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Story
+ Angel Hunt ~ Streifen +
Future Effects
Twenty Years into the future a new game begins...
A story collaboration between Angel Hunt and Streifen
Chapter Two : Part Three
[ Beginnings ]
The Demon pulls back, white plaits spilling from his shoulder as he tilts his head to the side, claw tips following the line of Aki’s wings inward until he’s reaches the fused skin surrounding the Gioa shard embedded in-between slender shoulder blades. Blue eyes slide closed, his lips parting and the softest of moans leaving him as Jenova traces the raised skin surrounding the crystal itself, his grip on the Demon’s ankles tightening as small shivers continue to race across his skin with every careful touch from the man behind him.
“It remains… a source of discomfort hm?”
The Eclipsed nods slightly and his words come quietly. “Yes, and unfortunately I think it will for the rest of my life. But it’s a small price to pay to be by your side.”
The Demon chuckles softly, “A small price indeed…”
Aki smiles, cerulean blue eyes shifting back to meet clear crimson. “It’s much worse for Ikkairius and if he can handle it for so long, I have no reason to complain. His fusion with the crystal wasn’t voluntary, mine was.” The Selestarri shrugs. “It’s more of a pain not being able to unseal and reseal my wings easily than anything else.” He frowns, “which is why Saiyuri doing what she did pissed me off so much, she knows it hurts…”
Aki’s mention of Saiyuri reminds him of the child. “Aw, crap… I have to go check on Ikkairius. I know he’s not happy I asked him to ‘baby-sit’ in the first place.” Jenova frowns, watching silently as the Eclipsed scoots himself to the end of the bed and drops his robe. Walking to the wardrobe and pulling free a pair of jeans, he quickly throws them on, turning back towards the Demon with an apologetic smile. “I’m just going to check on them, I’ll be back… alone.”
The Eclipsed is barely ready to knock when Ikkairius’ voice tells him to enter. Aki opens the door to find the Ancient bright sitting in his chair, finally enjoying his afternoon tea with the child firmly seated in his lap, attempting to drink his own small cup.
“Wings?! It already has wings?! When did this happen?” Aki’s eyes go wide at the small appendages sprouting from the child’s back. Silver feathers tipped with inky black, iridescence shining over their entirety just like Jenova’s.
The small creature explodes with happiness at the Eclipse’s return, jumping off the Ancient Bright’s lap and almost making him drop his hot tea.
“AKI PAPA LOOK!” Sen launches forward, wrapping his small arms around the Selestarri’s legs and sending him stumbling backwards from the force of the child knocking into him. Sen giggles excitedly as Aki gains his footing, glass like claws curling into the fabric of the Eclipse’s jeans as he bounces in place, his little wings flapping frantically with each movement. Pleased red eyes stare up into astonished blue, “Sen has special wings like Aki papa has, Uncle Ikkai showed Sen how to make them come out seeeeeeeeee.” black tipped silver feathers still and stretch out, splaying to the child’s sides.
“I… see that.” Aki shifts his focus to Ikkairius who only smirks. “Umm… Sen?” He asks. The Ancient Bright carefully rises from his chair and walks over to the pair.
“Yes, it seems he has chosen a name in the spirit of yours. Asian and human. We covered a large list, it was quite tiring.” He pats Sen on the head who only smiles and giggles, frantically grabbing and shaking at Aki’s jeans for immediate attention. The Eclipsed reaches down and picks up the child, small arms quickly wrapping around his neck to hug him tightly. The Ancient Bright’s attention refocuses and he speaks in all seriousness.
“Akio, the child is an innocent, but the potential for danger is immense. He already has your telekinetics and between his strength and how quickly he seems to be taking to his abilities, he must not fall into the wrong hands.” Ikkairius shakes his head. “He will be too easily influenced and it would be all but impossible to stop him should he go in the wrong direction. The responsibility that will be put on the one raising this child is frightening. I cannot stress this enough. Be. Careful. Jenova is highly warranted in his concern of allowing him to live. He is volatile.” Mauve eyes soften and he turns back to the child, still speaking to Aki. “He is also under the impression that yourself and … Jenova asked for him because you are bored. I did not tell him otherwise, other than to say you were not expecting him.”
