On The Bench (AOT/DxD)

[MajorLoveGravy]

While everyone is freaking out about Mikasa I'm over here trying to work out if I need to look her up on the AoT wiki because I never got into AoT. Not the manga or the anime. Too dark for me.

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She was Erens childhood friend that he fell in love with, when he said he would have never committed the genocide if she asked that was an actual thing but iirc she just said she loved him like a brother or something (she didn't she just didn't know his feelings and didn't want to fuck things up I'm pretty sure)

 

[defenestrator]

It's kinda obvious once "Mi-tan" kept getting a lot of focus on the narrative and how much detail on her identity was being teased. NGL, not sure how to feel about this. Only one crossover insert for most of the fic sets the tone and expectations, adding another one, especially with this much of a connection to the first, kinda flips that dynamic over.

Also, meeting Mikasa will probably the point where Eren goes "Hold the fuck up, I choose life" before shoving all of Rias' pawn pieces onto his chest cavity

 

[qwazimoto]

I remember something about a time loop, something about a blue butterfly from the lost girl's anime OVA. I'm gonna have to rewatch that now.

 

[Schadenfreude90]

Hol up wait a minute, mikasa is here what the dog doin, cant wait for next updates.

 

[Adarsh]

He is just outside the school. They could meet right now and knowing if Sona wasn't that careful Mikasa would've already known of Eren. And Mikasa was teased earlier on, like when Kiba said Eren's swords were really familiar to him. Damn can't wait for their reunion

 

[Adarsh]

She was Erens childhood friend that he fell in love with, when he said he would have never committed the genocide if she asked that was an actual thing but iirc she just said she loved him like a brother or something (she didn't she just didn't know his feelings and didn't want to fuck things up I'm pretty sure)

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And Mikasa was the one who killed Eren

 

[Kalstorm22]

very interesting chapter, looking forward to seeing the reveals and revelations about what is really happening and going on, so I can go back and reread the story to see all of the clues I missed the first time.

 

[Monarchist Guy]

Uhh, I wonder what the reunion will be like or maybe Eren already knew?, excellent job as always.

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presumably seeing as this is a timeloop seperate from the original. Knowing but not really knowing

 

[purpleee]

Sounds like Mika transmigrated while Eren reincarnated.

 

[D.KnightOfShadows]

But Mi-chan told me we'd be late if I invaded Heaven."

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Wait, thats a new one.

There were actual stars in her eyes. They twinkled. "I get to watch So-tan be all serious and smart and cute and cool. Mi-chan is also here. She was looking for you. She needs to refill her So-tanium too."

Sona felt a wave of gratitude at her honorary aunt at that moment. She knew her sister's Pawn did not like leaving her cottage

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Ohshit

Mikasa Ackerman wasn't as voluptuous or sexy as most natural devils, but she was still very pretty.

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Hoooooooooooo! Its happening, its happening oh boy Eren is boned!

Do not lose precious time together because you are embarrassed."

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Oh she remembers. Yeah, RIP his trying to die alone.

No. I'm not German, either. It's not a secret or anything," Mikasa said, and it was like listening to Eren when they first met. Her voice was dead. Empty. "I'm Eldian. The only Eldian in this world.

Click to shrink...

Oh. Oh that's. Okay, this is post-canon Mikasa, not Transmigrant Mikasa?

Oh, Eren never saw this.

Ohhhhhhh, he is so screwed and he deserves it.

"The Child of Evil has a wife?!?!" "APPARENTLY!"

 

[Monarchist Guy]

Sounds like Mika transmigrated while Eren reincarnated.

Click to shrink...

I wouldn't be surprised if the Author tries to intertwine the two worlds together? Perhaps have the biblical flood be a metaphorical flood of titans?

 

[ReadingDangerously]

He had been looking for his rival.

Not for a fight, of course. It was too soon.

Issei Hyoudou had potential, but he had started way behind Vali. It would be years before he would be fun enough to challenge.

More than that, Ddraig was simply not the mountain he once was. Albion's rivalry remained, but Vali had a different goal.

Still, that didn't mean the Red Dragon Emperor wasn't worth noticing. Vali had only gotten a distant look at the boy during the Kokabiel incident, so getting a better understanding of the reincarnated devil was worth some time.

Besides, Vali was bored.

Azazel was wandering around town, making a nuisance of himself while waiting for the conference, and Vali had time to kill.

So he had gone looking for his 'destined rival.'

Instead, Vali found a boy on a bench.

It took a long second to realize what he was looking at.

Who he was looking at.

Long black hair that reached past the boy's shoulders. Pale and thin, the boy's clothes hung off his frame loosely. Thick white bandages wrapped the top half of his head, covering everything from the bridge of his nose to his forehead. Those unfamiliar factors threw Vali off.

