Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End). I write this for your enjoyment only. This fic is an alternate version of the Shibuya/Shinjuku arc with differences from the original. Please refer to the footnotes at the end. Once again, I would like to thank my beta reader, ResidentialPsycho, for her help in making this fic possible. Enjoy and please review!
Chapter 8: Shadows from the Past, Part I
"You look quite ravishing in a dress, Yuu-chan…"
Startled by the teasing, yet familiar voice, Yuichiro spun around to face her blond orphanage brother, Mikaela. Or more accurately, a demon with his face and form. She also noticed that their surroundings resembled the Hyakuya Orphanage where they had lived together before the apocalypse. However, unlike Yuu herself, Mika had not aged a day since she last saw him.
Because she had left him to die.
Gritting her teeth, the ravenette snarled at the demon who dared to mock her with Mikaela's face and speak to her in his voice.
"Don't bother, demon. You can't fool me, I know you are not Mika. And I am not wearing a dress. This is my school uniform."
The demon chuckled and it was not the innocent laughter of her late orphanage brother.
"True, but what's the difference, really?" he asked as he stepped closer to Yuichiro and started to walk in a circle around her slowly as if examining her.
"Never mind that" she snapped. "Since I can already see through your tricks, why don't you save us both time and trouble and just submit to me? I need your power to avenge my family, including the real Mikaela."
Instead of answering right away, "Mikaela" grinned and suddenly grabbed Yuichiro by the wrist, causing her to wince from his crushing grip.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" she demanded.
After a moment of silence, the demon's eyebrows rose in understanding.
"I see… you saw through my illusion right away because you managed to fend off a lower-ranking myo-o demon. Quite a feat, but still not good enough."
"And why is that?" Yuu demanded, growing impatient.
"Don't take me lightly just because you managed to shake off that joke of a demon once…" he warned. "Before I can even consider lending you my power, you must tell me why you want it so much."
Yuichiro stared at the creature as if it had just asked her the dumbest question in the world.
"Do you even need to ask? If you have access to my memories, then you should know that I need the power to avenge my family, to avenge Mika!" she snapped.
"Are you sure that is the real reason?" the demon countered.
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Yuu. These last four years you spent exerting all that effort into studying and training in the fighting arts. What was it all really for? To avenge us? Or to impress him?"
"Him? What are you talking about?"
"Heh, don't play dumb, Yuu-chan. You obviously have a thing for this guardian of yours. How unfaithful you are..." the demon mocked as he tried once again to fool Yuichiro into thinking that it was actually Mikaela making the accusation.
And the girl's response was a clear sign that she was starting to waver in her conviction.
"No… Guren and I aren't like that…" she protested.
"True, but don't you wish you were? Tell me, Yuichiro, how do you really feel about your guardian and mentor? Are you in love with him? Now that you are no longer a child, has your desire for revenge waned because of your growing affections for this Guren? I can't lend you my power if avenging your brothers and sisters isn't what you really want. "
"I…"
"Admit it, Yuichiro. You may act like you can't stand Guren most of the time but the truth is you find him very desirable and will do anything to get him to notice you! And I don't mean by just your academic performance and sword-fighting skills."
As if to emphasize his point, the demon in Mikaela's form reached out and touched Yuichiro's long ebony braid.
"Longer hair… female garments… jewelry, perfume, makeup, and nail polish. You would never dress as a girl for me no matter how much I begged you to. But you did it for him, didn't you?"
Yuichiro shook her head fiercely as she tried to deny the demon's claim.
"No! I didn't do it for anyone but myself, because I've finally accepted being a girl and not the boy my parents forced me to be since the day I was born!"
"I find that hard to believe, Yuichiro. But shall we test that theory anyway?" the demon teased almost playfully as it started to lose Mikaela's form and reshaped itself in front of her until it looked exactly like Guren. *1*
"What the hell…?"
Instead of his usual dark JIDA uniform, the illusion of her mentor was clad in the same white kimono shirt, tan slacks, and knee-high brown leather boots Guren wore the day he took Yuichiro to the waterfall grounds to train when she was fourteen.
The same day he saved her from drowning after she fell into the lake.
Curving his lips in what she imagined to be a seductive smile if he were to ever use it on her, the demon in Guren's form approached Yuichiro and gently ran his hand down her jaw line before taking her by the chin and lifting her face, forcing her to look into his piercing violet eyes.