“Now,” Ikkairius shuffles the pair towards the door, “my shift is over so you two enjoy the rest of your evening…” The two are gently pushed out into the hallway with the door abruptly clicking shut behind them. “But…” Aki’s voice falls. A moment later, the door opens a crack and a hand reveals one of Ikkairius’ patented sippy cups. The Eclipsed takes it and the door quickly shuts again.
With the sippy cup in hand, cerulean blue eyes stare at the door of the Ancient Bright in silence before the rustle of small wings pulls his attention back to the child in his arms. Bright crimson eyes meet Aki’s blue, his bewildered gaze met with an extremely pleased smile, “Aki papa doesn’t have to worry, Sen is the best gift Haysee and Eee grandpa could give. Sen loves Aki and ‘Nova papa lots. Does Aki papa like Sen’s wings? Will ‘Nova papa like Sen’s wings? Sen is special like Aki and ‘Nova papa, Uncle Ikkai said so…” The stream of words trail and the smile drains from tiny features, a look of confusion quickly replacing it, “how come Uncle Ikkai said Sen is volatile? What does volatile mean?”
The Eclipsed distractedly nods at Sen, “Yes, your wings are beautiful, they are shiny like Jenova’s. Your… ‘Nova papa is going to take a little time to get used to you before we can show him your wings.” Aki musters a soft smile, the innocence of the child is endearing, it’s almost hard to believe there is so much potential for danger in him. He knows it’s there, especially since he apparently carries half of Jenova’s genetics, but looking at that tiny face… “Sen, you are special, there is no one like you in the world, probably the universe. Like… Uncle Ikkairius said, we weren’t expecting you so I apologize for the… awkwardness.” Sen shakes his head and giggles while the Eclipsed attempts to skirt the whole ‘volatile’ issue.
“Uncle Ikkairius said you have telekinetics too? What else can you do?” Aki attempts to switch the subject and keep Sen occupied on something else. A thoughtful look crosses the child’s face as Aki walks them down the hallway, unsure of where to go. He can’t bring Sen back to Jenova…
“Mm-hmm” Sen nods, “but Sen doesn’t know what else he can do.” The boy eases his grip on Aki’s neck and leans over, reaching for the sippy cup. The Eclipsed turns a corner as he hands the cup to the child in his arms and begins to climb the long winding stairwell towards a floor he rarely steps foot on, “Uncle Ikkai said I had both Aki papa and ‘Nova papa inside and Haysee and Eee grandpa said so too so maybe I can do what Aki and ‘Nova papa can do. Sen will try really hard for Aki papa.” He grins wide, clawed fingers lifting the cup up to his small mouth as the Eclipsed steps onto the 3rd floor landing.
Aki walks into one of the lavish sitting areas and sits them down on a couch, watching as Sen finishes the contents of his sippy cup. “Sen, in the end it doesn’t matter what you can or cannot do to me. I’m sure it won’t matter for Jenova either. What matters is that you behave yourself, especially around Jenova. It’s very important that you don’t make him angry, and you do that by listening and being good. Got it?”
Sen nods cautiously before yawning as the sippy cup concoction begins to lull him to sleep. Aki spreads his wings out and lies back on the couch slowly, giving his back time to adjust to the texture of the fabric against the crystal. “Well, since we can’t exactly go anywhere else right now I guess we’ll have to stay here for a bit…”
“Why can’t we go to Aki and ‘Nova papa’s room?” Sen wonders sleepily, crimson eyes blinking under half closed lids.
“I’ll explain later…” Aki answers as the child snuggles into the Eclipse’s arms and folds his small wings behind him. Silver wings cover them both and Aki looks down at Sen. “It will work out, eventually… I hope.”