Then he saw the cane with its two stylized wings as the figure turned to face the White Dragon Emperor.

"Hello, Vali."

Vali saw red.

The half-devil seethed, launching forward and punching the boy across the jaw with his full strength.

Eren's jaw shattered. Teeth, bone and blood exploded as the enter bottom half of the boy's head was torn from his skull.

He went flying, body spinning with the force, as he was thrown from the bench to crash into a nearby tree, shattering it and the two others behind it.

Vali did not let up. He chased.

He was on the boy in an instant.

How dare he.

Vali continued to hammer into the insate body below him.

How fucking dare you be here. Here!

[Vali!]

After everything he did, he didn't get to just show up! [Vali!] He was going to tear this bastard to pieces! Today was the day's final kick his ass.

[VALI!!!]

"WHAT?" Vali growled as he continued to pummel away.

[Look at him!]

Albion's voice cut through the haze of rage, and Vali looked at the boy below him.

Vali hadn't focused on hitting one place in particular but rather on hurting the boy in any way he could.

Eren's shirt was gone, and his chest was a bloody smear along the ground, a hollow bowl in the shape of a torso. Delicate human organs had pulped and ran with bone in a disgusting slurry. His arms were bent in unnatural angles, bone peaking out through the skin.

He didn't look alive.

"What?" Vali asked in disbelief, stumbling away from the body. He was covered in blood and viscera. "That... this is fake. It has to be. Where are you, Eren!?" He shouted, looking around the woods. "Very funny. You tricked me again! Now come out here and fight ME!"

[Vali,] Albion said, his voice gentle. [That is him. It wasn't a trick.]

"It has to be," Vali insisted, even as he looked at the bloody mush that was starting to waft steam. "If it wasn't, he would have stopped me. He would have... done something! This has to be planned. A trap."

[It could be,] Albion said, but Vali heard the doubt in his voice. [Some sort of long play. The Titan is good at that.]

"Right," Vali took a deep breath, regaining his calm. He smelled the gore. "He better have a plan. Or I really will kick his ass."

Vali ignored the seed of fear in his heart.

Instead, he walked back toward the pile of blood and bone in the vague shape of a man, grabbed the head by the hair and roughly dragged it back toward the bench.

If he bumped into roots and rocks along the way, well, accidents happen.

With a careless throw, he dropped the carcass in the sunlight as he took a seat on the bench.

It was incredibly uncomfortable.

It was like the wood and nails were all positioned to make it as annoying to sit on without hurting people. Grabbing the cane from where it had fallen, Vali drew the sword.

It was a fresh blade, he could tell. Eren had changed it recently. But apart from that, it was the same as when Eren first got it. The same crossed wings painted white and blue. The same hidden trigger to eject and replace the blade.

Vali sat there, idly playing with the cane as the bloody body reknit itself into something vaguely human-shaped. Steam continued to billow, dissipating in the morning sun.

It took a while. Over an hour.

That was much too long.

The seed of fear in Vali's heart grew, but he ignored it. He was wrong. Vali had to be wrong.

It was lucky that nobody came to investigate. The devils were still in school, and the security forces had already combed this area, or they would have seen what looked like a brutal murder scene.

A finger twitched against the dirt.

"Why didn't you use Touki?" Vali demanded instantly as soon as Eren's jaw healed.

"Hello Vali," Eren rasped, voice gravely as he lay on the ground. With one trembling hand, he reached over and re-broke his other arm, lining it up so it would heal correctly.

"Answer the question." Vali's hand tightened on the cane.

"You took me by surprise." It was Eren's usual voice. Dead. Void of emotion. Even as he took his properly healed arm and realigned the other, he emoted no more than usual.

Vali closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been right.

Satans, damn it, he didn't want to be right.

"How is that possible?"

Eren didn't answer, steam continuing to waft from his body as he healed. With a painful effort, he sat up and rose to his feet.

Vali got a good look at him then.

His long hair was matted with dirt, blood, and wood from tree fragments. Eren was still taller than the half-devil by an inch or so. He still had muscles, meaning he hadn't let himself go completely, but they were much thinner than they used to be.

His skin was also paler, like he wasn't getting enough sun. The bandages around his eyes had shifted, revealing the deep groves in his skin below them. They were half dyed with blood.

Eren adjusted the bandages to cover his upper face again as, with slow steps, he walked to the bench and fell back on it with a grunt.

Vali asked the second question, the one he hoped Eren wouldn't answer.

"How long do you have left?"

"Less than a year."

The same matter-of-fact voice.

"Damn it," Vali cursed, standing from the bench and starting to pace. "Damn it!" He punched another tree, rendering it to pulp.

He was very careful not to damage the cane.