"Though you would never admit it, you really liked how these clothes looked on me," he said, his voice becoming a teasing lilt. "And as much as you liked how I looked in this shirt, you liked how I looked even better without it…"
Yuichiro felt her face growing hot at the implication and suspected the demon could sense her subconscious thoughts and feelings towards the man who raised her.
And as much as she wanted to, Yuichiro still couldn't forget the sight of Guren's muscular chest when he pulled her out of the lake and resuscitated her, having been forced to remove his shirt beforehand to keep it from slowing him down underwater.
It's true, I always thought Guren was handsome but so what? Lots of guys are, he isn't anything special… she tried to assure herself.
"I'm not special? After all the trouble I took to raise you, Yuichiro? That really hurts, you know…" the demon teased, making Yuu realize that he could indeed read her current thoughts as well as her past memories.
Before Yuu could answer, "Guren" bent over slightly and gently dotted kisses up her neck, making goosebumps rise on her skin until he reached her lips.
"Isn't this what you've always wanted from me, Yuichiro?" he asked in a husky tone. "Have you ever imagined what it would be like to have me embrace you? Kiss you? And as a lover, not a child? With me around, who needs a kid like Mikaela?"
Before he could kiss her on the lips, Yuichiro placed her hands on "Guren's" chest and used all her strength to push him away.
"Stop it!" she shouted.
After catching her breath, she glared at the demon who almost fooled her in Guren's form after failing to do so in Mikaela's.
"Don't ever use my mentor's form to speak or do such things to me, demon! Things I know he would never say or do! I am just a child to him, nothing more. And regardless of how I may feel towards Guren, it does not change the fact that I want your power to avenge Mika, Akane, and the others whom I have never forgotten!"
Instead of being angry, the demon gave her a look of amusement that was more reminiscent of the real Guren Ichinose.
"Very impressive, Yuichiro! It seems that I was wrong about you. And since you intrigue me so much, I will lend you my power so long as your will and conviction stay strong. But if I detect any weakness on your part for even a moment, I will make your body my own. Have we got a deal?"
Relieved that the demon was finally willing to submit to her, Yuichiro nodded.
"Deal."
"Very well, the contract is made then…" the demon said as it finally reshaped itself into its true form which looked to Yuichiro like a young pre-teen girl with horns and long purple hair clad in a flowing white, open-backed dress with a black chest piece.
Confused, Yuichiro gave the demon a wide-eyed stare.
"You're a girl?" she asked in astonishment.
For a moment, Yuichiro thought she saw the demon's cheeks grow a little red as if in embarrassment before giving her a brief scowl.
"Uh, no, Miss Hyakuya. Despite how I look, I am a male." *2*
Yuichiro blinked as she allowed her eyes to wander to the slit in the demon's dress to his bare legs and feet which she thought looked surprisingly shapely and feminine for a boy, enough to put her own to shame.
"Well, I'm flattered that you think I have pretty legs but let's get down to business, shall we?" the demon boy asked as he rolled his eyes in annoyance before offering Yuichiro his hand. "My name is Asuramaru. If you are ever in need of my power, don't hesitate to call for me."
Upon realizing that Asuramaru had read her thoughts once again, Yuichiro blushed but took the hand he offered.
"Thank you… I think…"
"Good. And since you are now my mistress, I should probably share this piece of information with you."
"Information?"
"Yes… you may appear as any normal teenage girl but I can sense that part of you isn't human. Though I can't quite put my finger on what that may be. Could it be that you've been altered in some way or born like that? Or perhaps a little of both?"
"I'm not sure I know what you mean…"
"It's all right, even I can't explain it. However, I will say this: though you may be at war with the vampires and require the help of your human allies, don't be so quick to place all of your faith in them. Believe me when I say mankind is more devious than demons and vampires combined. Especially that mentor of yours; don't let your feelings for him cloud your better judgment when the time comes."
Yuichiro was about to question her new demon further but he did not give her the chance.
"You mustn't dwell here too long; your friends might be needing your help soon. So open your eyes, Yuichiro Hyakuya!"
SSSSSS
Yuichiro gasped as her eyes flew open and she found herself lying on her back in the middle of the ritual circle she entered to pick up the sword that captured her fancy. Which was now in her right hand and ready to wield if needed.
