Hey there folks. This one was unexpected. The entire time from concept to running this out for you all is probably among the shortest I have done. I'm not too sure because some of my past stuff was a lot better organized than what I can run these days. Either way I really hope you enjoy this one.

Huge thank you to all the boys in the Goat Discord server that helped me get this structured and planned a bit. Couldn't get this without you so I really appreciate all of you.

That being said, there are some obvious canon changes in this story beyond just the addition of Gaara and his parentage situation. As far as Naruto characters in this story I only have Gaara and technically Shukaku though he is vastly different as you will no doubt see. A few other considerations to take into account is the obvious inclusion of other characters to fill the roles in Gaara's peerage, and probably one of the biggest the change of Sirzech's relationship status. I will go ahead and spoil that section simply because I know someone will want to know. Grayfia and Sirzechs were never romantically involved in this story. Millicas does exist however he is the son of Serafall who has technically been married to Sirzechs since the end of the Civil War, at least in this fic. Not saying that is some romantic loving marriage, but they do care for and enjoy each other's presence so it's functional in the least.

Anyway, this author note is getting way too big so lets just get on with it and start with the story.


Forgotten Future

Chapter One

Recollection of a Whisper

The city of Kuoh was never what Gaara Gremory had planned on for his residence but as with most things in his life, when those close to him decided on something he almost always wound up getting dragged into it in one way or another. Despite that, Gaara was one to take his responsibilities very seriously. It was something his father repeatedly commented on as a point of pride for the head of the Gremory clan.

He didn't like that it usually was followed with some comment or other about the man wishing that Gaara's elder half sister Rias as the heiress to the clan was more responsible like he was. It didn't bother Gaara necessarily. The words bothered Rias though and that bothered Gaara.

That was not really important this morning though. It was hard to keep his mind from drifting around some times. People assumed his cold, stoic, and often eerily silent demeanor was some sort of angsty personality trait, though his closest loved ones knew the truth of the matter. Gaara had a hard time keeping his mind on track. Most things came easily to him and so he found most things incredibly boring. That in turn sent his thoughts on a journey to find something of interest to focus on, more often than not only succeeding in making him forget what it was he was doing at the moment.

Like right now…

He paused causing the two others with him to pause as well and stare at him in brief confusion. At least for a moment. Then both realized exactly what was going on. One simply quirked their lips in a smile while the second, more vocal of the duo twitched before growling angrily.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Always forgetting what we're supposed to-" The man began to complain loudly only for a magic circle to appear at his feet and suddenly smash him hard enough into the ground so hard his head bounced off of the ground.

"Oh, I'm so thankful that you are so durable, Shukaku." The woman said with a broader smile. "Now speak to Gaara with more respect next time or you'll bounce even higher."

"Makima, Shukaku." Gaara said drawing both of their attention.

Despite being the youngest of the trio and shortest to boot, he clearly commanded the attention of his colleagues with ease as they fell silent and stood up, or in Makima's case a bit straighter as he spoke directly to them.

"We're here to maintain the town's security. One of Makima's clients was killed by a stray devil of some kind recently and we need to deal with it before it becomes a hassle for my sister or Sona." Gaara explained softly with little emotion if any in his voice.

Shukaku blinked before growling again.

"We know that dammit! We aren't the ones that forgot why we're in this shit heap part of town anyway!" Shukakau shouted only for another magical circle to spring to life beneath his chin and bounce him even more harshly off of the concrete with a loud crack.

"Ah, fucking stop that shit you-" Shukaku began to cry out only to stop at the woman rising an eyebrow as he spoke.

"Good boy." She smiled happily down at him as he drug himself up to his feet, spitting the small trace of blood from his mouth.

Gaara simply pressed onward. This had been the recurring bit between the three of them since Gaara had been twelve years old. Shukaku was a bit unhinged, fitting considering his origins, and Makima was simply, complex.

Even he wasn't willing to let his mind drift down that twisted path of thought.

"My familiar spotted something large and furry moving around that warehouse last night. As well as some screams. She thought that it was likely our target, either that or some crime was being committed. Either way we're looking into it." Gaara explained as he slipped into a bit more serious and focused state of mind.

"Huh, screams?" Shukaku muttered before a manic smile split his face showing off his rows of sharp teeth.