"Clean that up before you leave. And I told you already," Eren said, and for once, there was something in his voice. It was softer. Almost kinder. "When we first met."

"That doesn't make it better!" Vali snapped. "You're the Satan-damn Titan! You don't get to die of some fucking sickness! You don't get to waste away alone! There has to be something we can do. Anything!"

"There isn't," Eren said simply. "It is not something that can be cured. As soon as I was born, I had an expiration date."

"Let me tell Azazel," Vali urged. "He'll figure something out."

"No," Eren denied simply. "He won't. What's wrong with me is not something this world can handle. And if you tell him, the plan fails. Tell him everything else, but not about me."

"Screw the plan!" Vali denied. "I will get my revenge myself. The bastard has lasted this long. He'll last long enough for me to grow stronger. But you aren't allowed to die. Not before I can beat you."

"I told you," Eren repeated, his voice almost amused. "You'll never beat me."

"I thought you were bragging," Vali laughed hollowly, collapsing on the bench. Still damn uncomfortable. "That you were stronger than me. I wanted to punch you so damn hard."

"You just did," Eren said. "Count that as your victory."

"No," Vali spat. "If I can't beat you at your best, it doesn't count." Taking a deep breath, the White Dragon Emperor recentered himself for the second time in as many hours. Eren could always get under his skin. "Why are you here, Eren?"

"This bench is where I'll die," Eren said.

Vali bit his lip, forcing himself to not snap again. Instead, he threw the cane at the boy.

It hit him in the leg and clattered to the ground.

Watching Eren paw around for it hollowed out Vali's heart, and he had to look away.

"Kuroka cried."

The cane clattered to the ground again behind him.

Those two words hurt Eren more than every punch Vali had landed, but they needed to be said.

"Is that so," Eren said softly as he bent to pick it up again. "You've been taking care of her?"

"'Taking care of her?'" Vali repeated sarcastically as he whirled and stomped back to the older boy. Grabbing Eren by his bloody shirt, Vali snarled down at him. "Listen, you blockhead. You don't get it both ways. Either you care about her, in which case you shouldn't have disappeared for OVER A YEAR!" Vali took a deep breath and said the rest quietly. "Or you don't. In which case, you can go die alone! You clearly want to. But you don't get to hand her over like a used tool. That's not how love works."

Eren didn't say anything, but he sagged in Vali's arms.

"I know," Eren eventually said, his voice mournful. "I just... she deserves better than I can give her."

"That's not for you to decide," Vali said, releasing his best friend and sitting on the bench beside him. "It's her choice who to love. And I know she would rather spend what time you have left with you than try to move on."

"I suppose I thought it would work like last time," Eren sighed. "I should have known Kuroka is different than..." Eren trailed off.

Vali knew he was thinking about the woman he used to love. The one a world away. Eren never talked about her or his former best friend, but they weighed on him.

Even after all these years.

"You could give her what she wants," Vali said, shifting the topic slightly. "Even if you die, she'll have something to remember you by."

"No." Eren denied firmly, snapping out of his funk. "I will never have children."

"Will not? Or don't want to?" Vali asked.

This was an aspect he always wanted to ask about. How much did Eren see? Despite what some might think, he wasn't perfect, and there were clear limits to his power, but there was no denying his abilities.

Where did the boundaries lie?

"Both," Eren said gravely. "I am the only one in the Path. There will never be another of Ymir's descendants in this world. And there shouldn't be. When I die, I will take this curse with me. If I did ever have children, I know what would happen. I will not allow that."

Vali wanted to ask what would happen but held off. Instead, he asked about something else.

"Why did you decide to stay here," Vali asked, running a hand to comb his hair back as he regained his usual cool. "It was a smart move. We never thought you'd hide near Shirone."

"I didn't decide," Eren shrugged. "I stopped by here to check up on her before I went looking for this bench. When I found it, I decided to stay."

"But why this bench specifically," Vali asked and then elaborated before Eren could speak. "I know you said you die here, but why is that?"

Eren remained silent for a long moment, idly rubbing his fingers along the twin wings on his cane. Eventually, he spoke.

"The Path," Eren started, then stopped and started again. "My power comes in two forms. The first is what will happen. It is me, sending my memory back to myself of what will happen. It is ironclad. Nothing I do can change. The act of sending those memories back is what determines that future. But..."

Eren struggled for words before continuing.

"My other ability connects past, present, and future. I live in all those times. It is more... open. Combined with the first ability, I see what will happen and what can happen. Both are limited to me. I cannot see anything not connected to the Path. I am the only thing connected to the Path, so I can only control my actions and might not see their consequences."

"Isn't the second ability... redundant?" Vali asked. For years, he had asked Eren about his foresight and never got an answer. Now, he couldn't help himself. "If you know exactly what will happen, why look for what can happen?"

