104Prologue: The Rebirth of Shinji Ikari
The small goddess wrapped in a fine white dress stood in her temple, her long auburn hair flowing down freely. She was small, her height nothing more than that of a young girl's, for a being such as herself age was a choice and this is how she preferred to appear.
In her hands she held a small bundle wrapped in a blanket. It was an infant, a young one only a few weeks old, sleeping in her arms happy and content as it enjoyed something it would have never imagined to be able to enjoy.
The warmth of a mother, his own mother.
Never before would the soul that lived within the small form ever think it would know this warmth again; a soul that knew what it meant to be abandoned by a parent, a soul that knew what suffering was, a soul that has already lost the innocence of early childhood. The body was young but the instincts born within all children told the soul inside, a soul that had seen far too much death for that of an infant, that the warmth that comforted it was its mother's and so it was content.
The goddess though, for all her wisdom, stood ignorant of the happiness she provided her child as she stared down at the form with sharp blue eyes devoid of the love and warmth she showed her companions on a daily basis. She frowned as the baby snuggled unconsciously up to her, causing a wave of anger to flow through her. She forced herself to ignore the instinct to throw the child into the roaring flames of the hearth behind her as it tried to press itself even closer to her.
The baby was seemingly healthy; by all means she should have been proud, happy that fate had awarded her such a child.
'And yet why did you still have to be born so?' she wondered as she shook her head in disappointment and disdain. She had planned to birth an heir, a truly perfect child, the child she would teach all she could to.
And yet, as healthy as the infant was…it was still imperfect, a failure.
Was this the universe's idea of a joke? Or was it a punishment for trying to have something she was never meant to have?
She looked up and saw two of her handmaidens dressed in silver cloaks, she had called them into the sacred halls of her temple to take away the failed product she held in her hands. Unhappy as she with the…mistake that she had born into the world she was not so cruel that she would sentence the babe to death. Truly, she viewed herself as merciful.
After all it was an abomination in her mind, its very existence an insult to her august self. She had cursed grown men for far far less.
It would live life as a mortal and it would die as a mortal and she had made sure of that to the best of her abilities by taking away most of the gifts a child of a god would have been born with.
"I shall take him my Lady," the taller of the two, one of her if not her most senior follower, stepped forward and the goddess nodded and handed her child to her. The infant immediately sensed the absence of its mother's warmth and squirmed, the young boy's cries echoing in the temple's spacious hall.
"Shhh little one," the girl murmured warmly and the babe snuggled up to her. She smiled under the shadow of her cloak, she had spent the most time with the baby since he was born, having been the child's baby sitter of sorts and he recognized her voice. She then shifted her patron's child so she could take out a piece of paper and pin it to the child's blanket before finding a pen in her pocket, "do you have a name for him my Lady?"
"No," she answered simply and shook her head. She had taken as much from the child as she could to distance herself from it. Even most of the the powers demi-gods normally had that came from the divine parent's essence were taken from it, almost nothing of their connection remained. Hopefully it would die forgotten so not even the memory of its existence would bother her in the future. The only reason it wasn't reduced to a normal mortal was that the abomination's soul would be forever tied to hers for as long as they both still lived. For her to be rid of that she would have to kill it and even she would not lower herself to killing infants, as much as she would like to do so now.
Instead she comforted herself with the knowledge that the boy would be dead and buried in around 80 years, sooner if she was lucky, and that was a blink of the eye for a being like her. So no, she would not name it and give it another connection to her when she would like nothing more than the boy to die.
"U-understood my Lady."
The goddess nodded and turned to the other cloaked girl, one of her newer followers. "Sakura, go with her."
"Of course," she nodded and stood beside her comrade. "Your will be done, my Lady."
"You both know what to do," she instructed them as she walked away before adding, almost as an afterthought "…you may name him if you wish."
Both girls nodded and left, her greatest mistake, the abomination that was her son, the child that should never have been born in their arms. As a magic circle flashed under her two servants before teleporting them away the goddess sighed. Just a few decades and her mistake and the last reminder of it, the accursed bond she shared with that damned infant, would be gone and dead. She sighed again, 'it cannot happen soon enough.'
Kuoh City, Japan
It was a beautiful night, the air was calm, the sky was clear as it twinkled with stars and the moon was full as it hovered in the night sky. Silence covered the waterfront as the silver moon was reflected on the calm waves, their gentle rocking back and forth across the sand the only sound that could be heard on this calm and quiet night. A slight breeze fluttered across the trees, rustling them softly.
'What a lovely evening,' the elder of the goddess' servants thought to herself as she stood along the boardwalk, her companion standing silently alongside her. The cloaks that covered them from head to toe softly fluttered in the midnight breeze. They were items given by their patron to hide the magical presence her blessing on them exuded. They were not supposed to be here in the territory of the Shinto gods after all and it would hide them…for a time, she could feel the spell woven into them weakening by the moment. 'Not much time then.'
She turned around to see the reason they had come here, it was an orphanage. She had done her research and Kuoh City, while Shinto territory, was quiet supernaturally speaking. It did have a church but it had been abandoned for several years now, Christianity's lack of popularity in Japan forcing the Church to downsize its presence in the country. At present no faction had a presence in the area so he should be safe from them. It was far away from her patron Goddess as well so it would help keep her son out of mind and safe from his own mother…wasn't that a sad thought? Lastly, and most importantly for her, this orphanage had a good reputation.
With a sad sigh she led her companion through the park and to the orphanage with the small baby still held in her arms.
"What should we name him Sakura?" she asked, her voice and mind conflicted. She looked down at the infant as it tried to snuggle up closer to her and she smiled lightly at the adorable action. She hummed at the child as she held him closer to her, in the few days they had spent together she had to admit the still unnamed baby had grown on her and she was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. "You better behave you hear? You adorable little rascal," she blinked back her tears
She really didn't want to just…abandon him like this.
All she got in response were adorable baby noises, forcing an amused smile out of her despite her somber mood.
"I'll miss you too," she sighed as they reached the orphanage door.
"I'll miss him as well," Sakura murmured as she stood close and cooed at the baby boy.
"Do you have an idea for a name?" she asked as an idea came to her and she pulled off her necklace. It was a simple thing, a small white rabbit's foot lucky charm attached to a fine silver chain. She had worn it over the last hundred years or so for good luck, being in the service of a god or goddess often meant you faced danger after all. Still, she felt the small child would need it more than she would since he would be alone from here on out. In a way she felt like she was failing him. She had fed him and changed him, told him stories, sung him lullabies and held him whenever he cried himself awake. True she wasn't the parent but she had taken care of him more than his mother had, she was the only one to have ever cared for him…and now she was the one to leave him to the care of strangers.
'I'm so…so sorry,' she thought as she tucked the good luck charm into his blanket before turning to Sakura.
"A name? You're asking me?" Sakura raised an unseen brow at her friend. She felt conflicted too, after all she was saved by her goddess as a baby and here she was helping the same woman abandon her own child.
"Well you're Japanese aren't you?"
Sakura blinked, that was a very good point, and the child would be living in Japan.
"Hmm," the junior of the two hummed before opening her hand at her friend, "give me the pen, I have just the thing."
"Oh, can I hear it?"
Sakura nodded. For his first name the kanji used could mean 'child of god', after all he was the son of a goddess. Even if she knew her mistress would be unhappy if she were to find out what his name meant she honestly didn't believe the goddess would be interested enough to even ask if they named her son or not. In Sakura's opinion though, as an orphan herself, it was too cruel to leave the child without a connection to his mother. For the last name though she would use the last name of a dear friend of hers who had passed away several years ago.
"Shinji Ikari, sounds good right?" the recently named Shinji seemed to approve as he blabbed up at them and the two of them smiled. "I'm glad you liked it, my Little Prince."
"…I like it too," she nodded under her hood before turning back to the small boy in her arms and giving him one last loving smile. "I hope we meet again Shinji."
4 Years Later
Little Light Orphanage, Kuoh City
"Ngh," Shinji moaned as he opened his eyes, "stupid light."
The small boy threw the blanket over his face to block out the light…but just threw them off him a moment later in frustration. What would he do, go back to sleep? Back to the nightmares of his old life and the war he had fought?
"Fat chance," he murmured before hopping out of bed and fixing his clothes, a simple white shirt and baby blue pajama pants. He stretched and looked around his room to see the two other boys that shared his room were still asleep. Even after growing up in the orphanage his entire life Shinji had to admit it still felt strange sleeping in a room with other people.
Something soft brushed against his leg and he jerked in surprise and looked down to see a big white wolf-like dog staring up at him with intelligent blue eyes, head tilted to the side, a simple leather collar around its neck with a steel tag.
"Good morning Luna," Shinji crouched down and petted the dog who gave a very soft bark in response. Luna was, Shinji guessed, a wolf-dog, a hybrid born of a dog and a wolf, due to her generally tame dog like personality but wolf-like appearance. She joined the orphanage around a year after he did and was named, due to the colour of her fur, after a character in Sailor Moon by the kids, a cat ironically…That said the kids had apparently confused the black cat Luna with the white cat from the same show, Artemis, when they named her.
Shinji didn't care though, she was 'his' dog in that she constantly stayed by his side and he had grown quite attached to her in return. "I hope you slept well."
As a side note he was partially worried how familiar with magical girl shows he'd become.