Clear crimson eyes stare in silence at the pair as the mid day sun filters in through tied back thick velvet drapes covering the windows of the 3rd floor sitting room. Jenova stands with an arm resting lightly against the carved wood archway, his gaze moving slowly from the Eclipsed to the sleeping child in his arms. Sen’s body lays wrapped around Aki’s, the oversized tee shirt tied around his tiny waist and milk brown hair draped over closed lids. One small hand is curled in a ball, thumb partially hanging from his mouth while the other lays curled around a feather of the silver wings enclosing them both.
Jenova smirks and shakes his head, pushing quietly off the door frame, heavy leather boots making no noise as he steps into the sitting room and moves towards the sleeping pair. Long white plaits spill around his shoulders as he leans down and slips glass like nails under the Selestarri and hybrid child’s bodies, carefully lifting them both free of the couch.
Sen stirs in the slightest as Aki unconsciously curls into the Demon, the child renewing his grip around the Selestarri’s feather and suction on his thumb briefly before he slips quickly back into uninterrupted sleep while Jenova carries them from the room.
Taking little time to ascend the stairwell to the 4th floor, the Demon leans down and eases Aki and his charge onto red silk covered down. Straightening in the slightest, Jenova slides the tips of his claws through ginger bangs, spending a moment to trace over Aki’s closed lids, a partial smile painted on pale lips before his fingers still and his red gaze moves over to the boy attached at the Eclipse’s side. His eyes move over Sen’s features, narrowing as they shift to the black-tipped silver wings folded neatly behind his tiny body.
Jenova pulls his fingers away from Aki’s face and straightens completely, turning to exit the room. The antique brass knob makes the softest of sounds as it clicks shut behind the leather clad Demon, his footfalls silent against marbled tile as he heads down the hall towards the stairwell that will carry him to the first floor.
He would speak with the Bright now.
Too many visitors today. Ikkairius doesn’t even bother to wait for the Demon to reach his door before he opens it. Annoyance is clearly written on Jenova’s features, not entirely unexpected. He expected far more anger, in fact. Aki must have done well in his ‘damage control’. The Ancient Bright returns to his small seating area once the Demon enters, clear crimson following his movements as he eases himself into his chair.
“I am assuming you would like my assessment of the child?” Jenova’s silence is enough of an answer. “From what Aki has told me, your initial reaction was probably the most intelligent. The potential in that child is both amazing and frightening. For him to fall into the wrong hands would be a disaster. The world may be better off with his demise. However…” Jenova smirks softly as Ikkairius pauses, “If the child is truly an innocent, that would make Akio’s assessment also correct. Allowing the child to live is a dangerous risk but at this point in time he poses no threat to anyone as long as he is kept under control. I have made the potential for disaster very clear to Aki. If raised correctly, he will be a powerful ally. If not, I fear you may be the only creature that can stop it.”
The Demon crosses his arms over his chest, leaning back in the slightest against the closed door, “Aki is as ever… stubborn in these matters and I do not feel he truly understands what my… Maker and his counterpart have decided to grace us with,” mauve rise up to meet clear crimson as the Demon raises an eyebrow, “to say that it poses no threat and is an innocent is as foolish as Aki’s belief that it could truly be a simple child. Do not allow yourself to be fooled as he is fooled, Ikkairius. Nothing created by those creatures will be as it seems or innocent. They used Aki’s …fondness for life against him with its creation just as they used my fondness for him to begin this new game they now play. And while I have given my word and allowed him time with it, I do not wish to see Aki attach himself to it under false pretenses only to have the boy hurt when the time comes for me to destroy it.” Jenova sighs, shaking his head in the slightest, “perhaps as his… guardian, you will have more success in convincing Aki of his folly in this matter than I.”