"Calm down. Your marks are showing." Makima pointed out. Shukaku ignored her though.

He always got like this when a possible fight was looming. It was how Gaara had gotten his hands on him for his peerage after all. Even if he was a mere pawn. At least to most people.

"Stray, serial killer, who gives a fuck? I'm gunna get a morning workout hopefully. Wahoo." He cheered cartoonishly while being tuned out by both Gaara and Makima.

The queen of Gaara's peerage simply left the pawn standing there fantasizing about whatever fight he might get to have in a moment. She instead followed closely to Gaara as they pushed into the old dilapidated railroad depot or whatever the warehouse had once been. It was little more than a rusted shell of a building now.

They were in the extreme outskirts of town here. That was the only reason Gaara and his subordinates hadn't hunted down and destroyed the Stray Devil before now. They actually hadn't realized that it had been running around out here. The monster had some pretty bad luck to pick one of Makima's clients as a meal recently.

"A victim." Makima pointed out on the floor.

"Probably the one screaming last night." Gaara nodded though seemed unbothered by the sight of the half eaten corpse in the middle of the room.

"At least we know the one here is definitely is a Stray Devil. Only they are so vile to do that to someone and then eat them afterward." Gaara said with some disgust.

"I wouldn't completely agree, Gaara. Though I do agree this is our little stray's doing. She's hear somewhere." Makima said.

"Yes." Gaara nodded in agreement before narrowing his eyes into the inky black darkness on the far side of the warehouse.

"It's disgusting. Shukaku, there it's all yours." Gaara commanded while lifting a hand to point at a specific point in front of them covered in shadows.

The tanuki yokai seemed to realize that he had nearly been left behind at some point and caught up to the pair of redheads. He cackled and rushed forward into the darkness uncaring about whatever possible traps there might be. As he went, the concealed monster in the shadows seemed to judge that their best chance was to counter attack and they charged out of the darkness to meet him halfway across the room.

Gaara's lips twitched a bit causing Makima to turn her attention toward her king in interest. The meaty sounds of fists meeting their targets didn't interest her near as much as the tiniest expression of disgust on his face after all. She'd seen plenty of fights, but rarely did Gaara actually show such sour emotions toward a stranger.

She could understand some of his reaction though. The concept of a stray devil was already grotesque. Treacherous and vile, plus this one was particularly disgusting. It was hardly even humanoid anymore. Instead it's body had become that of an oversized rat with a festering and filthy hide with the tail of giant red scorpion.

"Does it really bother you?" She asked as Shukaku ducked beneath a swipe from the monstrosity's tail and planted a quick series of painful punches along it's bloated side.

"A bit. I will never be comfortable seeing devils succumb to such corrupted forms." He practically spat, though to those that didn't know him his voice hardly wavered from the flat calm tone it usually had.

Makima actually giggled lightly at that. "If I didn't know you so well Gaara, I'd think you weren't bothered by them at all."

She stopped laughing at his reaction before turning her head to the opposite side of the warehouse and narrowing her eyes. She lifted her hands up and the beginnings of magical circles opened up beside her only for Gaara to step past her and hold up a hand of his own.

"Leave them to me." He said quietly before sweeping his hand down just as the half dozen or so smaller monsters sprang forth from the shadows. Each of them looked like a twisted clone of the same vile creature that was keeping Gaara's unruly pawn entertained.

As they closed in though they simply smashed face first into a wall of sand that had lifted up from seemingly nowhere. Unlike with Makima's spells there was no magical circle, no warning at all beyond the movement of Gaara's hand. The sand simply sprang up and stopped the attack before latching on to the little beasts and greedily pulling them in.

They screeched briefly. Very briefly and afterward the only sound was their flesh tearing and bones being ground down into particulate to join the sand that Gaara held dominion over.

"Filthy." He grimaced looking at his sand before funneling it into the small gourd hanging at his hip.

Inside one of several magic circles spun and opened a passage to a pocket dimension filled with nothing but sands of various types of materials. A moment later and the circle deactivated, sealing the door once more and never even changing the weight of the gourd.

"Hmm, efficient. I always love seeing you at work, Gaara. Keep making me proud." Makima cooed playfully toward him.