He had to admit that it was odd how comfortable he was around Luna considering in his old life he was terrified of dogs, especially big ones. Was his fear simply ingrained into the brain of his old body and not his soul? Shinji had stopped caring about that a long time ago though, he had no clue how metaphysics or metabiology worked and from what he could tell humanity had no clue those things existed this time around. That was fine by him, considering Eva tech was developed and the concept of instrumentality were born from the two fields of study.
Besides, ultimately, he was too grateful for Luna's companionship to care.
Shinji stood up and picked up his rabbit foot necklace, examining the charm for a moment. Aside from his name, which was luckily enough the same one he had last time, it was the one thing he had from…whoever left him here. He sighed and put it on, slipping it under his shirt before turning to his faithful companion.
"Come on girl."
Showered, cleaned and changed into a red polo shirt and black pants Shinji was sitting downstairs on the orphanage's dining room table munching away on a plate of pancakes. Luna was relaxing on the floor beside his chair, being a much quicker eater than he was.
"I could have helped you," Shinji said to the woman who was cooking on the stove. She was in her thirties and was genuinely one of the sweetest and most genuinely kind women Shinji had met in either of his two lives. With her long black hair and kind brown eyes the orphanage's matron, Sakuya Hyuga, was the epitome of the traditional Japanese ideal of female beauty, a true yamato nadeshiko. For all intents and purposes she had raised him, and he tried to help her whenever possible, even if his four year old body hindered him quite a bit in that regard.
"It's fine Shin-chan," she smiled at the small child, "if I let you do all the cooking I would get rusty now wouldn't I?" She still remembered when he had first cooked a meal a month ago, with her supervision of course, and she was surprised by how good it was, even better than her. "You're still young, if you want to be a chef you have plenty of time to practice right?"
Shinji blushed at that, not used to the strong bit of phrase, not even Misato had said he was good enough to go professional…then again he supposed she was always too drunk to think of anything that made sense during dinner. And of course Asuka had never complemented his cooking before, even if her small smiles told him she at least enjoyed what he made.
"T-thank you," he murmured as he finished the last bit of his breakfast, savoring the taste.
It was banana pancakes, one of his favorite things to make back in Tokyo-3. It was different than what he'd made back then though since the Cavendish species of banana had gone extinct after Second Impact. The fruit that replaced it wasn't as good if Shinji remembered the flavour from his old life correctly. Still, superior ingredients aside, there was one more thing his recipe never had, something that made his own dish pale in comparison.
Love, as corny as that may sound, the knowledge that the woman who ran the orphanage prepared every meal with real genuine care. Due to her age and cheerful demeanor he viewed Sakuya more as a big sister, like Misato, but she was still the closest thing he had ever had to a loving mother that he could actually remember.
Shinji wiped his eyes as tears began to shed.
In all the years of his old life he had always wondered what a meal cooked by his mother would have tasted like…
'Speaking of breakfast…' Shinji looked at the clock, it was almost the afternoon now and the one friend he had, well the one human friend he had, in the orphanage hadn't come down for breakfast yet. That got him worried; she almost always woke up just before him. 'Maybe I should go and wake her up?' he thought to himself…before he remembered.
Mari Makinami Illustrious was adopted a few days ago.
"Still hard to believe she's gone…" Shinji mumbled to himself, Mari was his first friend. She had arrived at the orphanage shortly after him. Ever since they were babies they were together, side by side.
Even after a few days he was still adjusting to the fact that he was alone once again.
Luna nudged against his hand, her own way of showing worry and he turned to her and smiled, "thanks for worrying about me girl. What would I be without you?"
Horribly depressed and lonely was the probable answer.
He felt a hand gently place itself on his shoulder and he looked up to see the face of Sakuya Hyuga, a bitter sweet smile on her gentle face.
"You miss Mari don't you?" She sighed "...Shinji-kun…you did a good thing, saying good bye with a smile. Most of the kids would have begged her to stay…" Shinji just nodded and she sighed again. Shinji wasn't exactly a people person, she knew that. Oh he was easy to like, kind and polite as can be, an ideal child really.
'Whoever left you behind did not know what they were missing,' she couldn't help think but Shinji was also quiet and mature for his age. Mari was the only human friend he had had for the whole four years she had raised them and the two had grown up together, the other children too immature to get along with the quiet Shinji.
How much did her adoption affect him? Even she would admit she couldn't tell and that worried her, Shinji didn't open up to just anybody. Even Mari hadn't been able to work her way past most of his barriers
Shinji just nodded and took a deep breath before looking up at her and giving her a small forced smile, "I'll be fine…I'll be fine." He then turned around and grabbed a satchel bag, a small one his size, and a leash for Luna.
"Where are you going?"
"The park," he answered her "…I just want some time alone to think."
Sakuya frowned; she could tell Shinji was still upset. Normally kids would probably want to spend time with her as a result. Well either that or go play with the other children to get their mind off things.
'Shinji isn't like other children,' she remembered and sighed before nodding, "just the park understood?" She then turned to the orphanage's unofficial guard dog, "keep an eye on him you hear?"
*BARK!*
"I had a feeling you might want to go out so I prepared you a snack. Now just remember to stay where I can see you," she smiled before walking to the kitchen. When she came out she had in her hand a bundle he recognized as a bento and a clear plastic bag with two cans of apple juice. She gave him a smile and handed both to him before he took it and she ruffled his hair. Shinji closed his eyes, savoring the affection in her touch and for a moment he imagined he wasn't abandoned again, that he was in the presence of loving family. How long had he dreamed of having a mother, of being loved and cared for like this?
Eventually though she retracted her hand, his happy daydream going with it. "T-thank you."
"You're welcome," she gave him her trademark warm smile and he bowed in thanks.
Shinji sighed as he walked through the park, Luna's leash in one hand as she trotted beside him with her tail waggling happily while the bundle with his bento was in the other. He didn't really think she needed one, she followed him every day without it but the law was the law. It wasn't like she was going to attack without purpose either, Luna was well behaved, she had only attacked before to protect him.
The orphanage was located in the outskirts of Kuoh City near the waterfront, he could hear the waves even now, and it was attached to a sizeable park. It was one of his favorite places in the city. He wasn't quite sure if he enjoyed the outdoors that much during his old life though, he had lived in cities for its entirety and some of his memories of that life had blurred with time. It didn't help that Tokyo-3 had literally no green space, the Geofront did have a forest growing on the floor of the underground cavern but Shinji was only down there for NERV business, never to relax. Maybe he should have had, just being in the park with the sound of leaves and grass rustling as a cool breeze ruffled his hair relaxed him. The park was safe too due to the orphanage's presence and all the kids around meant the police patrolled the park and the surrounding area 24/7. There was even a koban, or a Japanese police box, in the park itself which had several police officers inside, ready to react to any nearby incidents.
Combine that along with his maturity for his age, Luna's large and intimidating presence and the cultural norm in Japan for small children to go to school by themselves meant Sakuya was fine letting him go into the park alone.
He was grateful for that since he would have just snuck out to get some peace anyway.
Seeing an officer walk by he gave the man a respectful bow and a 'good morning' and the officer smiled and returned the greeting and continued on his way. As he came up to the fountain in a clearing in the park Shinji walked up to it and looked down at his reflection in the water. His face didn't look all that different from how he appeared in his old life, or at least how here remembered he looked like when he was four years old. He had always looked like a mixed Japanese/western kid, even in his old life. Both the Ikari and Rokobungi lines had married with foreigners at least once at one point in time, the Ikari more so. As a result his face showed signs of mixed heritage but the biggest sign was the fact that he had blue eyes just like Asuka who was also of mixed birth. That hadn't changed.
He ran his fingers across the scar that ran vertically down across the left side of his face where a rock had almost cut out his eye, a product of a fight he had with an older boy who tried to bully Mari. After a life of indecision he refused to just sit by and do nothing when his one friend was being picked on. The times when he felt like he abandoned Asuka and did nothing alongside the incident when Unit-03 was hijacked by an Angel with Toji inside flashed through his mind during that fight. Mari had called him a 'heroic idiot' because of it but he had no regrets, the scar he now bore was nothing to the scars of his past failures, those would forever haunt his soul.
The only real physical difference was that his skin tone was paler, resembling Rei's porcelain like skin while his hair was still the same dark chocolate brown it once was. He was happy for his appearance; it would have been odd walking around with the face of a person he didn't recognize as himself.
Shinji reached down, his reflection rippling as his fingers touched the cool water and he sighed in contempt as the wind ruffled his hair and the birds sung in the trees.
"Four years," he murmured, "hard to believe it's been so long…"…'Four years since for me at least…' he reminded himself. His life was so peaceful now, even if it was a tad lonely and empty, that it was so easy to forget sometimes that he had seen the end of the world before recreating it a new. He chuckled to himself as he imagined what Asuka would have said to him if she found out he had become God and had thrown it all away in the end.
"Call me stupid probably," he chuckled to himself.
Still, he didn't regret his decision to renew the world.
Shinji listened to the sounds of nature around him and the voices of other people in the park and smiled. Yes, he made the correct choice. Compared to the old world, the old timeline, this world was so much more alive. Most of the world's animal life wasn't just being kept out of extinction in zoos and aquariums or wiped out of existence entirely by the fires of Second Impact and the resultant disasters and wars. In comparison to the old world animals thrived now.
Even the human population was better off.