"Because I still get to choose the future," Eren sighed, and Vali couldn't help but notice that it was almost joyful. "These two abilities were never meant to be contained within one person. And certainly not without... someone else to regulate them. It wasn't until I was reborn in this world that I could wield the second as I wished. Usually, it is limited to one bloodline that I am not a part of. I choose which future to walk and live in and then send it back to myself so I will make the same choices. A loop of my choosing. A way to determine the future of my own choice."

"So when you say there is no cure?" Vali felt despair creep up his heart.

"There isn't," Eren nodded. "No matter what future I choose, I always die. The Path ends. There is no saving me."

Vali bit his lip and turned back to the original topic.

"So coming to this bench to die is the best future?"

"It is."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"You... don't know?" Vali asked in disbelief. "You just said you see the future. Twice over!"

"I decide what I see," Eren sighed. "I have to send the memories back. If I don't, I don't know. The other part, the... Coordinate isn't optional. I always live it. Except when I am on this bench."

Vali wasn't the most accomplished devil regarding magic or enchantment. Kuroka, Le Fey, and Azazel were much better. Still, even he should have been able to feel something from the bench if it was able to prevent Eren from using his powers.

He didn't feel anything.

It was just a bench. An uncomfortable bench, but just a bench.

Instead, Vali tried to puzzle out what Eren meant when he said he wasn't seeing the 'set in stone' future.

"So, by hiding your memories from yourself, you are ensuring that future happens?" Vali guessed, and Eren nodded. "How do you know it's the best one?"

"I don't. I have to trust that my future self made the best choice. And..." Eren paused, debating whether to tell Vali something, then sighed. "In that future, I die alone. But... I am smiling."

Vali stared.

He had known Eren Yeager for almost a decade. Had seen him do things that should have been impossible. Yet, not once had Eren Yeager ever smiled.

"I am chasing that smile," Eren admitted as if confessing a sin. "Why do I look like that? I have asked myself that question for almost thirteen years. And I still don't know. I can't know. Because if I do, it will never happen. I don't know what half my actions will accomplish, but I do them anyway. All for that future. I hurt you, I hurt Kuroka, and I will hurt others just because I am trusting that future and that smile. I have to trust it. It's the only way I can move forward."

Vali felt... he didn't know what he felt.

Angry? He had every right to be angry. One of his best friends had disappeared for a year, and he didn't know why.

Should he be hurt? Was all their time together worth nothing compared to a future Eren couldn't even see?

Sympathy? There was no doubt Eren had gone through and been forced to do terrible things. He was going to die young. Eren deserved happiness.

In the end, Vali was worn down. This emotional roller coaster was not what he expected when he decided to tour Kuoh. He usually kept his emotions tightly lidded, portraying a calm, confident exterior. He wasn't cut out for these sorts of emotions.

Vali wanted to fight something.

Having regained his calm, Vali leaned back on the bench, arms spread casually as he stared at the sky.

"If I ask you to transform, will you? I could really use a good spar."

"I can't," Eren sighed. "I only have two shifts left. Each time I shift, my time shortens. Sorry."

"Damn it," Vali cursed again, but there was no heat to it. "And asking you to never shift again won't work. You're on that 'path' of yours."

"I need to," Eren nodded sadly. "If I don't, I can't keep my word to you, Kuroka, or any others. And yes, that is part of the future I want. If the plan fails... Not all the futures I see are good ones."

Vali realized then. The price Eren paid to choose his own future. He had to see what could be.

If Vali could see anything and everything that could happen to himself, would he be able to handle it?

If Vali could see the future where he failed, where he died, where those he loved had atrocity after atrocity inflicted on them, could he remain sane?

If he was always aware of how close he was to failure, and its price, could he do anything?

The memories of his mother already tore at Vali. Seeing that every day, every second, would he be able to walk forward?

[You've changed, Titan.] Albion said, manifesting the white wings below Vali's clothes to talk with the boy.

"In what way?" Eren asked with a tilt of his head.

[You are softer.] Albion answered, but it didn't sound like an insult. [When we met, you were like a dog on a leash. Rabid, wanting to tear the world apart. But directed. The rage I felt isn't gone. But it is not everything anymore. Even if you do not have the smile you want, you are more emotive than you ever were before you left. A year ago, you would not have told us all this.]

"It is the bench," Eren nodded. "While I sit on it, part of my power is limited. I can't see anything. Not the past or the future. While I sit on the bench, I am blind."

"That's how I surprised you," Vali grinned. "Not going to lie, that felt good. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

"I think I do," Eren said dryly.

