, but it hurt so much, almost as if someone tried to forcefully shove a blunt rock there.

"Freeze!"

Araragi barely even registered the hero's approach.

Oh yeah, he is not only a coward but also a wimp. There go months of planning.

Removing the human's blood from his fingers, slightly annoyed Kingu walked away from the scene.


One, two, three. His feet reliably carried him away from the people chasing after him. Through the dark corners and light-filled wide roads, the humans were determined to catch him.

Except that they couldn't.

One leap later, he was gone.


"Heroes?"

"Dude, were you living under some kind of a rock for the past few decades or something? Everyone knows about them!" The five-year-old puffed his chest, happy to be the center of attention. "Heroes protect us, they are the heroes! Like yesterday when they saved all those people from that Araragi bloke! There are all kinds of heroes! I mean, there is Best Jeanist, Fat Gun."

"Ingenium! He is really cool!" Stepped in another kid.

"Crimson Riot is cooler!"

"Wild, Wild Pussycats!"

"All Might!" The area has gone quiet as everyone zoned in on the boy who dared to utter that name before… "ALL MIGHT! ALL MIGHT!" Completely synchronized, the kids jumped into the air.

"He is the absolute coolest!"

"I swear that I saw him once! Like, he was shopping for… takoyaki!"

"Idiot, why would he be shopping for takoyaki where you live?"

"I swear I saw him!"

And the argument went on. Kingu leaned into his seat in one of the larger machines, carrying people around. They called it a bus. It was full of children so it seemed like a fitting place to walk into and hide.

He only walked in with the intention to remain hidden as these heroes apparently seemed very determined to find him. With his old attire now stashed elsewhere and still recovering, the size of a human child seemed convenient for the time being. He is most definitely not remaining in this form with the purpose of talking with these children.

"Hey!" The green-haired weapon turned his head around to have a look at one of the more eager members of their group. "Look!"

The boy promptly sprayed him with a weak stream of water. He gained a devilish smile. "Did you like it?"

On the other hand, Kingu did wonder how this kid would look if he were to attach him to the roof for the duration of the ride.

A young woman came around, had a good look at them before raising her hands to calm the situation. "No fighting!" It was probably meant to sound like a command but it came out like a plea. Needless to say, nobody really listened to her. She sighed and moved on.

"Mum and dad are heroes you know?"

"There he goes again."

"..Water Horse! They are really cool! They go phew phew and beat all of the villains!" The brat that soaked Kingu's clothes just moments ago said proudly. "They can do anything!"

"Oh really?" Kingu, still slightly annoyed, countered. "Most heroes I saw were not that impressive."

The kid probably was not expecting anyone to do that. He stopped in his rant, staring into the empty space before him, then once he understood what was said, his face turned bright red. "W-well, mine are!" He replied with his hands tightly clenched in small fists.

"Huh?" Seeing that he has the upper hand, Kingu couldn't help himself. Crossed his own arms as he looked over at his target, snickering.

"Don't 'huh' me! Jerk!"

"Children please!"

This time, it was the poor woman that got soaked. Kingu jumped out of the way long before the boy could activate his 'quirk'. All of the kids turned completely as they stared in horror at the boy and the teacher, some slowly backing out.

The young teacher stood there frozen, though she somehow still managed to look like a volcano that is about to erupt - mostly because of how the other kids reacted, quickly scrambling over to their seats and pretending that there is not a single wrong in the world. The boy responsible for the sudden change of atmosphere, slowly backed out, all color already gone from his face.

The hunch was proved correct when she actually did explode with the force of a volcano.

Still wearing the smug, 'I got you into some big trouble' look, Kingu gave the kid a small pat on his shoulder and put the final nail into the coffin: "Good luck with that." The word 'that' was given very special treatment. It could mean anything, though given the context it was not anything pleasant. Unfortunately, the teacher overheard it.

"Izumi Kota!"


"You are a jerk," Kota stated, glaring at the kid beside him. "How could you do that to me? Aren't you like, familiar with how sensei gets when she is upset?"

"I am new around here," Kingu answered, keeping up with the boy's upset pace. "Besides, she is not that scary."

The boy turned around, glaring even more. "I swear that I'll get you for this one day."

Kingu shrugged his shoulders, not really caring. The two remained walking by each other's sides. The 'bus' has long since stopped and the kids were asked to step out, get into pairs of two and follow the now calm teacher. Kingu got stuck with this one - the kid that he happened to get into major trouble. The new city did not seem all that different from the one that Kingu appeared in. Still, the similar glittering building made of out glass, metal, and strange crumbly rocks, masses of people walking around, metal machines everywhere, heroes, who he could now identify somewhat with the help of the kids, walking around like guards on duty.

The worst of all was the air. It just smells funny.

"Kota." Kingu was taken out of his thoughts when the boy spoke. The kid looked at him upset again. "Izumi Kota. What is your name?"

"Kota?" Kingu repeated, still slightly confused.

"That is my name, now tell me yours!"

"Why would I tell my name to a brat like you?" He snorted, then looked away. "Kingu."

Kota was about to protest again, then he heard the name and blinked. "So you are a foreigner then? I mean, Kingu is kind of weird."

"Is there an issue with it?"

The kid, Kota shrugged his shoulders, Kingu followed the suit and also dismissed the matter. After all, it is not like he is going to see this kid or any others once he disappears.

Once he disappears...

Kingu looked around to see if anything had changed. The teacher appeared as clueless as ever about the extra child in their group, the children either did not care or did not mind at all, caring only about their field trip, some pointing towards new interesting things that they have discovered.

Given the first opportunity, Kingu was sure that he was going to vanish.


Do as you and I once did. He said.

What idiocy.

There is no purpose to him, there is no goal to chase after, there is not even a reason to fight back against the heroes who were chasing him the other day. That is why he has not raised his hand against them - there was no point in fighting them. It would be a waste of energy, especially at this time when his body is still recovering from that damage inflicted on him by Tiamat as she tried to break free from the heavenly chain's grip.

Kingu was already familiar with how despair felt, he has received a healthy dose of that, enough to force him to accept Enkidu's remnant in his body.

However... while it was not quite the same feeling he felt when he was being chased around by the Lahmu, his siblings, it felt almost too similar.

Darkness fell again, the group of children was long since left behind and Kingu enjoyed a sight of a new glittering city.

"...Water Horse." two

Kingu looked around, a familiar name catching his attention. On one of the big screens, the faces of two people with familiar features were being displayed.

"It is quite an unfortunate turn of events...gives their condolences to their relatives. Villain Muscular is still on the loose."

Maybe Kingu should have perished with his mother, just like Water Horse perished in their fight against this villain.


Chapter done. Nothing really interesting, Kingu being introduced to the world, being more chill around kids than around adults. I think that he really likes children if he is willing to save them like in Babylonia… and being the immature brat he is, fits among them. I tried to make this chapter as interesting as possible instead of the usual info dump in some fics. Kingu goes around, meets people, meets heroes, almost kills a villain and infiltrates a field trip, and runs off again before being depressed about not knowing what to do.

I have made some plans ahead a while ago, wrote them down and I am using them now, so some chapters might come out faster.

I am taking some liberties here and Kota is going to be older in this story than in canon, partially because I really did not realize that he is actually only 5 when he is introduced in the anime/manga. I got the impression that he is a bit older and realized that that is not the case only after making plans. Always thought that he is around 7 or older.

Please leave a review, it really helps.

I am so tired. I have tried to write this a little faster.

Good night