Around 6.5 billion humans lived on earth the last time he had looked online and it was projected to be more than 7 billion by the time it struck 2015, the year the Angel War started. That blew his mind even to this day, that that many people in the world could exist. He had heard stories yes and seen the numbers in books back in the schools of his old life but to live in the world without Impact and the wars that followed? It was and still is amazing to the former Third Child and justified his final choice. In a way, if he thought about it, he saved billions of lives hadn't he?
He smiled at the thought.
Now if he lived past 14 this time around he would be happy. That said though…he looked up at the sky in thought, what would happen if he actually made it past puberty? He didn't have any goals, nothing driving him. Truth of the matter was Shinji Ikari didn't really have a reason to wake up every morning. Say what you will about the fear and pain of his life as an Evangelion pilot but at least back then he had a sense of purpose.
*Bark! Bark!* Luna vied for his attention and he looked over to her to see her running around in a circle full of energy as she chased her own tail. Noticing she had his attention she turned to him and bounced in place, barking happily all the while.
Shinji couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he watched his dog exude the energy he wished he could have. He may be young again but there were just some things a redo couldn't fix, psychological wounds that would never really heal. Still, he tried to enjoy himself as much as he could in his day to day life.
"You want to play?" he asked her and she barked twice with a nod. While some people would say their pets understood them and they their pets Shinji always got the impression that Luna understood him a lot more than a normal dog did and, as crazy as it sounded, it was like he instinctively knew what she was saying too. If he had to guess she was as smart as Pen-Pen, and the strange penguin was smart enough to read the newspaper. "Later ok?" he patted his bag, "I want to finish this first."
*Bark* she nodded with what seemed to be an 'ok.'
'Maybe I am crazy, talking to a dog like a person,' he shook his head. He must have looked silly just standing there staring at the fountain before he started talking to his dog. With a sigh he turned around to see…a girl dressed in a magical girl outfit? Shinji blinked in surprise…that…that was strange.
Shinji had to admit she was really pretty though, strangeness of her outfit aside. Her pink skirt was short, showing off her shapely legs. Her form fitting top was also pink and was cut short to show off her bare midriff while a dark pink ribbon with a yellow star was tied around the white collar. She even wore black and pink striped thigh high stockings along with black boots with white cuffs. Topping off her outfit was a pair of black elbow length fingerless gloves and a pink hat with one white feather on either side. Add all that with her raven black hair tied into twin tails with pink ribbons and she looked like she had come straight out of an anime. Shinji even noticed that there was a long pink staff (or was it wand?) with a big yellow star inside a pink ring on the tip that leaned on the side of the bench she was sitting on.
Thanks to living at the orphanage and sharing the TV he had come to know pretty much every single magical girl show on the air and he recognized the costume.
'Milky Spiral 7? A cosplayer?' Shinji wondered and blushed as he realized that the girls outfit showed off a surprising amount of skin while emphasizing her large bust.
What really got his attention though was the girl herself. Her flawless skin, her beautiful body, her long flowing black hair and the joyful smile he couldn't help but envy. What drew him the most though were her eyes. Her eyes were like nothing he had ever seen, they were violet and seemed to sparkle with a cheerful joy so intense, so full of life that Shinji couldn't help but stare.
She was…beautiful, breathtakingly, inhumanely beautiful.
And when those eyes so full of mirth and joy met his own…
Well, after the experience of his last life Shinji thought he just wasn't capable of believing in something as hopeful and naive as love at first sight but…was he wrong?
…Oh shit, he forgot to breath.
A Few Moments Prior…
Serafall Leviathan, one of the four Maou who ruled the Underworld, smiled as she pranced along in the park in her favorite attire. She had just finished negotiations with the Shinto Faction for the purchase of Kuoh. Contrary to what some believed she did do her job as the Maou in charge of foreign affairs.
Happy with a job well done she decided to walk around the town that was now newly considered Underworld territory, starting with the park. The park had actually gotten her attention when she first arrived, she could feel magic was cast somewhere inside, however faint it was. She found that odd, while the city was Shinto territory she was told no supernatural activity had taken place in the city since the local church was abandoned years ago.
So here she was now, following the feeling of magic as she enjoyed the nice weather, her curiosity demanding to be satiated. The park itself was nice too, well maintained and healthy.
Eventually she reached a water fountain and sat at a bench and closed her eyes, focusing her magical senses. She could feel she was at the edge, the boundary, of some kind of…barrier. She couldn't help but be impressed, it was obviously designed to be hard to detect unless someone wandered close enough. Even then most wouldn't even be able to sense it, even sitting right on top of it like she is now it was faint, even to someone like herself. The oddly dressed devil knew that she was an exception to the rule, much more powerful and skilled than most. Whoever designed and cast this barrier was powerful, she guessed it was a god of some sort, a demi-god probably wouldn't be strong or skilled enough. She wasn't too worried about tripping it though, she was far more powerful than most gods.
'Odd,' she thought to herself as she understood what the ward was supposed to do. It was designed to do two things, the first was to isolate the space within, preventing any magical energy from leaking out. The second was…to detect if a specific person or persons entered. There may be more but that's all she could tell with her quick analysis. Well it didn't seem to be dangerous so she'd leave it be for now.
Curiosity satisfied she was about to get up and continue her tour of the town but decided not to as a magical signature entered her senses. Looking up she saw a small child with dark brown hair, a bag slung over his shoulder and a leash in one hand and what she recognized as a bento in the other. She couldn't help but blink in surprise at the 'dog' on the end of the leash though, it obviously wasn't a normal dog, she could tell that much.
'A cu sith maybe? Or a black dog? inugami?' she wasn't sure.
What was more interesting though was the boy who was now staring into his own reflection. A quarter blood? He obviously had divine blood in his veins, she could feel it from the magical energy he seemed to be leaking subconsciously but it was so…weak. Quarter bloods were those who had divine blood but not via their birth parents, usually the god was a grandparent at the minimum.
Then he turned around and she could see he had beautiful blue eyes, she had to admit he was absolutely adorable and she gave him a smile. He froze in place and she guessed he was surprised to see her.
Eventually he shook his head.
"H-hello," he greeted her softly, nothing more than an adorable squeak really. His dog barked at her, seemingly greeting her too. He looked around the clearing near the fountain before frowning, Serafall did too and she realised there wasn't any other benches.
"Wanna sit with me?" she patted the spot beside her.
Serafall hummed joyfully as she kicked her feet in the air, the boy who had introduced himself as Shinji drawing something on a sketchpad beside her while Luna chased butterflies nearby. She glanced to the kid beside her as she analyzed his magical signature more.
And that was when she realized he was a true demi-god, as weak as the divinity in him was it was…pure for a lack of a better word, not watered down. She frowned internally though with that realization, what had happened to him? Demi-gods were rare in the modern era, the various factions not wanting to risk upsetting the balance of power. The few that were born were usually quite treasured, the prides of their divine parents and yet here this child was, most of his powers neutered and seemingly stripped from him while some kind of magic hid him from the supernatural world. The thing was she didn't see anything for anyone to be ashamed of. He seemed to be perfectly healthy to her, aside from a faded scar, and he was polite and adorable as can be.
Eventually she shrugged it off, he didn't seem abused to her so she was satisfied. She loved children after all.
Feeling curious she leaned over to see what he was sketching and blinked in surprise.
"Wow," she couldn't help but comment. In his lap was a beautiful drawing of the fountain with a beautiful woman in an elegant kimono sitting on the edge, a warm smile on her face, the way she was drawn made her seemed almost saintly.
Shinji blushed at the complement, not many people knew he had picked up drawing as a hobby, only Mari did. In a way he viewed it like cooking, and he found himself to be quite good at it, not surprising since he was always good with his hands. Most importantly it was a cheap hobby that didn't strain the orphanage's finances.
"Uh, thank you," he replied shyly as he finished up his sketch.
"Is she your mama?" she asked and noticed him tense before he shook his head and looked up at her, beaming a smile that hinted of sadness and longing.
It was not a smile that belonged to someone so young.
"No…but she loves me like she is," Shinji pointed at the orphanage not too far away, "she runs the local orphanage over there and she's taken care of me since I was a baby. Her birthday is coming up and…" he blushed, "I wanted to do something for her…this is all I can afford."
"Oh I'm so sorry," she gasped in apology and the boy shook his head and put away his finished art work. That did explain why he didn't seem to be aware his magical energy was leaking out of him, like a tap someone forgot to close all the way. If he was left at a mundane orphanage then no one would teach him how to use his powers…as limited as they may be.
"You didn't know," he murmured and gave her something no child should know how to give as good as he did, a forced smile. "It happened…I'm over it."
He wasn't. It was a lie she could tell but from how natural it looked…it was a well-practiced lie.
She nodded and decided to change the subject, "do you like the park Shi-tan? I just came to the city and I have to say its lovely here."
He nodded, grateful for the shift in topics, "yeah I feel so…relaxed here." Luna barked in the background, "and Luna enjoys coming here too."
Feeling a bit hungry he turned around, cleaned his hand with some hand sanitizer, and took out his bento and a can of apple juice before blinking and glancing at the girl who had introduced herself as Serafall. Nodding to himself he made his decision to offer her some, it was the polite thing to do and he would feel awkward eating while someone just watched him.
"Would you like some?" he offered her his simple bento of some onigiri, sausages cut to resemble octopuses and a few apple slices with the skin cut to look like bunny ears. He also nudged the bottle of hand sanitizer to her.
Serafall blinked in surprise, most children she knew would just munch away. "Oh no, that's fine."
"Please…I uh, insist. It…wouldn't feel right to just eat while you watched Leviathan-san."