[You are like Ddraig and I.] Albion rumbled. [It is only when we were confined within our prison that we were able to let the haze of rage dissipate. It will never leave us, but we now see a world we were blind to.]

"I am not..." Eren paused as if Albion's words surprised him more than Vali's attack. "You are right. I have changed. Thank you, Albion. You just answered one of my questions about my Path."

[Just remember your promise.]

Vali felt his Sacred Gear retract, leaving him alone with Eren again.

They sat there in companionable silence for a long while.

"You will stay here?" Vali eventually asked.

"Until it is time," Eren nodded. "I still have a meeting to wait for."

"I'm going to tell Kuroka." Vali watched Eren's face for any sign of disagreement. If Eren tried to stop him, he would punch him again. The other boy simply nodded. "That won't mess up your 'path'?" Vali asked sarcastically.

He still wasn't over the fact that Eren had left them for over a year.

"I honestly don't know," Eren said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I can't see anything while on the bench. I don't know if I will do something to destroy my future myself, or if meeting you here already did that. But I don't think trying to stop you telling her will ruin anything."

"Why not? You won't let me go to Azazel."

"Because the leaders of the three factions can't know about my abilities. That would ruin the plan and accomplish nothing," Eren said softly. "But if you truly did that, I wouldn't stop you. I simply offer a choice. I will never fight for a future where my friends aren't as free as I am."

"Even if it will ruin your plan?"

"If the only way for you to be free is to stand against me? So be it."

Vali did end up cleaning his mess with a spell before he left. It was easy for the Lucifer descendent. The little park looked as pristine as he found it.

He also gave Eren one last punch for good measure.

Then he left.

He'd see Eren again when it was time.

Until then, he had no desire to watch the man he considered a big brother waste away on the bench.

********

Hoo boy. I think the last chapter was the single most divisive thing I've ever written. I sure got a lot of responses. I will stick with it, though. Unlike other writers, I only publish something once I know how it will end. I appreciate feedback, advice, and even ideas, but by the time a story is released, I generally do not change it based on fan response. That way, it maintains cohesion.

I am not surprised by the response. Mikasa is an increadibly divisive character, perhaps even more than Eren. I won't give my thoughts one way or the other here, but I will say: One, I don't plan to drag things on; two, just as Eren is post-Rumbling, so is Mikasa from after the ending. As I mentioned in the first chapter, this story follows canon as closely as possible. Including the parts some people will not like. That is the only way it can be the continuation and closure I want from it.

About this chapter, I admit to leaning a lot more about later volumes of Vali's character. He simply doesn't get much characterization in the early seasons/light novels. Also, the explanation of the Attack Titan and Founding Titan is incomplete; it is just what Eren wanted to tell Vali. More will be explained later.

Though the ability to see 'possibilities' is canon. That's how Eren saw what the cabin he'd share with Mikasa if they ran away together. The Attack Titan works on memories, so it is what 'Will Happen,' because they've already happened, there is no escaping it. The Founding Titan sees what 'Is Happening and Has Happened,' not the future. Only when they are combined (in Ymir and Eren) do you get the omniscience and timeless view that trapped Eren. Otherwise, all of the Founder's hosts would have been able to see the future of the Rumbling.

Anyway, I hope this has answered a few questions (and given a few more) and I will see you next time on the bench.

 

[Requim]

Good chapter looking foward to knowing Eren's backstory TFTC

 

[Phillyitalian]

Damn I'm suckered for a good highschool dxd story.

 

[Hilight]

If he's so upset at the thought of more people living with Ymir's curse, then just get it over with and kill yourself while jumping into a volcano. I don't know what the overarching plan is here, but I doubt running around Africa as a child soldier leading other child soldiers is going to end up being necessary without some serious contrivances and mental gymnastics of it being "The only way."

 

[kz3838]

Thank you for the great chapter, I really like how you've been giving us pieces of Eren's backstory over time. Similarly I enjoy how you write the interactions between Eren and others he, or were aware of him, before he came to the bench while not telling us every detail. You have given us just enough to piece together what their relationship is like while still leaving room for wondering what is going on. I am very excited to see where you take this next, stay safe out there and keep up the good work!

 

[SirGrim]

"Kuroka cried."

Click to shrink...

Always nice when reading makes me feel something.

Spoiler: My real feelings

That tears it! Eren deserves death, and no one should save him.

Great work as always!

 

[CrowesDebt]

If he's so upset at the thought of more people living with Ymir's curse, then just get it over with and kill yourself while jumping into a volcano. I don't know what the overarching plan is here, but I doubt running around Africa as a child soldier leading other child soldiers is going to end up being necessary without some serious contrivances and mental gymnastics of it being "The only way."

Click to shrink...