She smiled at the tiniest of twitches on his lips when he heard her approval. She very much enjoyed drawing a bit of a reaction from him. Even this much. She knew that despite her low status in their clan before he took her to be his queen piece of his peerage, he very much enjoyed gaining her approval.

A small but useful holdover from her brief stint as his magical tutor and playmate when they were both younger.

"Shukaku. Stop playing with it. Kill it and get over here. We can;t be late for school." Gaara called out to his pawn still busy slapping the now exhausted rat scorpion hybrid about.

"Eh? Didn't we just do that stupid shit yesterday? I mean can't we just skip once?" He complained as he planted a fist into the rat's swollen nose, dumping it backward onto the floor.

"We have things to do today, if you recall Shukaku." Makima called out suddenly with a bit of a sharp hint in her voice that caught Gaara's attention.

"Right. Well I guess the fun is over." Shukaku sighed sadly before simply stomping down on the rat's head once and finishing it in an unnecessary show of gore.

Makima shook her head, though it looked to be more fond than actually disapproving. Gaara simply began the magical circle that would take them to just outside their school's gates.

"We need to be on time or I'll get another set of lectures, and that will annoy me." Gaara said, simply causing the tanuki to chuckle weakly before nodding his head.

Having finished what they came to do here, the three devils vanished into the magic circle.


"I still say that this is stupid. You really need to learn to stand up to your sister fu-bossman." Shukaku loudly complained, though he caught himself at the end as Makima turned to face him with a soft smile on her lips.

"Don't be late for home economics, Shukaku." Makima said sweetly.

"Ugh. Fucking school." The boy complained as he trudged off toward his locker then on to Third Year Home Economics with Mister Hiraoka. The only person that Shukaku knew to be more dull and dry than his own king.

"He's going to get in trouble for his mouth again. Oh well, I'm off as well Gaara. I have some more contracts to complete, but I will see you this evening. Have a good day." Makima said dutifully before pressing a quick kiss to his forehead and walking off toward the center of town.

Gaara blinked and stared after her for a moment. He had been certain she had completed all of her contracts early this week. He couldn't remember why. She could have always picked up a few more he supposed. After all, he knew she was an ambitious person. It was the only reason she'd accepted her role as his subordinate at first, despite having been the one to help him get his first grasp of magic when they were children.

Pushing thoughts regarding his queen, their past, and her many intriguing quirks from his head, Gaara instead turned his attention to collecting up his books and other school supplies and making his own way to class. He didn't need the lectures from Sona and Rias about attendance that Shukaku regularly received.

He paused for a moment and contemplated crushing the three boys nearby complaining about having seen Makima press her lips to his brow a moment ago. Rias wouldn't be happy. She had already warned him about trying to murder students here even if they were humans. She hated the paperwork not to mention the annoyance of having to wipe peoples memories from such an event.

It had only been once and he hadn't actually been planning on killing anyone. He wasn't a psychopath.

As he rounded a corner in the halls he realized someone was talking to him and he turned his head to look at his sister's knight.

"Oh, Kiba. Hello." He said simply.

The boy looked startled before sighing with a forced smile on his lips. Gaara realized he'd likely been spacing out again and the boy felt a bit stupid for simply speaking to no one when he thought Gaara had been listening. He really needed to do a better job at announcing his presence.

"Is something bothering you Lord Gaara?" Kiba asked a bit awkwardly. The two were the closest in age between those that Gaara spent time with, but Kiba and he were very different and so hardly talked beyond what was required. Well Gaara hardly talked. Surprisingly, when Kiba felt uncomfortable around Gaara he became a much more talkative person.

A bit annoyingly so.

"What did you ask me again?" Gaara asked as they rounded another corner causing the boy's smile to become even more strained.

"I was wondering if something was bothering you. You seem to be spacing out a bit more than usual." He said.

"Ah. No." Gaara said simply before stopping to turn the handle for the door to their classroom.

Kiba stared at him before sighing. "Right. Of course."

As they found their seats. Side by side, just as Rias had commanded, Gaara turned back to the young knight.

"Why?"

"Why?"

"Yes, why?" He repeated himself.

"Ah, why did I ask, or…"

"Yes."

"Right." Kiba said as he shifted uncomfortably under the piercing teal eyes of the redheaded boy.

"I was just checking. Making sure you know that Rias and her entire peerage are here if you need us if need be."

