A/N: After a long dry spell of no one-shots due to my focus being elsewhere, I come back with another one-shot idea that I have been working on the backstory of for a couple months.
I'll go into more detail at the end, but for now, I hope you enjoy!
The Unbreakable bond of Master and Student. What if Hibiki and Genjuro switched roles?
The unbreakable bond of a Master and their Student. It is a bond that can transcend time and space, a bond that binds two souls together in many different ways. This is the type of bond that is present within S.O.N.G.'s Commander in chief, Genjuro Kazanari, and his student, S.O.N.G.'s current Wielder of Gungnir, Hibiki Tachibana.
With Genjuro's guidance, Hibiki was able to go from a scared little girl who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time to the last bastion for humanity against any threat, including the divine. All of this wouldn't be possible without that unbreakable bond... But could this bond be found in a world where the lives of this Master and Student were vastly different?
Our story begins in the headquarters of the Kazanari Syndicate, a yakuza unlike the agency we all know. Within these walls resided a much younger Fudo Kazanari as he sat in silent anger with his children, Yatsuhiro and Yume Kazanari. The silence between the three of them was tense, but after a while, Fudo finally spoke.
"What was the mission that I gave to you, Yatsuhiro?" Fudo asks.
"I was instructed to steal the Nehushtan Armor from Section Two and bring it here without
drawing unwanted attention to myself, sir." Yatsuhiro answers.
"That is correct." Fudo says, before turning to Yume. "And you? What was your mission?"
Yume was hesitant to answer. "I... I..."
"I will not repeat myself, child!" Fudo shouts. "What. Was. Your. Mission!"
Startled, Yume answers the question. "I was supposed to watch Kanade Amou and Miu
Tachibana, warning Yatsuhiro if they were dispatched to stop him from escaping with the relic, sir!"
While Yume had answered the question correctly, Fudo was still angry. "And what did you do wrong?"
Yume was going to answer, but someone else answered for her. "Father, it is not Yume's fault that the mission went wrong. Things went south during the awakening of the relic, which made going for the relic impossible without facing heavy retaliation, so I chose to maintain my cover and abandon the mission, which ultimately made us lose the relic. If anyone deserves the blame, it is me!"
"You will speak only when spoken to, boy!" Fudo retorts. "While I can say that I am disappointed by your choice to abandon the mission, you at least managed to improvise by keeping your trust within the Tachibana Foundation. Her, however..."
"Father, I swear I tried to escape and regroup with Yatsuhiro, but I wasn't prepared for-"
"And that's the problem: Your inability to prepare for a Noise attack left you vulnerable, and as you are seen as the sole survivor of that attack." Fudo states. "Your failure has brought you unwanted attention and, as a byproduct, has brought unwanted attention to the Kazanari Syndicate!"
"I know I messed up, Father. For that, I am deeply sorry." Yume says. "But I promise that I can fix this."
"You're right. You can fix this mess." Fudo agrees. "By leaving the Syndicate for good!"
"What?!" Both Yatsuhiro and Yume gasp.
"Father, you can't just-"
"I can, and I already have." Fudo states, interrupting Yatsuhiro. "This has been decided upon the moment you failed your mission, Yume. Considering I could've simply had you executed, I was willing to grant you one final act of mercy."
"This is absurd!" Yatsuhiro shouts.
"You have until tomorrow morning to vacate the premises with whatever of your belongings you can carry." Fudo states. "If you are found within our property the moment the sun rises, I will personally put a bounty on your head."
"Father, please reconsider!" Yume begs.
"You have lost the right to call me by any name, child!" Fudo shouts, turning his back on his children. "Now, begone and never return, before I change my mind about letting you leave alive."
With that said, Fudo left the room, leaving Yume to wallow in sorrow as Yatsuhiro could only look over to where his father left and feel nothing but anger for the man he would willingly follow every order given to him. But after what had happened today, he began to question whose side he really wished to be on...
Two months had passed since Yume's exile from the Kazanari Syndicate. After leaving the Syndicate's headquarters, the ex-daughter of the Kazanari Family Patriarch did everything she could to lay low and survive. However, as this was happening, someone had taken a keen interest in Yume, but before they could follow through with their plan, there was something they needed to confirm with a third party.
"Commander? You wanted to speak with me?" Yatsuhiro asks as he steps into Section Two's command center, which was empty aside from the Commander and her sister.
"Ah, there you are, Yatsuhiro-san!" Hibiki cheers. "Please, have a seat."
Still confused by the sudden summons, Yatsuhiro hesitantly took a seat on one of the couches in the room. "Is something wrong, Ma'am?"
"Not at all." Hibiki replies. "I just have a couple questions for you."
"If it's about the Kazanari Syndicate, then I'm sorry to say that I have told you everything that I know about their inner workings." Yatsuhiro says.