Because then there wouldn't be much of a story anyways. That and Eren is most definitely NOT the type of person off himself. This is something he needs to see through to the end. He's a stubborn guy like that.

 

[Tortonium]

Thanks for the chapter!

 

[Gwynx]

Everything according to the keikaku

beautiful work as always

 

[Vanbers]

"Both," Eren said gravely. "I am the only one in the Path. There will never be another of Ymir's descendants in this world. And there shouldn't be. When I die, I will take this curse with me. If I did ever have children, I know what would happen. I will not allow that."

Click to shrink...

Plot Twist: The MC was secretly Zeke all along.

 

[HalfEmpty]

Eren was literally the Xanatos Gambit trope wasn't he? His plans always worked, he always lead his enemies into traps he setup beforehand and he killed enough people in them that if you weren't dead, it's because your death wasn't part of his plan.

Nice to see two points of confirmation of that fact, the first from Kokabiel and the second from Vali.

I think I've caught one point where we can go back and say "How did we miss that?!"

"Mmmh," Eren nodded. Then he pulled out his sword again. A sense of familiarity once again struck Kiba, like he had seen the flat blade somewhere before.

Click to shrink...

Since Mikasa was a part of the Gremory's, then Kiba would have seen the exact same style of blade growing up.

 

[ReadingDangerously]

It was pity that made Michael stop in front of the bench.

His guards had swept Kuoh thoroughly and had reported no anomalies of concern in the lead-up to the Peace Conference. Except, that is, for the human boy sitting on the bench well within the devils' wards around the school.

After initial scans, even going so far as to approach, they had determined him to be nothing more than a human. One without any magic or Sacred Gear. Thanks to their constant exposure to Heaven's system, angels were much better at sensing such things.

Despite determining the boy to be of little to no importance, Michael's guards still dutifully reported the oddity to the Seraph.

It was Irina Shidou, one of the church agents and a participant in the Kokabiel incident, who had accurately guessed who it was.

Eren Yeager. The Child of Evil. A former child soldier and mercenary living out his last days in Kuoh.

A human that was friends with the devil scions but remained largely unaware of the supernatural world, according to Irina, who had spoken to the Red Dragon Emperor on the subject.

Apparently, the exorcist had been concerned for her former partner, Xenovia, and inquired about the subject with her childhood friend.

Hearing that the boy had managed to injure Griselda, even if thanks to trickery, was interesting. But the fact that he lacked anything that would make him a threat had reassured Michael's security that they had made the correct call to leave the human alone.

Not so for the leader of Heaven himself.

Michael had memorized every word his Father had ever spoken to him and never forgot the particular importance God had placed on how wonderous and terrible humanity's potential could be. He was to never overlook them.

So he asked more questions.

And hadn't liked the answers.

Sadness overwhelmed the Seraph.

Sadness at the world that would allow a child so young to face the horrors of war. Sadness at the unfairness of it all that even after going through so much, the boy was still denied a long, happy life.

It was a familiar sadness.

A deep, all-consuming melancholy at the daily tragedies of a world without God.

And then the regret came.

Regret because there was nothing Michael could do. If even Twilight Healing, one of the greatest of his Father's works, failed to save the boy, it would take a miracle to cure Eren Yeager.

And miracles from Heaven were in short supply.

They had been waiting on one themselves for so long.

So, moved by pity, Michael met the boy on the bench.

"Do you mind if I take a seat," the Seraph asked the Devil.

"You're free to do what you want," the Devil answered with a shrug.

"Thank you." Michael sat down, his overly elaborate robes of office dragging along the dirt as he took his seat, yet they remained pristine white.

He let out a breath of air as he leaned back, gazing towards the sky. Unlike the boy beside him, Michael could see it, bright blue taking on a darker hue as the sunset.

They sat in silence, taking their rest as they each watched a world the other couldn't see.

It was Michael who spoke first.

"What brings you here, young man?"

"Waiting."

"For what?"

"A meeting I was promised."

"With whom?"

"I'll know when I meet them."

The pair lapsed back into silence.

Michael let it stretch longer this time. He knew he was under observation by both his guards and the other factions, but he did not mind. He could not remember the last time he took a break, even for as short a time as this.

It was the most relaxed he had been in centuries.

Eventually, Michael knew he had to leave the bench, to return to a world without God, so he got around to the reason for his visit.

"Are you a religious man, my friend?"

"No."

"Through lack of opportunity or lack of belief."

"Yes."

Michael's smile, soft and comforting, took on a wry note.

"Even in your... condition?" Michael asked gently. "If you will pardon a bit of rudeness, you do not look well."

"If I changed who I was just because I was about to die, it wouldn't be out of faith," Eren said simply, not bothered by the allusion to his sickly appearance. "It would be cowardice."