Gaara continued to stare for a moment. Finally he nodded slowly.

"I appreciate the sentiment. Do not make a habit of volunteering my sister and her peerage for things however." He said before turning his attention to the front of the room as the teacher entered.

"Ah…it won't happen again." Kiba laughed stiltedly. He snapped his fingers as he recalled something a moment later.

"I was meant to also deliver a request from Rias to you. She wants you to come to the ORC clubroom after classes. She is sending Akeno for both Shukaku and Makima as well."

"Understood." Gaara replied quietly before retrieving his book and turning to the page that the teacher was directing them to.

Kiba nodded before following suit and pulling his own schoolwork out. Pointless as all of this was for them in their professions and lives, Rias and Sona had made it clear they wanted them all to experience it for their own reasons. Kiba was bound to do as Rias commanded and Gaara…he would always do as she pleased. It was simply his way.

The day continued on monotonously. Gaara, as per usual, allowed his mind to frequently drift off into places far from Kuoh Academy and its incredibly boring educators. Though he did get pulled back in from time to time by Kiba.

He would normally say that if he didn't know better then Kiba was sent to keep him from drifting off too much. Normally. They both knew that Rias had done just that, and the eyes of some of Sona's peerage members were intently focused on him as well clearly ready to get him back in class if he took to daydreaming too much.

"Ah, I was wondering if you had heard as well, Lord Gaara." Kiba suddenly said while pulling Gaara out of his latest train of thought.

"It depends on what it is." He replied.

"Maybe Koneko said something to you. She caught the odd scent of a sacred gear of some kind among the three uhm, perverted boys in our class." Kiba said.

"Why was she even close enough to smell them?" Gaara asked, fully turning to Kiba, and thereby startling the boy with the simple movement despite it being just that, a simple movement.

"Rias thinks that there might be some powerful sacred gear users at the academy."

"So she makes Koneko sniff everyone? I need to talk to her about that." He said before turning back toward the teacher who was lecturing about something to do with quadratic equations, or maybe with the history of the Meiji Restoration.

"What class are we in?" He asked as he turned back to Kiba.

"What? Uh, Biology." He replied.

"Hmm, not good." Gaara replied simply before turning back to the board yet again.

Kiba blinked before leaning over again to speak a bit more to his king's little brother.

"Akeno also found some evidence of Fallen Angels in the area."

Gaara half turned to his classmate before sighing and turning to look at the board again as the teacher attempted to draw a plant, or maybe a diagram of reproductive organs.

"This town draws far too many supernatural beings in. I wish we had gone to a school in somewhere interesting like South America. Then we probably wouldn't have to see a stray devil every day before breakfast, or a fallen angel every night before bed." Gaara complained much longer than Kiba was used to.

"Rias insisted on Japan though." Gaara bemoaned, and Kiba wasn't sure that he was even part of a conversation anymore or simply listening to the boy monologue his thoughts.


It took all day long, it seemed, but finally they made it to the last class of the day. Not that Gaara had paid any attention to what class it actually was. By now his attention was elsewhere entirely. More specifically at this instant it was trapped in a rare moment of eavesdropping.

Unfortunately the target of such an act happened to be the Perverted Trio. Gaara actually had some dislike toward them which was rare. Usually he felt absolutely nothing in regards to strangers. The creepy way they spoke about his sister and his friend Koneko made that a bit more understandable.

They could keep talking and leering at Akeno as far as he was concerned though. Even he knew she was somewhat twisted up when it came to relationships and romance. Maybe she would like having such devotees. Koneko hated it and Rias largely just wanted to be left alone to enjoy the life of a weeb. Or at least that was the word Koneko used for her.

His mind focused as the loudest one started speaking again.

"I'm telling you idiots. She had perfect tits. Not too lewd but her shirt was a little low cut you know. She is respectable in her hotness."

"Even your fantasy women are fucking bland, dog." The bald one replied.

"Fantasy? Bitch shut up. Yuuma is real, and I'm going out with her tonight after school. Be jealous and beg for my favor, maybe I'll let you smell my finger afterward." The loud one, Issei now that he recalled, said confidently.

Gaara wondered who this Yuuma was. He couldn't help but feel a bit bad for her, because clearly she wasn't from this area. Otherwise she would probably have heard of the pervert's reputation by now. Gaara himself drew the line at things like peeking after all. There was benign a bit lewd in thought, then there was being a creep.