She smiled at him, causing him to blush, he was obviously shy. Serafall found she couldn't say no to those big blue puppy dog eyes and, she had to admit, it was sweet for him to care, "ok fine, I'll take some." She cleaned her hands before taking an onigiri and took a bite, "mmm! Whoever made this obviously put some love into this!"
"Yeah," Shinji smiled and took an onigiri for himself and took a bite, "she did." He then reached back into his things and pulled out a second can of apple juice and held it up to his new…friend? "Um…drink?"
"Thank you Shi-tan, such a gentleman! And call me Sera-tan! I don't like being all formal."
"Uh…S-Sera-tan," he blushed adorably.
For a while they just sat there munching away in comfortable silence, Shinji surprised about how much he enjoyed being around someone who was basically a stranger to him. In a way Serafall reminded him of Misato who tried to make him feel at home and make him happy on his first night living with her except…it didn't seem as forced this time. He wasn't stupid like Asuka liked to say he was, he knew Misato must have been feeling a bit of obligation to him after he risked his life in the Eva to fight the Angel. That was one of the reasons he didn't know quite what to make of her offer to live with her, or the woman herself, at first.
He smiled to himself, wishing he was a bit older. Serafall looked to be a few years older than he used to be. Considering he was 14 at the end of his last life he guessed she was in her mid to late teens and she was just short, her body was to…uh, developed to be any younger. If he was older he could have gone to school with her, it sounded like she just moved in to him, and that sounded fun if he were to be honest.
Being friends with her sounded like a lot of fun. She probably wouldn't though he reasoned, someone so vibrant wouldn't want to be friends with someone like him, someone who had no friends to call his own anymore.
A pat on his shoulder snapped him out of his melancholy and self-deprecation and he turned to the side to see Serafall giving him a gentle smile. "I'll be your friend then Shin-tan."
"W-what?" he blushed, did he say that last part out loud?! "Y-you don't have to, I was just jo-"
"Shinji," Serafall called him, her tone shifting to be slightly more stern, "I'd be more than happy to be your friend." She then grabbed another onigiri and ruffled his hair with a grin, "besides what girl wouldn't want to be friends with a gentleman such as yourself? The magical girl and the the gentleman! Like Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask!"
He blushed at the complement before looking down at his lap. She wasn't lying to him, he didn't know how but he just knew it. Maybe it was her natural cheer and charisma but…he couldn't help but believe that she did want to befriend him… "ok."
After that a comfortable silence befell the two as they continued to ear and just enjoyed the moment.
Eventually the bento was finished and Shinji put it away as Serafall finished her drink, "say, do you have any recommendations of places to go in town?"
"Eh?"
"I'm quite new in town and I want to have a look around." Her own little sister wanted to move in town too so she wanted to at least have recommendations of where to go to give her or maybe she could even take her sister herself.
"I know a few," Shinji replied and looked up while taking a sip of his juice, thinking about the places he knew. Sakuya loved to take them out on special occasions so he actually knew Kuoh City quite well despite being an impressive four years old.
"Good," Serafall chirped before downing the rest of her drink and throwing it into a trashcan with, to Shinji, uncanny accuracy considering the distance. She then stood up, grabbed her staff and spun it with one hand before snapping her fingers as an idea came to her, "why don't you show me around! It'll be fun!"
"Eh?" Shinji blinked I surprise, "…oh…I…uh, I don't know. I don't think I'm much fun to be around…" aside from Luna his only other friend had beem Mari and even then he had to admit the girl was…odd.
"Nonsense!" Serafall waved him off without seemingly a care. "Besides I owe you now so," she winked at him, "I'll treat you to lunch." The bento wasn't all that big since it was intended for a child so she felt a bit bad eating some. She then turned to the orphanage and grabbed his hand, "come on Shin-tan! You looked so sad when I saw you earlier and as a magical girl I can't let that go! Let's go see if I can get you to be my tour guide. Onward!"
Shinji blubbered and stuttered and tried to protest as she effortlessly dragged him into her tempo, like a leaf in a hurricane. She was just that to him, a storm of joy and life and cheer and quickly he decided that maybe being blown around by that storm wasn't such a bad thing, just by being around her he found himself already cheering up from the slump Mari's absence had left him in. Her cheerful attitude was just that infectious.
He found himself reluctant to say 'good bye' to the weird but fun girl.
Luna followed the pair happily, the handle of her leash held in her mouth, happy to see the boy she called her master genuinely happy again.
"Not bad," Serafall murmured as she stood across the street from the all-girls Kuoh Academy. Beside her stood Shinji whose hand she held, careful not to lose him in the crowds. Luna was now absent since Shinji knew she didn't handle the crowds present on the weekends very well.
"Are you going here Serafall-san?" he asked her. It had been a good two hours now since Serafall had somehow convinced Sakuya to let him go out and play with the magical girl and Shinji had to admit he hadn't had this much fun in a while. Still he found it curious that she let him lead for the most part until she insisted he show her this particular school. He knew the school well enough since Mari was slated to attend next year until she was adopted.
"Hm? No, my little sister is going to go here."
"Wow, she must be really smart," Kuoh Academy wasn't just the best all-girls school in the city but probably the best school in the area full stop. It was big too, like something straight out of an anime, complete with fancy and impressive architecture. It was nothing like the boring but cheap and quick to build schools that were popular in post-Second Impact Japan.
"Hehehe," she grinned down at him, puffing her chest out with obvious pride, "of course! My little So-tan is amazing! Smart, mature and cute! Kuoh should be honoured she's attending!"
Shinji smiled, if Serafall was any indication this 'So-tan' probably was amazing. Speaking of sisters though…Shinji wondered what happened to Rei, was she reborn too? If he remembered…the end correctly then she was a fragment of Lilith, did that allow his half-sister to be reborn? He hoped so, she deserved happiness too, far more than himself.
Actually now that he thought about it…did anyone else remember the old timeline? He'd never really thought about it before since no one he'd met seemed to. Did anyone remember him? Did anyone remember what he'd done?
"Where to next?" Serafall asked, interrupting his thoughts before she heard Shinji's stomach growl, the young boy looking away to hide his warming cheeks. The powerful devil giggled, "lunch it is!"
Hakone, Japan
"Damnit," a young looking man with brown hair, blue eyes and lightly tanned skin mumbled as he walked alone in the southern outskirts of Hakone, a bag of food in one hand. He looked over his shoulder, the street was quiet, even by the standards of the normally sleepy city. He swallowed in nervousness as he continued on his walk, his senses on full alert. Hakone was home to a major Shinto shrine and he had no doubt the Shinto gods would not look favourably on the presence of a small group of stray devils like himself living in their town.
"This was such a bad fucking idea…" Hide from the forces of Heaven, the Church and other Devils who might come to hunt them by staying somewhere they wouldn't dare look. It sounded like such a good idea at first. Now though, walking along the deathly quiet street that lead to the home he and three other strays had holed up in, he was making second guesses.
"We're going to leave tonight if I have anything to say about it…" his voice trailed off as he rounded the corner, the air itself seemingly shifting as magic, powerful magic, slammed into his senses with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
It was a barrier, a powerful one, meant to keep people away while isolating whatever was happening inside, hiding anything and everything from outside observation.
To the young stray that meant his worst nightmares had been confirmed. Hunters had finally come for him and his friends.
'I need to get to them quick!' he dropped the food he had been told to get and jumped into action, sprinting towards their hideout at superhuman speeds. Whoever came to hunt them down knew where they were, no need for stealth now! 'Hopefully I'm not too late! If we're quick we can still get awa-'
His thoughts slammed to a stop as he reached his home for the last three weeks.
In front of the destroyed door was a girl. She was young looking, appearing to be in her early to mid-teens, short and petite but beautiful, inhumanly so. Her skin was smooth and flawless, while her light sand brown hair was cut to chin length, her light blue eyes and her young and beautiful face showed almost no hint of any emotion. She was dressed simply in a sleeveless knee length dress with a white and black checkered pattern, white and blue boots, with a matching beret sitting atop her head.
What sent a spike of dread into his stomach though was what floated right above her head.
A halo of golden light, something only the inhabitants of Heaven possessed.
She was an angel, something high up on the list of things he never wanted to run into.
It seemed she hadn't quite noticed him yet though, he had to act fast, he had to act now! He wasn't sure if she'd just broken down the door or she'd already killed his fellow strays but as beautiful as she was she didn't look that strong, he could take her!
He gathered his courage and called for all the magic he could muster, planning to end her in one atta-he froze as four pairs of pure white feathery wings emerged from her back.
Not two, not four, not six…but eight wings…eight fucking wings.
How the hell was he supposed to fight a monster like that?!
"You…" her soft voice snapped his eyes to her face. She was looking at him now, her light blue eyes boring into him, searching...and they found him lacking "…you aren't him."
Then she disappeared in a blur of speed.
"What the-?!"
The angel, her face appearing bored, looked at the beheaded form of the stray devil before she dismissed the scythe made of pure holy light she held in one of her hands. Then she gazed at the home that had been the hideout of these stray devils, where she had killed the other three, and as she did so she couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Male with brown hair, light tan and dark blue eyes of Japanese descent, he was even living in the same area as he did, the area where a certain city was once built; a city that was known once, in a different time, as Tokyo-3.
She was so sure it was him. The one who had slew her in her previous life, the boy she had searched for ever since she was reborn in this new world.