"Oh no, it's nothing about the Kazanari Syndicate. The info you gave us was more than enough to have Fudo locked away for a long time." Hibiki says, reassuring Yatsuhiro. "I'm sure I speak for everyone in the Tachibana Foundation when I say we can't thank you enough for getting one of Japan's biggest Yakuza families off of the streets. Still, It couldn't have been an easy choice to turn against your own father."
"While I would agree that it was a difficult choice, he sealed his fate after what he did." Yatsuhiro says.
"Exiling your sister, you mean?" Miu asks, which takes Yatsuhiro by surprise.
"How did you-"
"To be completely honest with you, Yatsuhiro-san, after what happened at the concert, I may have given a discreet order to have some of our agents keep tabs on Yume-chan." Hibiki confesses. "And before you get upset, I have no intention of bringing ill-will upon your sister, quite the opposite, in fact!"
While he was notably upset by the Tachibana keeping tabs on his sister, he would be lying if he wasn't curious about what the Commander had said.
"Explain." Yatsuhiro requests.
Hibiki and Miu looked at one another hesitantly, before sharing a nod and looking back at Yatsuhiro. "Do you remember what you were told when your sister was in the hospital?" Hibiki asks.
"The doctors told me that she had been impaled in the arms and chest by shards of metal, but they were able to get enough of it out for her to make a full recovery." Yatsuhiro answers, before he realized where this was going. "What actually happened, Commander?"
"While it was true that she had suffered injuries in her arms and chest by debris in the stadium, the contents of said debris was where we unfortunately had to lie to you..." Hibiki confesses, which made Yatsuhiro even more upset. "You see... What actually impaled her was..."
"Shards of Kanade's Gungnir." Miu answers for Hibiki, which immediately made Yatsuhiro's anger turn into shock.
"You're joking, right?" Yatsuhiro asks.
"I'm afraid my sister is right, Yatsuhiro-san." Hibiki says. "Believe me, I wanted to tell you the truth as soon as I could, but while we trusted you within our organization, there were those within the Foundation who had suspicions that you would betray us, given your family name. However, now that we know you on fully on our side, I want to extend my sincerest apologies for hiding this information from you."
Yatsuhiro was quiet for a moment, but he eventually let out a deep sigh as he calmed himself. "I understand now. You kept tabs on her to make sure those shards didn't have any negative effect on her health, or worse, if my father tried to make use of them." He says. "I don't blame you for hiding this information from me. However, even with my loyalty to Father at the time, I probably would've withheld this from him, selling him out as I had if he tried to harm Yume to retrieve the shards or make use of them."
"So I'm right to assume that you care deeply for your sister's wellbeing." Hibiki says, with Yatsuhiro nodding in agreement. "Then that brings me to why I initially called you here, Yatsuhiro-san: I have a proposition for you."
Curious, Yatsuhiro humored the Commander. "I'm listening."
Hearing Hibiki out, Yatsuhiro escorted the Tachibana siblings to a part of town that had seen better days: An abandoned apartment complex.
"So, this is where you've been hiding her?" Miu asks.
"Yes." Yatsuhiro answers. "My Father has less than honorable ways of dealing with those he deemed failures and traitors, so my best option to keep her safe while avoiding his fury was to bring her to one of the last places he would ever hope to look."
"And you have been regularly checking up on her, right?" Hibiki asks.
"Whenever I have an opportunity to, yes." Yatsuhiro answers, stopping just before one of the buildings. "Please wait here for a moment, Commander."
"Why can't we come with you?" Miu asks. "You're not planning to betray us, are you?"
"Easy, Miu." Hibiki says.
"Come on, sister. Surely the thought hasn't crossed your mind once since we arrived here." Miu replies.
"I understand your skepticism, Miu-san. But I only ask you to stay here so that I may safely get my sister without her misunderstanding you two being here." Yatsuhiro says. "I will be back shortly."
Once the agent disappeared into the building, Miu kept one hand close to her chest, ready to activate her Gear at any given moment. Seeing this, Hibiki sighed.
"While I appreciate your concern for my life, Miu, I ask that you put more faith in Yatsuhiro-san." Hibiki says. "That, and you really should be giving yourself time to grieve. It may have been some time since I was fighting by your side as a Wielder, but I am more than capable of stepping in, Sobo is more than happy to serve as a temporary commander to help give you that time off."
"I promised Kanade I would keep this girl safe, and I am not about to go back on my word." Miu replies. "I appreciate the offer, Hibiki, but I would rather not put that kind of pressure on our family, especially on Ryoko-san, no less."
"Right... I forgot that she's still working to repair what we were able to recover for Gungnir." Hibiki says, letting out a nervous chuckle as she scratches the back of her head.
"That aside, you did discuss this plan with Miku, right?" Miu asks.
"Of course we talked about it. It was her idea, after all." Hibiki answers, before the door leading to the apartment building opened, revealing Yatsuhiro and one smaller figure hiding behind him. "See, Miu? There was nothing to worry about."