Koneko and he agreed the Perverted Trio were creeps that should just die.

Not that he planned on killing them. After all, he still wasn't some kind of psychopath.

Putting thoughts of this strange, doomed girl Yuuma from his mind, Gaara let out a sigh of relief as the last class of the day came to an end and Kiba approached him to walk together back toward the clubhouse that Rias had commandeered for herself.

Along the way they bumped into Sona and her queen Tsubaki.

"Hello Gaara. Having a good day so far?" Sona asked him as she stepped up beside him leaving Tsubaki and Kiba to walk side by side.

Gaara glanced over at the slightly older girl. She was smiling ever so slightly at him with warmth in her eyes that was rare for others to receive. He liked that about her. She didn't feel the need to express herself as loudly as most others. It was part of why he liked Koneko quite a lot as well.

Still there was something in that expression today. She was hinting at knowing something more. He didn't know what it was though and he doubted asking would really achieve much more than an unnecessary and awkward conversation. Something he didn't care for at the moment.

"My peerage members and I eliminated a stray devil and their brood of spawn this morning before classes began. It was underwhelming but had murdered one of Makima's clients before we found it. Classes have been typical, though I imagine you already know there is some sort of meeting in Rias' clubroom now. Otherwise you wouldn't be headed this way." He responded sounding more like he was giving a report rather than simply answering the question.

"Ah. I hadn't meant it like that, but that's fine. As for the meeting, I was asked to come as well. I suppose we'll see why soon enough." She said while adjusting her glasses and letting her lips twitch a bit further up into a more pronounced grin.

Again Gaara could tell there was something in her expression hinting at something but he couldn't really understand what it was.

The group quickly made their way into the clubhouse and then up the stairs to the clubroom proper where Gaara pushed open the door only to pause as several people jumped out and cheered loudly for him.

"Happy Birthday Gaara!" Rias hollered especially loudly as she smiled at him.

Gaara, having been completely caught off guard, felt his eyes widen in shock, though he failed to react in any other way. Akeno seeing it pouted for a moment.

"Who told him?" She asked.

"I've never seen you so surprised!" Rias cheered before storming across the room and wrapping him into a hug that disappeared his face into her chest.

"You set up a surprise birthday for me?' Gaara asked as she finally let him up for air.

"Of course! Happy seventeenth birthday, baby brother. Dad says he wishes he could be here but he sent a package of gizzards for you though." She said trying not to let her personal distaste for the dish show on her face.

"This is nice." Gaara quietly said as he reached out and brought Rias in for another hug.

"I'll take this as a victory. Definitely worth us putting our other business on hold." Rias replied, nuzzling her face into her little brother's hair.


A couple of hours later Gaara was seeking out a small reprieve from the festivities. Having all three of their peerages together meant that a somewhat sizable group of people had attended his birthday party and he wasn't exactly equipped for continuous social interaction with multiple people.

Thankfully Sona and Rias were arguing over something silly or other which gave him the chance to slip out for a bit and come up here to the roof. With a deep breath of the crisp night air he settled into a spot to sit and stare up at the bright full moon. It always made him feel a bit at peace.

Years ago, when he'd been terribly ill and had recurring nightmares to boot, he'd spent his time staring up at a similar sky in the Underworld. It brought him plenty of comfort on particularly difficult nights. Even now, fully healthy and capable of sleep if he desired to, Gaara found some time at night spent simply staring at the sky was quite enjoyable.

That solitude was interrupted as a sudden magic circle appeared on the rooftop nearby. A familiar silver haired woman in a maid's uniform formed with her red eyes suddenly growing frustrated as she realized how late it was. He knew she was annoyed at having missed the party, but that was fine. The fact she came at all while still being so terribly busy back in their homeland showed just how much she cared.

Grayfia always went above and beyond for their family since being made his brother's queen. She wanted to feel like a part of the family and so took their compassion for the clan and all it's members further than even the blood members of the family did.

Not that Gaara would complain. After his mother passed away shortly after his birth, Grayfia had spent more time with him than any other member of the family. It built a very special bond for them. His lips ghosted up into what most would consider a thin or frail smile.