"It is not cowardly to seek salvation," the Seraph chided gently. "There is nothing wrong with entrusting your soul to a greater power. In praying for an afterlife. A better life."

"There is," Eren said, this time with a note of steel in his dull voice. "It makes you cattle. When you give up your freedom for safety, you deserve neither."

"I take it you don't believe in God and the afterlife, then?" Michael asked, giving up the pretext of subtlety. Eren Yeager seemed to be the type to appreciate blunt honesty.

"Whether they exist or not does not matter."

"Why do you say that?"

"If God exists, she either allows the world to be like this, makes the world like this, or is helpless to change the world. Either way, believing in her or not does not change whether she is real or her effect on me and the world."

"Her? You believe God to be a woman?"

Eren didn't answer, and seeing as he wasn't going to be able to continue that train of conversation, Michael steered it back on course.

"What of the afterlife?" The Seraph asked curiously. "Why does its existence not matter?"

"Because if it doesn't exist, I will cease to exist as well when I die," Eren said simply, but there was something in his emotionless voice, some note that Michael picked up on thanks to his millennia of life.

"And if it does?"

"Then I am going to hell, and nothing I say or do will change that."

The certainty in the boy's words broke Michael's heart.

The world was a cruel place. A terrible place. A place where a child was forced to commit heinous acts just to survive.

That was why he was here. Why the Seraph was taking a few minutes out of his day to talk to a dying boy.

Michael would forever disappoint his Father if he failed to extend the one hand he could offer.

"That is not true," Michael said with certainty. "No matter your actions, guilt, or crimes, it is never too late to find salvation. I am a priest, of a sort. I can take your confession. If you dedicate yourself to repentance and atonement, I am certain you can find a better place in the next life."

Michael had seen the worst sinners weep in repentance and live out their days as saints. He had seen monsters turn into heroes.

The Seraph had seen the worst of humanity turn into its best.

Only those who knew the dark could truly appreciate the light.

Michael did not know the extent of Eren Yeager's sins. Such an ability was beyond even him, and a single file and testimony from his church exorcists was not enough information to render judgment.

Only when the boy stood before the Pearly Gates would he be judged by his Father's system.

Until then, Michael could not know for sure if someone was destined for paradise or damnation.

What Michael did know was that the Gates of Heaven would always be open.

Michael was not God.

Michael's name meant 'Like God,' not God himself. He was a poor substitute.

But on one point, he was absolutely sure.

The one point of the System his Father had put in place that Michael had unwavering confidence in. That he had maintained perfectly despite every other failure of his.

Because of his ineptitude, Michael might allow flaws in the Divine system. The likes of the Holy Sword Project could be laid at his feet for his inability to match God.

Asia Argento had been excommunicated from the church because of his weakness. Xenovia Quarta had been exiled because news of God's death could not be allowed to spread lest chaos and fear reign.

But, until either had become devils, they had never been beyond Heaven's blessing, the one reward they could give that was wholly theirs.

There was only one place where Michael's hubris allowed him to acknowledge that Michael might, in some minuscule way, compare to his deceased Father.

For the truly faithful, those who did good, who regretted their sins and strove for salvation, the Pearly Gates would always be open.

No man was without sin.

It was those who repented, who strove to be better, that walked Heaven's Halls.

That was why Michael was meeting with Eren.

Not to heal him, for he could not.

Not to convert him, for he should not.

But to save him, in the only way he could.

If Eren took the chance the highest Seraph was giving him, if he confessed his sins and spent his remaining time on earth dedicated to others, to balance out the bad with the good, then he too might walk those golden halls one day.

Sins are never forgotten.

But they can be forgiven.

It was up to the dying boy to make the first step.

All Michael could do was extend a hand.

But Eren Yeager, the Child of Evil, could not see that hand.

He was blind to everything but the Path he chose to walk.

For good or ill.

"My confession?" The dying boy asked a note of disbelief in his placid voice. "What a useless thing. Will my confession bring the dead back? Will it give the living the vengeance they want? Will it change what I have done?"

"Nothing will change the past," Michael said sombrely, knowing rejection was the most likely outcome when he came here.

But he had to try.

He owed it to his Father. To his brother and sisters. To the beliefs they held within their hearts. To humanity.

He owed it to the dead. The countless mountain of corpses he and his comrades had tread across to reach this day.

He owed it to those faces who looked to Heaven and found not God but a pale imitation.

He owed them all to always have this one hand extended.

Peace was imminent. Why could salvation not be as well?

"Your sins are your own. All we can do is change the future. It is there that we might balance the scales away from evil."

"There are not scales in heaven or hell large enough to weigh the evil I have done."

Michael felt his gentle smile twist into one of regret and pain.