Sitting up, the ravenette looked around and saw Guren as well as Sayuri and Shinoa giving what she thought to be looks of relief that she had passed her test and obtained her own cursed gear, something far superior to the axe she considered taking for her own after rescuing the possessed Yuji less than two weeks ago.
"How do you feel, Yuu?" Sayuri asked gently as she and Shinoa approached Yuichiro to help her to her feet while Guren remained where he was and merely looked at them with his ever-searching violet eyes.
"I feel fine. Great, in fact, now that I finally have my own cursed gear!" Yuichiro joked before she looked up and caught sight of her guardian and released a soft gasp as she remembered the illusion Asuramaru pulled on her by taking his form.
Seeing Yuichiro's bewildered expression, Guren found himself slightly confused and wondered what it was she saw in her illusion that would make her look at him that way. But he knew that now was not the best time to ask since there were still two other MDC cadets who were lying in the middle of their ritual circles in deep sleep and facing their own inner demons.
"Glad that you made it, Yuu" Guren said as he cleared his throat. "However, I'm going to have to ask you to be patient and wait for Yoichi and Kimizuki. As you can see, they're not quite done yet."
Yuichiro looked around and saw that the two boys she started the test with were lying on their bellies, their own hands gripping their weapons of choice as they shifted uncomfortably in their "sleep".
"I wonder what they're dreaming about?" she breathed.
"No doubt something similar to what you were" Sayuri answered. "Though the details may differ, all MCD candidates must relive their most traumatic memories as well face as certain people from their past and conquer them before they can obtain their cursed gear."
"I see… So all that's left for us to do is wait until they wake up?"
"Yes."
SSSSSS
"Nii-san, what are you thinking? It's late so why don't you go to bed already?"
Kimzuki released a soft gasp when he heard the familiar voice of his younger sister, Mirai, calling out to him as she laid in bed. Looking down, he found that his hands were smaller than he remembered and that he was no longer in the demon ceremonial chamber but his old home in Kyoto, sitting on the leather window seat in Mirai's bedroom and looking out the window. Not even a week after the apocalypse, he barely had time to get over the shock of his parents' deaths before his hands became full with caring for his younger sister who contracted the virus despite being a child.
The only logical explanation the pink-haired boy could come up with for his sister's ailment was that Mirai had always been frail and sickly, the complete opposite of himself who had always been strong, healthy, and robust. While Shiho Kimizuki was the pride and joy of his parents, deep down, he always suspected that they were ashamed of Mirai for being born weak and wished they never had her.
But despite what their parents might have thought, Kimizuki treasured his younger sister and always did his best to be a good brother to her since she was his only sibling. During happier times, he would always walk with Mirai to school, help her with her homework, and cook for her whenever their parents worked late.
But now their mother and father were gone. The night the virus struck, Kimizuki, who had been helping Mirai with her homework in her room, suddenly heard cars crashing and people screaming outside. To keep his sister calm, Kimizuki ordered Mirai to stay in her room while he went downstairs to check on their parents only to find to his horror that they were both dead. His father's lifeless corpse was sprawled on the living room floor, indicating that he had died just as soon as he came home from work. When he went into the kitchen, Kimizuki found his mother's corpse on the floor in front of the stove, hinting that she had dropped dead while was cooking for the family.
Not knowing what else to do, the pink-haired boy ran back upstairs and was about to call 911 when he found Mirai collapsed on the floor as well. But unlike their parents, she was still alive and conscious though too weak to move. As if that wasn't shocking enough, Kimizuki was also horrified to find nobody answering when he dialed 911 on the phone in his parents' room. Minutes later, he heard a loud banging at his door and when he answered it, found several of his young friends from around the neighborhood begging him to allow them refuge in his home. From the look on their faces, Kimizuki knew that their parents were dead too.
Over the next two weeks, Kimizuki, Mirai, as well as several of the neighborhood children hid from the vampires and other monsters roaming the city at night by locking themselves in his home. But now food was running short and soon they would have no choice but to leave the neighborhood if they wanted to survive.
As the most intelligent student at their school, Kimizuki knew that his friends looked to him as their leader and trusted him to lead them someplace where they would be safe. But never did the pink-haired boy imagine that they would be caught up in an apocalyptic crisis like this and even he found himself at a loss as to what he should do or where he could take his sister and friends, even if he could drive and knew the surrounding areas well. For against his mother's wishes, Kimizuki's father had secretly taught him how to drive and read maps to find his way around for emergencies.