Grayfia saw it and couldn't stop the grin spreading across her own face.

"Your brother was in tears when he realized he couldn't come and wish you a happy birthday." She said as she stepped up beside him.

"That's alright. I don't need two older siblings trying to smother me with their love at once." He replied.

"I thought as much. That's part of why I refused to do any of it for him. That and I refused to miss another of your birthdays." Grayfia said as she offered out a thick tome toward him.

"You didn't need to get me a gift. I'm happy enough that you came to see me." He said.

"It is your birthday, Gaara. It's not much anyway. A collection of mythologies and fables surrounding the moon from around the mortal world. I know you still spend most of the night sitting up, but maybe you would like something to help pass the time as you do."

Gaara almost truly smiled as he stood up and wrapped the thick book in what was practically a hug. "Thank you, Grayfia."

The woman smiled at him before bowing her head a little. "It's my pleasure, Lord Gaara."

She then frowned sadly. It was already time to go.

"Some Old Satan supporters launched a terrorist attack in the mountains of the Zepar clan this weekend. The work is non stop. I'll see you again whenever I can." She said before leaning forward and kissing his forehead much like how Makima had started to do.

"Until then." Gaara said as she disappeared into a flash from a magic circle.

Deciding that he would rather not rejoin the others or head home yet he settled back into his place on the roof and opened the thick book and began reading through the various stories and folk tales inside.

As he did so he felt his mind drift a bit. After an hour it had drifted to the gourd at his hip and he began to idly open the magic circle to the true dimension where his sands were kept. He moved the sand about magically inside. Massive sandstorms raged in a realm of only darkness and sand, and tidal waves of earth swept into one another with no one but him to witness it.

He played with the sand without much purpose for quite some time. However as he did so he felt a tug. A sensation pulling at him deep within his container. A calling.

He followed. At least with his mind. Only to freeze and convulse for a moment as his sand clenched around an object buried within his own private little dimension.

That was the last thing he recalled before waking up on Rias' bed with a worried and annoyed Rias and Sona staring down at him from his bedside.

"Ah, good morning." He said softly while blinking at them.


Once the expected lectures about needing to sleep more and take better care of himself had passed, Gaara had managed to once more slip free of his sister and her friend's clutches. He had no desire to be babysat all day long while they tried to tell him about chess or anime.

Thankfully Shukaku could always be relied upon to give him an opening to escape. Maou rest his soul for the way he did it though. Bursting into the room demanding a spar with Gaara in the most disrespectful and vulgar ways possible was a surefire way to draw the ire of not only Rias and Sona but also Makima too.

From the sound of it they were really giving it to him too.

That was okay though. He was really durable and it meant Gaara could slip out for a walk before they locked him down in the room to 'rest'.

He felt a bit guilty at that cowardly act perhaps. Shukaku was only trying to check on Gaara's well-being in his own stupid way.

His thoughts on that ended however as he approached one of the larger local parks and found a crowd gathered just outside it's perimeter. Police tape barred entry and several officers kept the civilians nearby away while detectives seemed to be canvasing the entire park.

Gaara heard the people whispering and mumbling though. Evidently some highschool student had managed to get themselves murdered in the park last night. That was unpleasant. Especially since Gaara didn't know where to wander around in circles for a couple hours now.

Just as he began to contemplate returning to the academy and inevitably to Rias, Sona, and Makima he heard a different topic of discussion among the gathered people. Or rather he heard a voice speaking a completely different language and having no luck of any others understanding her.

Not a lot of people in Kuoh could speak Italian though. Gaara naturally could however and he approached the sound of the voice to lend a hand if he could. Rias would be happy with him for that.

Just as he found her though, she turned to face him and the world fell away.

He suddenly recalled himself sitting on the rooftop last night. Gripping an object with his hand, no with his sand, or maybe with both. Images and feelings that weren't his or rather weren't his yet, slid through his mind too quickly for him to understand them and suddenly he collapsed into a heap on the roof.

The first of the images returned now. The visage of the girl before him crying over him with worry as he felt intense devotion in his own chest directed at her.

And a whisper that he only now recalled from the memory that wasn't a memory.

"I'm not going to let you die, Gaara."


And that is that. Pretty good for writing it all in about 3 hours. I hope you enjoyed. More to come.

Anyway

TIll Next Time