Ikkairius waits patiently until the Demon finishes before speaking himself. “I said it posed no threat as long as it was kept under control, I did not say it posed no threat at all. The child has no malice and no desire other than to be accepted by his… fathers. I cannot convince Aki of anything that is not true and this child, while quite gifted in his physical and magical abilities, is still a child with the mindset of one. Aki knows in his heart what is true. He may be self-sacrificial and lenient, but he is not a fool and he does not trust fully without it being warranted. I understand your desire to be cautious, but this seems to truly just be a child. It will not matter if or when you destroy it, Aki will be hurt because he knows this fact. Unless the child gives him reason to believe otherwise, he will think this. Who one’s maker is does not define who they are, you most of all know this best. These same creatures created those such as Fuan and Jun.” The Ancient Bright adjusts his sitting position.
“The child was created for a purpose, of which I do not know yet, but it seems they expect his purpose to play out on its own. Perhaps it was to create tension in your relationship. More so I feel it was to pit the two of you against each other, as they know of Aki’s desire to keep life and yours to destroy it if needed. You are both very stubborn and neither of you will back down if you think what you are doing is the correct path. This child... is the playing piece, unfortunately. I do not think they would have needed to put in the effort of molding the child’s personality, as it is not important to the game. It would have no logical purpose or statistical advantage. The fact that it exists is enough. Although allowing it to be an innocent would put leverage into their… fun, knowing you would immediately want it destroyed and that Aki would never allow it because of that fact. I am not fooled by any means, I agree that the child should have probably been destroyed on sight, eliminating the entire problem to begin with. But it is not I who has to deal with the fallout that will come from young Akio.”
A long annoyed sigh leaves the Demon’s lips as Ikkairius finishes, “you say you are not fooled, and yet you trust this creature to be nothing more than it’s surface appearance – albeit a powerful one, you still believe it to be nothing more than a child – I find that to be an inconsistently of logic. I have said that anything created by my maker and his counterpart would not be as it seems yet you believe, just as Aki believes that it is truly an innocent with no ill will, thus negating what I have already stated as fact.” Jenova smirks, “While I do agree that who one’s maker is does not define us, it seems that regardless of your claims, you are still allowing a veil to be pulled over those eyes of yours as far as that so-called child is concerned. You see the danger, yet you are telling this One that despite the potential, it does not understand and only wishes for our approval. You are saying that given the correct tutorage, the danger can perhaps be annulled. I am telling you now that regardless of its tutorage, there is no potential, there is only fact. ”
Leather clad arms uncross and he pushes himself back into a standing position with one fluid movement, turning towards the door while speaking, “I find your contradictions and seeming lack of true understanding tiring. While you and the boy may be fooled into believing the child has no sense of its true nature or purpose, this One is not and I am merely offering you my own advice as far as this matter is concerned. You have a measure of intelligence to you Ikkairius and I would have hoped that this One would not need to explain it in its entirety.” Claw tipped fingers turn the knob and pull the door to the ancient Bright’s room open. Without turning his head, clear crimson narrow and shift back,
“The game involving the creation of that child is most likely as you have said, but I do not believe for one second that the child is oblivious to the fact. I have been associated with those two creatures far longer than this world had even been graced with the mere idea of your kind and because of this it seems I have a better grasp on the treachery they tend to amuse themselves with and the parts they expect each and every one of us to play. I do not like my words to be wasted so I will only say this to you once more. Do not be fooled.”
With that the Demon exits the room, the door closing in his wake with a quiet click behind him.
Ikkairius speaks loud enough for the Demon to hear him through the door before he walks away. “The creature is under the impression that you asked for his creation... Jenova. Should you be mistaken and destroy an innocent child, Aki will not forgive that, regardless of your intentions.”