Alas, their meeting was not meant to be today. She held back a sigh, wiping out this small cabal of strays was at least a useful accident, if she reported this then the ties between Heaven and the Shinto could benefit, so at least the trip was not wasted.
Still, she would not give up hope. She would see him again, of that she was sure.
The boy that was known as Shinji Ikari…she was going to repay him for that day.
Kuoh City
Serafall walked through the park, heading to the orphanage nearby, with a smile on her face and dressed in her favourite magical girl attire, a gift wrapped present held in one hand. It had been around a year since she had first met Shinji and she visited him at the orphanage whenever she had the time, averaging a visit every one or two weeks. He had seemed so lonely when she first saw him and the face he had made when they finally split up after their first meeting…was heart breaking, especially knowing he had no friends at the orphanage. It was also convenient that her sister and Shinji lived in the same city, allowing her to visit both in one day.
Snapping out of her thoughts as she reached the, by now familiar, orphanage doors she made sure she was presentable before knocking.
The door opened to reveal the familiar loving smile of Sakuya Hyuga who gasped at the sight of her.
"Serafall-san!" the woman smiled, "what a pleasant surprise. You know," she opened the door to let her in, "you really should call before you actually come one of these days. I'm never prepared for guests when you come, how can I be a good host?"
"It's fine!" Serafall grinned up at her, "I come to play with Shinji anyway. I don't want to impose either."
"Hahaha. Let me guess, that's not something a magical girl would do?"
"Exactly!" she chirped before looking around as Sakuya closed the door. There were fewer kids than she remembered there being last time. "Neh, Sakuya-chan, are any of the kids on a trip?"
"No...a few were adopted recently."
"Was Shin-chan adopted?"
Sakuya shook her head, "no he wasn't. I would have called you if he did, I know he'd like to keep playing with you if possible"
Serafall nodded, happy to hear she would know if a family picked him up. Still, that did beget the question… "how did he take it? Being looked over."
"He's…taking it well I suppose," Sakuya sighed, "but you know how he doesn't like talking about himself or when somethings wrong, you know how he is."
Oh boy did she ever, he was surprisingly stubborn. "Don't worry, I'll cheer him up! Where is he?"
"Upstairs in the boys' room, he should be up alone with Luna…I'm counting on you Serafall-san."
"Leave it to me!" Serafall gave her wand a twirl and headed upstairs, already knowing the way.
Sakuya just smiled, the one person who could get Shinji to open up was Serafall. It really was a miracle the two met when they did, Shinji had always worried her, especially after Mari's departure.
"God bless that girl."
Serafall blinked outside of the boys' room's open door as a small twang of pain hit her head. It was minuscule, more annoying than anything…was someone praying for her?
Weird
'Oh well,' she shrugged it off and peaked inside the room and just like she was told it was empty bar two individuals. One was the familiar sight of Luna, the big white dog sleeping quietly on the floor while Shinji sat on his bed. She frowned at the sight of him, the now five year old boy sat with a book in his hand, his face devoid of emotion.
Well she could fix that!
She knocked on the door frame, "Shin-taaan! Hiya!"
He jumped in place before he looked up in surprise and when his eyes saw her a beaming smile appeared on his face, the happy joyful smile he seemed to show just to her. "Serafall-san! W-what are you do-"
"Now now," she walked in and gave him a mock pout, "neh, how many times have we been over this Shin-tan. Call me Sera-tan! SE-RA-TAN! Come on, not that hard is it?"
He blushed but complied, a smile still on his face, "Sera-tan…what are you doing here?"
"Visiting you, what else?" She then handed him her gift, "here, happy birthday! Sorry it's a bit late, work got in the way but better late than never right?"
Shinij's birthday was actually two weeks ago but she hadn't been around for a month, her own work keeping her away from the human world.
She honestly hoped he liked it.
"W-wow," he took it from her, surprised. He was disappointed when she didn't come on his birthday after he'd told her when it was, to see her here now was a big but pleasant surprise. "Y-you didn't have to get me anything Sera-tan."
"Oh hush, just open it! Hope you like it, my little sister's friend recommended it."
Shinji nodded and opened his present, gently and carefully unwrapping. It actually made Serafall chuckle, most kids would have torn it apart.
"This is!" Shinji gasped at what he saw, it was a high grade Gundam model kit and from the monochrome art on the box he knew it was a limited edition kit. He recognized it too as an older one he had wanted for a while, one they had only made a few hundred of for a movie made before he could even speak. "H-How…how did you find something this rare?!"
She just gave him a cheeky and proud grin, a knowing glint in her eyes, "oh I have my ways. Like it?"
"O-of course!" although any present from her was something he was grateful to receive.
"Good!" she chirped before picking him up in a hug, smooshing his face against her breasts, eliciting a manly and embarrassed 'eep' from the former Eva pilot. A light bulb lit up in her mind as she remembered something, "hey Shin-tan isn't that new Gundam movie out in theatres?"
"Y-yes?" he mumbled into her as she refused to let go.
"Well how 'bout we go watch it?"
"O-oh no, I don't want to impo-"
"You agree? Good!" She chirped, "now come on! Onwards! Dinner's on me too to make up for missing your big day!"
Without waiting for his response she was out the door, a red faced Shinji tucked under her arm. Still, he didn't protest as Hurricane Serafall sped off.
"Well that was fun," Serafall chirped as she sat down at her and Shinji's booth. With the movie over and the sun starting to set she decided it was good a time as any for dinner. While she had never been told that Shinji had a curfew she didn't want to push it, and as an older sister herself she didn't want to worry Shinji's guardian. She picked up the menu on the table and browsed.
They were at a restaurant called Ahnenerbe, a café Shinji had pointed out all the way back when they first met a year ago. Personally Serafall loved the place, lots of warm wood that when combined with the gentle lighting gave the space a very inviting and cozy atmosphere, making you feel like you were home. As a result it had become a regular place for Shinji and her to finish their outings. Soon enough Shinji came to the booth after chatting with the owner, Sakuya's older brother, and headed over to their table.
He was heading to the seat across from her, "Shin-tan." He stopped but didn't turn to her, she could see his ears redden and she smirked in amusement. "Nooow," she drawled, leaning over the table, "where do you think you're going?"
"M-my seat…"
"Hmmm," she tilted her head, "but that's not your seat, is it?" Not waiting for an answer she put down the menu and sat up straight before patting her lap. "Come now Shin-tan! Take your seat."
She saw him sigh and turn to her, still red faced, but followed regardless. He was about to crawl up the booth but she decided to just pick him, something that surprised him the first time since she didn't look that strong, and plopped him down on her lap. Satisfied, she then hugged him like a big plushie.
Shinji just sighed to himself with a rueful smile, his cheeks starting to return to their normal colour, well trying to sit by himself had been worth a try. He picked up the menu and read through it, not even bothering to pretend to get out of his only friend's embrace.
He could never say no to her.
"Hey Shin-tan," Serafall started, resting her head on top of his, and he hummed in response to let her know he was paying attention. "So, what did you think of the movie?"
"It was good."
"…You don't sound too impressed."
He looked through the appetizers, just because he was a child again didn't mean he ate the stuff they put in the kids menu. It was good, don't get him wrong, but lacked the complex flavours the adult menu had.
"Well the new mobile suit designs were really cool but I'm not too sold on the character art, the eyes were kinda weird and the uniforms…" he trailed off. The uniforms were just ridiculous, way too complex and impractical. As an ex-child soldier he had seen plenty of real uniforms and they were nothing like the simple uniforms of NERV or the JSSDF. "Besides it was a little too dramatic for me. Reminded me a bit of the soap operas that Sakuya-san watches."
"Hmmm, already looking forward to the kits they'll be releasing soon then?"
"Yes a bi-but you don't have to-"
"Oh shush," she playfully chided him, "I have more than enough money to spare."
And wasn't that the truth? As a Maoh and a member of the Sitri clan she had plenty of money, hell she made more money than some countries. Hmm, she made a mental note to start donating some money to the orphanage so they could hire more staff. Some fringe groups had been causing a fuss lately so she probably can't take time off as often in the future, having people help Sakuya keep an eye on Shinji would ease her mind.
"W-well if you say so…" he trailed off before he leaned his head back to look up at Serafall. "Sera-tan do you have your order ready?"
"Soup of the day, lasagna, some barley tea, for desert I want a cup of their coffee, black, and a slice of apple pie," she answered and he nodded, "and remember I'm paying for tonight."
Shinji frowned up to her, "I still have birthday money left over." Actually he hadn't spent a penny of it yet.
She spoke slowly, not because he was a child, that would be an insult to his intelligence and maturity, but because she knew he was surprisingly stubborn. "True, but this is still all a part of my present to you."
He sighed before giving her a small smile, "you win."
She grinned and hugged him tighter, "I always win!"
Soon enough Shinji settled on his own order and raised his hand, leaning out of the booth. He smiled at the memory of Asuka's first time eating out in Japan, she had been horrified by his 'rude behaviour', not knowing that calling over wait staff like this was the norm in Japan. "Excuse me! We're ready to order."
The waitress, a young girl, came over and greeted them before smiling down at Shinji who ordered for the two of them. As he did so Serafall closed her eyes and leaned back, enjoying the warm atmosphere of the café and Shinji's voice as he chatted with the waitress. She was glad she met the young demi-god. While many would probably find the pairing strange, due to their age gap and the gap between Shinji's mental maturity and her perceived lack thereof, she did really enjoy his company.