"I'm not afraid to confess when I am wrong, unlike yourself." Miu taunts, getting a playful elbow in the arm from the Commander.
"Sorry for the wait, you two." Yatsuhiro says. "Allow me to properly introduce you to my sister: Yume Kazanari."
With some encouragement from her brother, Yume stepped towards Hibiki and Miu. Her clothes were notably dirty and tattered due to the environment she had been hiding in not being the cleanest, but other than that, Yume looked to be rather healthy, which was a sight Hibiki was very relieved by.
"It is very nice to finally meet you properly, Yume-chan." Hibiki says warmly. "Truth be told, ever since I learned about your family's history, I had nothing but concerns for your well being. And when you seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth was a day that scared me, so seeing you alive and well makes me very happy."
"Is it true, what my brother told me?" Yume asks.
Hibiki nods. "If you are willing, My wife and I would love nothing more than to bring you into our family. You wouldn't have to hide in the shadows anymore."
"But what about my brother?" Yume asks.
"I will be fine, Yume." Yatsuhiro says. "After all, it's not like I won't be able to visit you anymore."
"I promised your brother that you would have a second chance to live a normal life, but that doesn't mean he can't be a part of it. After all, he has the Tachibana Foundation's full respect and trust, so he's always welcome to come and visit you as he has here." Hibiki says, before stretching out her hand for a handshake. "So, what do you say, Yume-chan?"
Hearing this, Yume looked back over at her brother, who gave her a reassuring smile, which in turn helped her make a decision. "If my brother trusts you, then so do I." Yume says, accepting the handshake, which was quickly followed up by the Commander pulling the girl in for a hug.
"I promise that I will not let anything else bad happen to you, Yume-chan." Hibiki says, which made Yume tear up, making her return the sudden hug as she began to sob into the Commander's arm. "And you have my word that she will be safe, Yatsuhiro-san."
"Considering the trust you put in me despite my flaws, I do not doubt you for a second, Ma'am." Yatsuhiro replies.
And so, the bond between Master and Student of one lifetime is given shape in the form of Mother and Daughter in another. Even so, several questions remain: What will happen to the Kazanari Syndicate now that its Patriarch and his heirs are out of the picture for its future? Will Yume and Hibiki Tachibana's destiny mirror that of the Hibiki Tachibana and Genjuro Kazanari of another timeline? Or does fate have other plans for this Mother and Daughter duo? Only time will be able to reveal the answers to these questions, but when the time does come for them to be answered, one thing is certain...
"I know you and Miku-san will take good care of my sister."
A/N: And with that, we end the one-shot!
As the story went, this was a what if where Genjuro and Hibiki traded places in the story with Hibiki becoming the Commander of Section Two/S.O.N.G., and Genjuro becoming the Wielder of Gungnir following the Zwei Wing Concert Tragedy.
Now, to answer some questions.
First off, to clear up some possible confusion as to who Yume Kazanari and Miu Tachibana are. Simple answer: They are Genjuro and Tsubasa Kazanari respectively. The reason why I turned Genjuro into a girl and Tsubasa into Hibiki's sister is purely because I felt that it would be a bit more fitting for this AU, seeing as there are currently no canon Male Symphogear Wielders as of June 2023 (Unless I missed something in recent XDU), so having Genjuro be a girl makes things a bit easier to progress the story, should I ever decide to continue it.
As for Tsubasa, with Hibiki's family taking the Kazanari Agency's place, I decided to take some liberties with her staying within the family that was in charge of Japan's defense. With that, Hibiki takes Genjuro's place as Commander of S.O.N.G. while Tsubasa (Miu) takes over What arguably should've been Yatsuhiro's place as the heir to being the family's figurehead once their mother, the serving matriarch, finally retires. (And while I did not directly say it in the one-shot, Miu is Hibiki's elder sister by 1 year).
The Kazanaris aside, I'm sure there's also questions about where Ogawa was in this AU, seeing that Yatsuhiro technically takes his place. Well, seeing that the Miku of this AU is happily married to Hibiki, Ogawa would be taking her place in the story as Yume's best friend, and fellow misfit to their family, Emica Ogawa. (Just to clarify, Emica is not exiled like Yume, just overshadowed by her brothers, but Yume forms a bond with her over this regardless.)
Other than these changes, the only other things of note to bring up as far as the lore of this AU goes is that Akira Tachibana has a much better relationship with Hibiki and her sister as he takes Yatsuhiro's place and, hopefully a bit more obvious, Kanade is also around the Tachibana sisters' swapped canon ages, mostly to avoid making Miu and Kanade's relationship come off as an adult woman and a teenager.
But that should cover just about everything different in this AU. Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed this one-shot. I shall see you all in the next one!
(P.S. Just to clear it up, there is no "Sobo Tachibana", Sobo is just another word for Grandmother. Just wanted to clear that up for any non-Japanese speaking readers)