But that skill, remarkable as it was, would do him no good if he could not find a safe haven to take Mirai and his friends. And that's assuming there were any places safe from monsters and vampires.
Upon hearing his sister call out for him, Kimizuki briefly forgot his troubles for a moment and pulled a chair from the nearby desk to sit by her bedside.
"It's ok, Mirai, I'm not tired. I was just thinking about where I'm going to take you and the others when we finally have to leave this place" he answered gently. "More importantly, how are you feeling?"
"A little bit better, just tired…" she answered weakly.
His brow raising in concern, Kimizuki gently placed his hand on his sister's forehead which was hot to the touch. Remembering what their mother would do whenever either of them fell sick, he asked:
"Would you like something to eat? I can go downstairs and have some chicken soup ready in a few minutes" he offered, purposely neglecting to tell Mirai that the cupboard full of canned foods their late parents had stored for emergencies was almost empty.
"Nii-san… why do you try so hard to pretend that you care about me? You know our parents wished I was never born. But now that they're gone, you can just leave me here to fend for myself and go on with your life. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"
Kimizuki's eyes widened at his sister's unexpected words.
"What? How could you say that? Of course, I care about you and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we both survive!"
As if Mirai's words weren't shocking enough, she grinned and her innocent expression twisted until her face looked almost unrecognizable to him.
"You don't really mean that, Nii-san. Because I hear you crying at night, about how you hate being depended on by your friends and me. You may try to act like a good brother but deep down, you're just as selfish as the rest of them and wish I would just die so that you can finally enjoy your life without the burden of caring for me."
"No, that isn't true…" he protested, growing nervous. Though Kimizuki truly did love Mirai, deep down, he knew there was some truth to what she was saying.
But how could she possibly know? He thought frantically. I've always made sure she was asleep and stayed as quiet as I could! Unless…
"I see…" Kimizuki said as he forced himself to calm down. "You're the demon, aren't you? You must be because I know my sister would never say what you just did."
"Bingo, we have a winner here!" the demon impersonating Mirai laughed as she dropped the sickly act, sat upright on her bed, and looked Kimizuki in the eye.
"I was wondering when you were going to catch on, Shiho Kimizuki. As you suspect, I can read your thoughts as well as your darkest secrets. I wonder what your real sister would think if she knew the truth?"
Clenching his fists, the pink-haired boy tried to keep a lid on his temper for they both knew the demon in his sister's form had struck a nerve with her taunt. He knew that giving in to his anger was exactly what the creature wanted.
"Shut up, you bastard!" he snarled, his voice calm but still tight with anger. "If you can read my thoughts and feelings, then you would know that I truly love my sister and would do anything for her!"
"That may be. But even you can't deny that you share your parents' frustration with Mirai from time to time because she was born weak and sickly, making her dependent on you when they're not around. And now that your parents are gone and Mirai has contracted the virus, she is completely dependent on you for survival. Quite unfair, isn't it?"
"Stop it!"
"You really don't want to join the Demon Army and risk your life fighting the vampires, do you? The only reason you try so hard to get into the MDC is that you know it's the only chance to save your sister's life. If she didn't exist, you can just live a normal, happy, and safe life within the walls…"
"I'm warning you, demon…"
"Admit it, Shiho. Though you love your sister, deep down, you still blame her for not being able to do the things you wanted as you were growing up because all your time was being spent studying and caring for her. The things you wanted to do with your friends, the girls you wanted to date, the places you wanted to go, all of which you couldn't because of her. So in the end, you're really no different from mommy and daddy: you too, wished Mirai was never born!"
Knowing that she was absolutely right except for the last part, the pink-haired boy finally lost it and subconsciously reached down the side of his legs for two large kitchen knives that seem to have appeared out of nowhere before charging towards the demon who dared to mock him with his sister's face and form, intending to tear her to shreds.
"I'll fucking kill you!" he screamed.
SSSSSS
As soon as they heard Kimizuki's enraged shriek, everybody in the demon ceremonial chamber jumped in surprise, even Guren. The only one who took no notice was Yoichi who was still comatose in his own ritual circle.