Cerulean blue eyes open slowly to find himself surrounded by red silk with the sleeping child in his arms. Sen stirs slightly as Aki moves him from his grip and pulls the blanket back over his tiny frame, watching him for a long moment. The thought of creating a life never entered his thoughts while with Jenova. It was impossible, and he is unsure he would have wanted to anyway. Life around the Demon is… complicated and there is no room for something so small and innocent. This is assuming he truly is just an innocent child. Aki understands full well Jenova’s concerns on allowing him to live and if it was some form of mutated monster with nothing but a thirst for blood he might not have an issue, but he isn’t. So far, it’s just a child. The Eclipsed only hopes Jenova will see this in time. If the Demon would only spend a moment with Sen and see…
Wait, how did he get back to their room? Last he remembered, he and Sen had fallen asleep in one of the third floor sitting rooms. Did Jenova bring them here? If so, that must leave some hope for Sen as he figured Jenova would have just killed him while they were both asleep or at least taken him away before he could wake. Certainly not bring him back here.
The Selestarri’s attention is drawn away as he hears the knob to the room click open. Confused cerulean blue meets the calm crimson of the Demon now standing in the doorway. Aki is about to open his mouth when a clawed finger is brought up to pale lips, signaling him to be quiet. The door clicks shut behind Jenova as he steps inside, moving silently towards the open patio doors.
The Eclipsed glances at the sleeping child quickly before turning and padding as quietly as he can behind the Demon, following him outside. Jenova bends in the slightest as Aki steps out onto the encasement and hops up onto the scrolled stone railing, squatting low a moment later. Clear red eyes move across the grounds, watching for a few minutes in silence as the sun begins to wane in the horizon before liquid notes echo softly in the Selestarri’s head.
[Choose a place for it to reside and this One will have arrangements made…]
Aki smiles weakly. [Thank you, but I’m not sure where he should stay, he needs someone. He’s only a child and has no idea how to care for himself. He… wants to be with us.] The Eclipsed leans on the railing next to where Jenova is perched. [I can’t expect Ikkairius to take responsibility for him, this isn’t his… problem… and he’s done more than I could have asked already.] A few moments of silence pass between the two as they stare out into the grounds watching the sunset.
[He… has a name. It’s Sen. He picked it out while with Ikkairius. Apparently he wanted something along the same lines as mine. He’s also afraid you hate him, he only wants your approval. I told him the best way to do that was just to behave and listen. He’s under the impression that we asked for him to be created, that we were bored and wanted him, so your Creators made him for us. I didn’t have the heart to tell him otherwise.] Aki looks down and sighs taking a moment to look back at the sleeping mound under the covers on the bed. [Wherever he ends up staying tonight, I will probably have to stay with him. He can’t be left alone.]
[I do not hate it.] Jenova smirks, his eyes shifting down to meet cerulean blue. [I simply do not trust it’s intentions.] A small sigh leaves him as his eyes slide back to the grounds below them, [ …how very like my Maker and his counterpart to feed such a lie into the creature’s head. If I were bored, this One would return to drink long before I would even think to ask for such a thing to be made, regardless of the genetics it holds. I have what I desire and do not wish for another.] The Demon is silent for another minute before he shakes his head and straightens, turning to hop down off the stone railing. [The child will remain here.] Jenova walks towards the patio doors, speaking as he goes, [in its remaining in this room, I will be able to keep a closer eye on it than I would should it be elsewhere.] His footfalls continue to remain silent as he makes his way back into the room, not even sparing Sen a glance while he continues on towards the door. [I will have the necessary sleeping items and clothing made as I assume you will not wish it to remain in its more… natural state hm?] Glass like claws pull the door open once more and step into the hallway, glancing back with a small smile, [I will return shortly.]
Aki is too stunned to reply before the Demon exits. He definitely did not expect Jenova to be so… compliant about the whole situation. In fact, he expected to have to remain a physical shield to the child in order to keep it alive for at least some time. The Eclipsed smiles to himself before returning to the room and Sen’s sleeping form curled up on the bed. Sen will show him, hopefully, that he is what he is and nothing more.
If the three of them could get along, it might not be so bad having him. It isn’t as if he has much of a choice in the matter.