With Shinji she could be herself, even if she hid the supernatural from him still, not quite certain how to handle that yet. Around Shinji she wasn't Serafall Leviathan, the most powerful female devil ever, one of the Four Maoh who ruled the Underworld, member of a clan that possessed an amount of wealth and power inconceivable to most humans. To him she wasn't the Leviathan, the Maoh who handled Underworld foreign affairs, someone who met and dealt with gods on equal, and sometimes more than equal, footing.
No, to Shinji Ikari the girl known as Serafall Leviathan was none of those things. To him she was just a kind and extremely beautiful magical girl. He didn't know she had a literal ocean of wealth, the political power to start wars, and had the power to destroy entire continents and slay gods at her fingertips.
Around him she could just…be herself, be just Serafall Leviathan. Even around her little sister she couldn't be herself, not entirely, always putting on a joyous front even when she felt frustrated by work. Around Shinji though she could be silly, serious and even vent the stresses of her life (although she would reword them to seem more mundane). Shinji in return listened with the patience and care of someone older.
Before they met when was the last time she could just be herself? Probably hundreds of years ago, before she took the role of a Maoh.
She looked down at the boy on her lap and wondered…how did he see her?
Walking back to the orphanage Serafall walked side by side with Shinji, his hand held in hers. The sun was starting to set in the distance, tinting the sky in a beautiful shade of violet. They weren't too far from the orphanage, Shinji's residence obstructed from view by a dense a line of trees and vegetation. As the pair walked closer and closer to the orphanage and the barrier that surrounded it a presence made itself be known to her senses and she stopped, causing Shinji to stop and look up at her.
"Shin-tan," she smiled down at him. "Can you do me a little favour?"
"Of course," he beamed a smile up at her, eager to repay her for all she'd done for him. "What is it?"
Serafall fought to keep her smile from faltering, his eagerness to please her, while touching, made her feel guilty for what she was about to do. She channeled mana into her eyes and as she spoke she laced her words with a hint of magic.
"Shin-tan go on ahead of me ok? I'll catch up and meet you at the orphanage, wait for me there." She saw his eyes widen in surprise for a moment before glazing over, her hypnotic suggestion taking hold. Since he was unaware of the supernatural he wasn't conscious of it and therefor couldn't resist her very well, even if he was a demi-god. She was glad for that, Shinji was smart and would no doubt ask questions, wondering why she wanted to separate here. She didn't want to explain to him the world of magic and gods just yet and if he resisted she would have to be a bit more…forceful than she'd want to be with her hypnotism. "Don't ask any questions."
He nodded and blinked, life returning to his visage. His face looked confused for a minute before he smiled up at her again. Then without a question he turned around and walked towards his home, her hypnotism ensuring he wouldn't suspect anything.
She mentally sighed, while he was ignorant of what happened she still swore to make it up to him.
Making sure that he didn't hear anything she wasn't prepared to explain she watched him until he went behind some trees. Even then she waited until his magical signature disappeared behind the barrier. Mentally she made a note to really think over revealing the supernatural to him. With her sister and Rias now living in the city more and more supernatural activity was guaranteed to come to the city in the future. If anything she should really teach him how to control his powers, as limited as they may be, while not noticeable from a distance the continuous unconscious leak of mana was just bound to get someone's attention. At best Sona or Rias, or someone from their peerages, would notice him but there was a very real possibility someone unsavory would find him instead.
Shaking her head she decided to worry about that later.
"Come out now," she ordered, none of her well known cheer in her voice or on her face. Today was a day off of sorts and this ruined it for her. When she turned around she saw a robbed form kneeling in front of her, the Sitri crest on his breast. His head was looking down at the ground, out of respect or fear at her obvious sour mood she neither knew nor cared to know.
"I-I have a report to make to you, L-Lady Leviathan," he stuttered, "it's urgent!"
Serafall glared, her violet eyes literally glowing with fury as the ambient temperature dropped by several degrees. "It better be, you just made me do something I never wanted to have to do. Now, report."
Shinji walked through the park, just like Serafall had wanted him to as he stretched his arms above his head with a groan before suppressing a yawn. Stopping in place for a moment near the fountain he smiled and enjoyed the beauty of the park, the setting sun painting the park in breathtaking shades of violets, and reds.
He was about to continue on his way when he noticed something odd in the distance. The orphanage's lights were all shut off. That didn't make any sense, this was around the time Sakuya-san started dinner preparations-his eyes widened as a feeling he'd never thought he'd experience again raced down his spine like lightening.
It wasn't fear nor dread. No, it was something even more unmistakable.
Something or someone wanted to kill hi-
Get down! His instincts screamed at him and he followed them without thinking. If being an Evangelion pilot taught him anything it was to listen to his instincts, they had saved him before; back when he had little to no training in the early days of the war they were the only reason he lived through his battles. Now though those same instincts, sharpened and tempered by war, screamed louder than ever before and he hit the ground hard.
The air was driven from his lungs and he gasped for breath as something screamed over him before burying itself in a loud tree with a 'thunk!'
Knowing full well that he was a sitting duck right now he rolled to the side as the ground he was on before was impaled by a triplet of swords that came from nowhere.
"What the fuck?" he swore as he rolled himself up and in a crouch. His heart hammered inside his chest as his Evangelion pilot training and tips from Asuka from years ago, lessons he thought long forgotten, kicked into gear.
He immediately started scanning for danger, for anything seemingly out of place, making sure to keep his head on swivel. In his head his mind raced over his options. Going to the orphanage for help was out, like hell he was running there with someone trying to go medieval on him. He may had been a big enough coward in his old life to do that but that old Shinji was dead as far as he was concerned.
Fight back? That could work but only as a last resort; he had no Eva, no weapons and no Section 2 agents to come running to his rescue.
Running back the way he came? No, Serafall was that way and the last thing he ever wanted to do was to get her hurt. She was the light of his life.
He would die protecting her.
A lance of dread hit him as he realized that sooner or later Serafall was going to come this way.
He needed to get out of here, fast.
Then he remembered that there was a koban nearby! If he went to the police for help they had guns! He nodded to himself, the best option was to make a break for it.
'Alright Shinji,' he got ready to sprint for his life, 'ready…set…g-'
"Don't even think of running brat," a masculine voice full of hate and disdain spoke. Then the air around him shifted and dread twisted in his gut, he had no clue what happened but he just knew that was not good. "You can't run now," he could hear the cruel smile in this person's voice, "a pity too. I so love it when they run. After all, if all they do is stand still where's the fun in a hunt?"
There! A glint of steel caught his eye, coming from above amongst the trees and he dove forward and rolled up on his feet, a massive great sword impaling itself behind him.
"Hmm," he heard a voice hum, this one distinctly feminine.
"Oh, something on your mind, love?" the first voice asked.
"Just thinking…" a sultry chuckle that made him nervous echoed in the silence of the park and he felt distinctly uncomfortable. "My my my, you sure are a quick one aren't you? A cutie too, what beautiful eyes you have." For some reason he didn't feel all that happy for that complement. "They're just so pretty…why, someone might want to pluck them out and put it them in a jar, to admire them forever."
Shinji gulped in fear, he knew she meant what she said.
Get back! His instincts screamed once more and he jumped back as hard and as far as he could but his small five year old frame could only do so much.
Short swords rained from the tree tops at where he stood. He managed to dodge most but not all of them as one short Japanese style blade, a wakizashi he recognized, flew towards his chest. Reflexes kicked in and he put his left hand in front of him, the sharp blade piercing his hand. He was afraid it would have shot straight through but somehow his bones stopped it as the sword sunk all the way to the guard.
The impact threw off his landing and he fell on his back with a grunt, his heading hitting a rock and his vision swam as he felt something warm run down the back of his neck.
He was hurt, he knew that. A rock dug into the back of his head and his legs ached from the combined fatigue of walking around town all day and dodging for his life while twenty centimetres of steel was stuck through his hand.
'Not the worst I've felt though', he wryly thought as he shook his head clear…or tried to, fuck he hoped he didn't have a concussion. Raising his left hand to his face he saw he was bleeding badly too, the hand was trembling, the blade no doubt had damaged his nerves. Still, he thought the sword would have kept going, his body was a lot tougher than he would have thought.
"Damnit," the male voice cursed, "won't you just die already? You're really lucky I can't do anything too flashy, don't want your friend seeing what we're doing after all. Still…" another flash of steel and a sword sank itself into his left kneecap.
"GAAaah!" Shinji screamed in pain as the sword pinned him to the ground. The sword's edge was jagged, causing it to rip muscle and sinew as it pierced him. Tears threatened to escape as he heard laughter, cruel amused laughter, come from above.
Then two figures emerged from the trees in front of him. One was a young man, probably in his early twenties, dressed in priestly robes. His hair was long and black, tied into a slick pony tail as he looked down at Shinji in cruel amusement. Beside him was a woman dressed in a tight pin striped suit, she was beautiful with long flowing blond hair and eyes as dark as the night. She was inhumanely beautiful just like Serafall was but…there was still no comparison between the two, her voluptuous body lacking the grace and joy of his favorite magical girl as she sauntered towards him, walking in front of the priest.
"Hey cutie," she smiled down at him as she reached to the sword embedded in his leg and twisted it sharply. The sound was sickening, flesh ripped and bone snapped as the she tore the wound open.
Shinji grunted in pain but he bit down on his cheek until it bled. They were enjoying this, that he knew, but he'd be damned if he'd let them have the satisfaction. If he was going to die then he would go out with dignity, not like the sniveling coward he was before. "Aww," she pouted before ripping out the sword, the jagged blade almost ripping a scream out of him "…still no good?"