Worried, Yuichiro turned to Sayuri, Shinoa, and Guren.
"What's happening to him?" she demanded.
"He's fighting the demon in his subconscious for control" her guardian answered calmly. "I know you're concerned but you can't help him, Yuichiro; this is a battle only Kimizuki alone can fight and win if he wants the demon to submit to him."
"And if he can't?"
"He'll die. I already told you this and Kimizuki knows it too. He already accepted the possibility before he agreed to undergo the test. Just leave him be, that's the best thing you can do for him" Guren said calmly, indicating that he had seen this kind of reaction from other MDC candidates many times in the past.
Although she had known the pink-haired boy for only a short time, Yuichiro still didn't like the idea of leaving him to fend for himself but she knew her guardian was right. The creature Kimizuki was fighting was inside his subconscious and not in the real world where she could just rush to his side and help him fend it off. Still…
Yuichiro looked like she wanted to say something else when she saw Sayuri's eyes widen and point over her shoulder.
"Yuu, look out! Behind you!"
As soon as Yuichiro turned around, she saw Kimizuki charging towards her with two swords that were wider than her own katana in his hands, no doubt they were the weapons his demon was bound to. Out of instinct, Yuu quickly withdrew her newly acquired demon weapon to defend herself as Guren had taught her. *3*
"Is this normal too?" Yuichiro asked through gritted teeth as she fended off the pink-haired boy's sword blows one after the other. When his face was close enough, Yuu could see that Kimizuki's eyes were open but appeared glassy. His pupils were slitted and cat-like and he had two small horns protruding from his temples.
Sayuri looked about to pull a magic talisman from her uniform pocket to come to Yuichiro's aid when Guren reached over and stilled her hand.
"No, leave her be. Yuichiro is strong, I know she can handle this. You won't be helping her in the long run if you intervene every time she runs into trouble, Sayuri."
Although she worried for the girl whom she helped her superior raise, Sayuri knew Guren was right. Shinoa, on the other hand, tugged on his sleeve to catch his attention.
"Sir, I know you told Yuichiro to leave Kimizuki alone but this changes everything! She has no choice but to defend herself now that he is attacking her. While she's at it, she can try to make him snap out of his trance!"
Guren nodded. While he and Shinoa were often at odds with each other, this was one thing he could agree with her on. Turning to his ward, he called out to her.
"Yuu, listen to me! Kimizuki isn't totally awake and is unaware that he's attacking you! He thinks he's fighting the demon in his subconscious so what you need to do is make him snap out of it!"
"And just how do I do that?!" Yuu snapped without turning around.
The ravenette knew she was at a slight disadvantage because Kimizuki was wielding two weapons against her, not just one. And the fact that he swung a sword with his left hand just as well as his right made her realize the pink-haired boy was ambidextrous as well.
"Think, Yuichiro! Isn't that what I've always taught you to do!?"
Although frustrated, Yuichiro was not really surprised that Guren would say such a thing. Since he took her in, the older man had always encouraged her to be as independent as possible. Perhaps this was another way he chose to test her even though she already successfully obtained her own demon weapon.
And as much as she hated losing battles, Yuichiro hated looking bad or weak in front of her guardian and mentor even more.
"Fine!" she shouted. "I can save Kimizuki myself without anyone's help!"
As the trio continued to watch Yuichiro duel with the possessed Kimizuki while holding their breaths and trying their best not to move, Shinoa found herself turning in the direction of the sleeping Yoichi and hoped that he was faring better with his own demon. So far, Kimizuki had shown no interest in attacking the younger brunet boy as he slept so long as Yuichiro had his full attention. But the purple-haired girl knew that would change as soon as Yoichi woke up.
And depending on how his own test went, the brunet boy could be a potential ally or an additional enemy for Yuichiro to fight…
Footnotes:
1. In canon, Asuramaru takes only Mikaela's form to test male!Yuu. In my AU, he takes on Guren's form as well because he knows fem!Yuu has semi-romantic feelings for him and wants to see if her desire for revenge has waned because of them.
2. For comedic purposes, I've decided to have fem!Yuu mistake Asuramaru for a girl :D
3. In canon, only Yoichi gets possessed by his demon. In my AU, I thought it would be interesting to have Kimizuki possessed as well, forcing Yuichiro to learn teamwork by accepting Shinoa's help.