"Jessie, hurry up would you? We don't have all day."
"Yes, honey, I know," she rolled her eyes before she kneeled down, leaning over him. One of her hands stroked his cheek and he shivered in discomfort, her touch holding none of the warmth and love Serafall's did. "Now, I am curious so I have to ask. How does one so young have eyes like yours? Deep and rich, like the ocean. No innocence, just loneliness, melancholy and a hint of…despair." Shinji glared up at her, how dare she talk like she knew what his life had been like! "And there!" she shivered in delight, "that fury, all the emotions in those eyes…I could lose myself in them. I can see now why Serafall loves to be around you."
"W-what?" Shinji's eyes widened in fear, were they after her too? "What does she have to do with this?!" His glare intensified as something in him started to stir. "Don't you dare hurt her!"
The woman flinched and he saw real fear show on her face before she shook it off and barked a harsh laugh, "ha!" She leered down at him, "you honestly don't know?"
Shinji gasped as a pair of black feathered wings unfurled from behind the woman's back, "…angel."
"Fallen angel to be precise," she smiled, "and your beloved Serafall is a devil…what do you have to say to that?"
He held his glare "…so what?"
She blinked, "huh?"
"I said," Shinji growled, "so what? I don't care if she is a devil. She'd been nicer to me than God or any angel I've ever met!"They were trying to make him doubt Serafall in his last moments, how dare they.
"Hahahaha!" her laughter was a beautiful thing, melodic, and Shinji had no doubt she was what she claimed she was, no use denying it, her wings were solid proof. "You really are an interesting one. A shame almost, to have to kill you." She then smiled a grin full of teeth, "and to answer your question Serafall has everything to do with this. We've been looking for a way to strike at her for a while now but we could never do that directly, I'm not suicidal. Then one of our spies spotted her here, not so strange, her sister goes to school here…then we found out about you. Some no name little orphan she'd become attached too. After some digging we found out you didn't have any connections to any of the factions."
"Y-you…" Shinji breathed out, "you're using me to get to her." He clenched his one working hand so hard he felt blood as he gritted his teeth in rage, "you're using me to hurt her!"
"Yuppers!"
"Bastards!"
"Jessie," the priest finally spoke up, "you had your fun, hurry up and kill him already, we don't know how much longer our guy can hold her up."
"Fiiiine," Jessy drawled and stood up, a spear of violet light forming in her hand. She aimed it over his gut, "I guess I'll just have to chop off your head and scoop out your eyes when I get home."
Then she plunged her spear into his stomach and Shinji screamed as the light seemed to burn into him, memories of the 4th Angel and it's whips of light flashing through his mind.
"Damnit!" he cursed as the spear of light disappeared, leaving a gaping bleeding whole. He could feel his himself go cold, severe blood loss and shock kicking in as he felt a warm liquid pool under him. 'Fuck…not like this…' He looked up at the beautiful sky, the laughter of his killers washing into static. Killed by some sorry for an excuse angel, the bitch was nothing to the foes he'd faced before '…damnit, not like this…'
The worst though was he was being used, again, and this time it was to hurt the person he cared about the most in the world. Tears pricked his vision as he thought about his death, the end of his life, an end that would come much sooner the second time around. His thoughts came to dreams of the future, of a life that he truly believed to be his second chance…his shot at happiness. There were no big dreams or ambitions in those thoughts. No, he just wanted to spend more time with Serafall. Watch more anime with her, hear her laugh, to enjoy her warm embrace...to one day make her smile with his own cooking.
To die young and full of regret...so much left to do, so much left to say.
Was he never meant to be happy? Huh, God? Was that too much to ask for?! He didn't ask for much! He just wanted to be loved for fucks sake!
He imagined her usually smiling face, her joyous violet eyes, filled with grief and horror, finding his mutilated corpse on her way to wish him good night. Visions of her in despair filled his mind, the colourful costume he associated with her gone, in its place was a dreary black mourning dress.
And at those thoughts, rage filled his heart. How dare they make him hurt her.
For hurting her he would make them pay before he died.
Taking a deep breath he shook his head, clearing his vision as much as possible as he gathered all the will he could and brought the sword stuck in his hand in front of his face. He was more used to combat knives but this was close enough. The priest and the Fallen Angel continued to laugh, looking down on him. Good, their arrogance was the chance he needed.
He gritted his teeth, grasped the hilt of the wakizashi and pulled. His flesh squelched as he pulled out the blade, holding it in a saber grip, the open wound bleeding profusely. Shinji wasn't worried though, he was dead already anyway.
Closing his eyes he steeled himself…and when he opened them again they were burning with purpose. He painfully propped himself up on his shattered knee…
"Rah!" Shinji's war cry surprised the two, using his one good leg to lunge for the closest one, the Fallen Angel.
"How the hell?!" she screamed, no doubt surprised he could still move. Shinji had felt worse though, when he charged the 4th Angel two light whips had drilled through Unit-01's gut, and as they squirmed he felt like his insides were being torn out and set on fire. The one hole in his gut and his wrecked knee were nothing in comparison.
Shinji barreled into her knee and he stabbed up between her legs, using his short stature to make the attack on a sensitive part of the body, male or female, easy. She screamed in pain as blood splashed out of the wound and she fell on to her knees. He pulled out the sword as his vision swam once more, the hole in his gut burning in pain.
As an Eva pilot though he was damned well used to pain.
Flipping the wakizashi into an icepick grip he raised his arm up, aimed to drive the point down into the back of her neck and swung it down.
It never hit his target as she jerked to the side, causing him to miss. The world seemed to slow as his adrenaline pumped, if he couldn't kill her with this then he would hurt her bad and he flipped the sword in his grip and jerked it up.
Cutting off one of her wings, the ease of the action surprised him, the blade was sharp.
"Fucking brat!" she screamed and back handed him, her surprising strength shattering a rib and sending him flying onto his back as the sword in his hand vanished from existence.
'No…no…no!' he tried to get up but his arms and legs were numb with blood loss. He was so close! He didn't want to die here, unable to get revenge on those who killed him, on those who wanted to hurt his last friend, who wanted to use him to hurt Serafall.
If only he had power!
*bump* *bump*
If only he had power he would make them pay! He would show them what true FEAR was! Repay them for all the PAIN and SUFFERING they wanted to inflict on him and Serafall!
"Damnit…" his vision blurred and lost all its colour. His eyes were getting harder and harder to keep open as he gasped and fought for breath "…power…if...not…not like this…a-almost…kill her…"
'Your wish is my command, Little One.'
The last thing Shinji heard as unconsciousness took him were cries of shock and screams of fear and pain.
Serafall listened to the devil in front of her drone on and on and as he did so she began to grow frustrated. Nothing he was saying was all that important, why couldn't this wait?
Eventually her patience ran thin. She always took her duty seriously but she honestly found nothing in his report 'urgent' and she really didn't want to keep Shinji waiting much longer.
"Enough," she said in a tone that could not be argued with. "I'll take the report later; send it to your supervisor."
"Y-yes ma'am," he mumbled nervously and stood.
He was about to turn around but an idea hit her, it was a bit petty but she wanted some form of payback for not just wasting her time but also making her use hypnotism on Shinji.
"Stop." He froze, "turn around and show me your face."
"O-of course Lady Leviathan," he turned, reached up and lowered his hood, revealing a face she did not recognize. "W-will that be-grk?"
Blood leaked from his lips as a massive icicle was impaled into his chest, killing him, an instant later, he was in cased in a solid block of ice, stopping any form of magic or technology he may have had from destroying the body. She knew every single one of the guards posted around Kuoh, having approved every single one of them herself.
"A spy then…" she murmured. "What could they…SHINJI!"
Without thinking she sprinted for the orphanage, cursing her carelessness. The barrier around the orphanage didn't stop sights or sounds, only magical energy but if someone erected another barrier inside then she would have no clue!
"Please be ok…please be ok…." She was tempted to pray, if he died because of her…she would never forgive herself, he was innocent!
As she neared the fountain where they first met she saw a man dressed in priestly robes vanish in a flash of magic. Skidding to a halt she turned and noticed the body of a Fallen Angel. They were dead, the corpse was torn and ripped to pieces, making even something as simple as figuring out the sex of the body impossible. She could only tell the species thanks to the severed wing and the mess of black feathers on the ground.
It was then she noticed the dense, raw malice in the air and turning to the source she saw two black ethereal wolves the same size as Shinji's beloved Luna. They were ghostly, the edges of their forms nothing but wisps of shadow, their glowing green eyes focused on her. They weren't overtly hostile as they just stood close to each other but the blood dripping from their jaws told her all she needed to know.
A tingle ran down her spine as fear literally radiated from their forms. Then she noticed the familiar feel of Shinji's magical signature and she let out a relieved breath, he was alive.
Quickly she noticed what was behind the two, it was Shinji. She slumped to her knees in relief, so it seemed he had some sort of Sacred Gear and it saved him, the stress of fighting for his life probably having had awakened it. She didn't recognize it off the top of her head but it must be powerful for her to be affected and not be a target.
The two vanished into wisps of darkness and her heart dropped, her face paling as she shot up and sprinted to Shinji's downed form, the two spirits having blocked her from seeing his injuries.
"No…no…nononono," he was hurt badly, a stab wound in one hand, one of his knees was a mess of flesh and mangled bone while a hole was punched out of his gut. To make things worse she could feel holy energy eating away at him from the inside as he quickly bled to death.
There was only one way for her to save him. Should she? No, she shook her head, she couldn't afford to hesitate now. Placing one hand over his bleeding abdomen she froze the wound shut before enveloping him in green light, while she couldn't save him, the damage was just too much and his body too young, she could keep him a live a bit longer.
In a flash of blue light a black box appeared in her other hand, it was made of lacquered wood with silver hinges and a silver lock and clasp, the crest of the Sitri clan etched into the top and inlaid with blue enamel.
Then he went into cardiac arrest, "fuck. Come on Shin-tan stay with me…."
She put down the box and placed her other hand over his chest, sending a jolt of electricity into him she jump started his heart. Seeing it worked she then grabbed his shoulder and gently shook him, making sure her other hand was still applying healing magic to keep him going.
"Shin-tan…Shin-tan, c-come on w-wake up," she called out to him, trying to wake him up as tears ran down her cheeks, guilt eating away at her. Damnit, she had been reckless. "Wake up Shin-tan, come on…please…"
"Mmm," he groaned as tired eyes opened, his dark blue meeting her violet. More tears fell as she realized the life in him was draining faster and faster. "S-Sera…Sera…you...ok?" she nodded and he smiled, "g-good…they…hurt you…"
"Shhh," she cooed with a smile, gently caressing his cheek. He was almost cold to the touch. "I-I'm here and ok," she took a deep breath to steady herself before reaching for the box, damnit she was a Maoh, she couldn't freak out and make mistakes. "I can save you Shinji but I need your-"
"I like you."
"Wha?" where did that come from? Looking down at the dying boy in confusion she saw him smiling up at her, it wasn't the sad last smile of someone dying. No, it was the bright beaming smile he seemed to have reserved for her. He was happy, genuinely happy. "N-now…I…I…" his shaking bloody hand tried to reach up to her and before it fell she grabbed it without thinking "…no regrets…" and his eyes started to close once more.
"NO!" she screamed, "Shin-tan don't give up!" dropping his hand she opened the box, inside was an almost complete chess set, missing only one Rook. Quickly she grabbed the Queen piece and pressed it to his chest, nothing happened though as she needed his consent to activate the Evil Piece. "Shinji don't you want to live?! Think about everyone you'll make sad if you died." His eyes opened, looking at her in confusion and her heart sank, "what about Sakuya-san? She raised you! And that Mari girl! What…what about me? I'm going to be sad if you died." She closed her eyes and cried, '…because of me.'
"...t-too late...for me..."
"No, it's not Shin-tan." She gave him a teary smile, "so just say yes Shinji…please, and I can save you." She stopped her attempts to preserve him and reached up with her empty hand to caress his face, she needed him to believe her, this was all or nothing now. "How about we make a deal?" Her smile turned cheeky, even as tears fell, "I'll save you and I'll grant you a wish, any wish."
"…a-anything?"
"Yup! I would never lie to you right?"
He smiled and nodded before his eyes closed, her heart clenched in fear that he died before his lips started to move. He was whispering, "…d-don't leave…me..."
Despite the situation she laughed, such a simple wish. "I will never leave you, I promise to always make you happy, forever and ever. Deal?"
He nodded…and died.
Without missing a beat the Sitri crest appeared beneath them and she pushed the Queen piece into his chest.
'Not exactly how I saw this happening…' Serafall couldn't help but think to herself as she looked at Shinji in relief, the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest and the calm sound of his breathing as he slept filling her with relief. She picked him up and held him close in her arms before standing up, using their contact to channel her magic to help heal him. The Evil Piece had revived him and stopped the bleeding, closing the wounds and leaving no outward signs of his murder other than his messy hair and his damaged and blood soaked clothing. Still, light spears were dangerous and there would be some internal damage left over so she decided to hurry the healing process along.
She had to admit that, even with her rivalry with Gabriel, she did plan to one day welcome Shinji into her peerage. It should have been a momentous occasion, a grand ceremony worthy of her title of Leviathan. Never would she have imagined that Shinji's reincarnation would have been a near nightmare, she had almost lost him forever.
To a rogue exorcist, a fallen angel and a devil no less…righteous fury burned in her chest, it seemed she needed to do some house cleaning in the near future.
'Heads are going to roll,' she narrowed her eyes. No one tried to take from Serafall Leviathan what belonged to her and got away with it, no one.
"Ngh," Shinji murmured and she put aside her anger for the moment. Her wrath will be made known soon enough.
She looked at her newly reborn Queen with some pride but a part of her was concerned with what Shinji had said, his…certainty that no one would grieve for his death truly troubled her.
What could have happened to him? She visited the orphanage enough to know that Sakuya did truly love her job and cared for all the children with genuine love. Seraafall herself wasn't exactly discreet either, she doted on him as openly she did her own sister...was it a side effect of being abandoned as a baby? Or did something happen to him, something Sakuya was unaware of? Shinji wasn't open with his problems...
Serafall sighed and put the thought aside for now. He was alive and that's all that mattered. She smiled down at her servant as a thought came to mind.
Just because his reincarnation was due to an emergency didn't mean she couldn't hold a ceremony in the future now could she? She nodded to herself with a smile, that plan sounded fun! Besides, she remembered the ethereal wolves and the feeling of fear they gave off with their very existence, Serafall knew that Shinji was meant for great things.
He was going to carve his name into the history of the Underworld, she was sure of that, and she couldn't help but grin to herself at the thought.
"S…Se…Sera-tan?" Shinji's tired voice got her attention and she saw his eyes open. They were tired and pained but when his eyes locked with hers she saw him give her a weak smile. She smiled back, happy to see the life back in his beautiful blue eyes.
"Shhh," she cooed at him as she called up her magic once more, the blue Sitri crest appearing beneath her feat. "Go back to sleep Shin-tan, you deserve some rest," Serafall gave him a warm smile as his eyes closed, his breathing telling her that he had quickly fallen asleep again.
Leaning down she closed her eyes and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead, when her eyes opened again they were filled with determination and steel as she remembered her promise to him, the promise she had made in exchange for his eternal servitude. 'To make him happy' was such a simple wish and it spoke of the loneliness she knew he felt almost every day. She remembered how alone and sad he always seemed to be whenever he hadn't noticed her arrival and how happy her simple companionship made him. He had no idea the power and wealth she had at her fingertips. Spending time with him…that alone was enough to make him happy and content.
'Well that won't do,' she smiled to herself, she was never one to stick to the bare minimum. She'd spend time with him and then some, she was going to spoil him rotten.
"I'll keep my promise," Serafall she channelled her mana as the crest beneath her feet glowed, preparing to teleport herself and her new servant to the Underworld, she would go retrieve his things later. "I'll make you happy Shinji."
The mandala flared, bathing them in light as it activated.
Serafall held her servant close and gave the top of his head another gentle kiss, "…for now though let's go home, Shin-tan."
Next- Chapter 2: Life 3.0, Third Times the Charm!
A/N
For anyone wondering, my mystery angel's appearance is modeled after Blanc from the Neptunia franchise so feel free to Google her if you wish to know what she looks like.
To my loyal readers I know I announced this a while ago but this is, without a doubt, the most worked over chapter I've put out. There are several versions of this chapter that I've written to 'completion' and this version still took a lot of editing and rewriting.
Firstly with this story I won't be announcing the harem or the peerage, although you already know who Shinji's King is and no prizes on guessing if Serafall is a love interest or not. She's going to be a massive part of this story and I wanted to expand on her. Show more than just the silly magical girl and we saw that here. I have a lot of fun scenes with her in mind in the future so I hope you all love her like I do.
That said I am in need for one more Pawn (either x2 or x3) so feel free to suggest both Eva and DxD characters.
Secondly I really wanted to make my DxD x Eva cross unique. Shinji isn't famous, he isn't a powerhouse yet, I want him to earn all those things. Serafall comes into that aspect as well. His master isn't Rias or Sona, young devils, but a Maoh so Shinji will be a lot more involved in the world at large. So I do hope this felt fresh to you guys as it did to me as I wrote it. I've always wanted to do a Dxd and Eva cross and here it is finally, one of my 'dream projects.'
And yes, that's a brand new Sacred Gear. More will be revealed in the future...like the next chapter, actually.
Third, holy cow! 17K words (aprox) without the AN! This marks it as my single longest chapter, by a margin of several thousand. I think my previous record was 12-13k words. So to those new to me and my work, my average is 8-10k a chapter so please don't expect them to all be this long. It's just I couldn't find a place to cut it. I was going to cut it in half, the first part ending with the appearance of my mystery angel but reading the second part as a standalone chapter...didn't feel right since it was basically one scene, Shinji's encounter with the supernatural. It was 8k so length was good but just felt too short when I read it.
Lastly some thank yous and shout outs:
diagonalpumpkin: Thanks for the help with bouncing ideas! Again, thank you so much for responding to all my rambling and long as hell messages.
gunman: First DxD crossover I read was 'Devil Warrior' and this wouldn't be here without it. Thanks for the permission to use some of your story ideas. Dunoe if you remember though since I asked a while ago, really have been taking my time on this one :D
Marcus Galen Sands: Thanks for letting me use a modified version of one of one of Shirou's authorities from God Slaying Blade Works as Shinji's original Sacred Gear.
I do think I forgot someone and if you know who you are I apologize!
See you all next time!