He was not diminishing what the boy had gone through. Michael could see it in the tenseness of the boy's body when he arrived. He could hear it in the exhaustion in the boy's voice. He could feel it in the aura of pain, anger and guilt that seemed to radiate from the dying boy as they talked.

Eren Yeager was not naive, ignorant, or even childish.

But he was young.

It was the privilege of the young to believe they were unique and that their circumstance had never happened before and would never happen again.

It was the privilege of the old to know that the world did not work like that.

And Michael was very, very old.

The blood on Eren's hands could not compare to the ocean that dripped from Michael's spear.

"Even were that the case," Michael allowed, well knowing that a young man's pride was fragile. "Would it not be better to make the attempt? To do enough good to outweigh the bad? To repent and-"

"Repent?"

Eren cut off the greatest angel with clear anger in his voice.

The first clear display of emotion the Seraph had heard from the boy.

Michael actually had to waive his guards down when they made to say something. They wouldn't have hurt the boy, but they would have made their displeasure at his rude interruption known.

"I repent nothing. I regret. I endlessly regret it. But I shall never repent. To repent is to stop moving forward. To try and undo the choices I made. To trample on the hearts they dedicated. I will burn in hell for all eternity before I repent for even one footstep of mine. Because to try and repent is to spit on all the dead I trampled on."

Ah.

Michael understood now.

He had made a mistake.

Despite his best efforts and despite the warnings of his Father so long ago about humanity, Michael had underestimated Eren Yeager.

"Confess? Repent? It's shit like this why I can't stand you religious types. You can't take responsibility for your own actions. Always trusting others to do it for you."

Eren Yeager was not some traumatized child soldier forced to confront the horrors of the world at a too-young age. He was not a young man dying so far before his time that he lamented the unfairness of the world.

Nor was he a child of pure evil. He was not a monster unrepentant of his actions or the atrocities he committed.

Eren Yeager was not a boy who wished for salvation.

"If I do evil, it is because I choose to. If I do good, it is because I want to. Not because of some arbitrary rules from old fuc-"

Michael's pity overwhelmed his propriety, and it was his turn to interrupt the boy's angry tirade to ask the question.

"Would you do it again?"

Eren's mouth clicked shut, teeth clenching.

"Knowing the sins you'd commit, the deaths at your hands and the evil you'd inflict? Would you do it again?"

"Yes." The answer was bit out through clenched teeth as his fists curled on his cane hard enough to creak the wood. "Over and over and over and over again. A million times over. Even if I could change the past, I wouldn't. I would do it all again."

"Then you have my apologies." Michael stood from the bench and bowed to the human. "I interrupted your day with pointless preaching. I hope you will forgive me."

For a long second, Eren seemed at a loss for words. The anger was still there, but it was confused, as if he didn't know how to direct it. Michael maintained his bow, even as his guards shifted in the air until the boy spoke.

"It's not worth apologizing for," Eren sagged against the bench as the anger left him, and the strength went with it. "I am more... emotional these days than I should be."

Michael stood from his bow with his usual gentle smile.

He noted, wryly, that Eren had never said he forgave him or that the boy was sorry for his anger.

"Thank you for entertaining my questions," the Seraph said instead of pointing it out. "It has been nice to relax in comfort for a few minutes. I hope you find peace."

Michael's guards started to signal him as Eren answered.

"Peace always comes after war."

"Well said," Sirzechs Lucifer responded with a smile as he entered the clearing with the bench.

He, too, was in ceremonial robes, and Michael saw his companions tense as the Crimson Satan approached.

Sirzechs was only accompanied by his wife and Queen rather than the contingent of guards Michael's siblings had foisted on him. Grayfia Lucifuge, dressed as a maid as always, looked over the blind boy with a critical eye, her face as cold as her magic.

Michael gestured for his hidden compatriots to calm themselves. They could do nothing to the Super-Devil and would only serve to slow his Queen down.

Besides, they were here for peace.

Eren Yeager had no idea he was currently in a clearing with the replacements for Lucifer and God.

"Who are you?" Eren asked bluntly.

"Sirzechs," Lucifer, far from being offended by the tone, laughed lightly as he greeted the dying boy. "Rias' brother, in case she's mentioned me."

"She hasn't."

It was below a Seraph to take pleasure in suffering, but lying was also a sin, so Michael admitted, to himself, if no one else, that seeing the leader of the devils wilt in despair was genuinely amusing.

"Ria-tan is just shy. She's proud of her big brother. She is. She'll tell yo-" the former Gremory said with a slightly pained expression as his wife subtly pinched him. "Anyway, this is my wife, Grayfia. You must be Eren Yeager. Rias has told me so much about you."

"Greeting, Mr. Yeager," the second strongest female devil executed a perfect curtsy even if the boy couldn't see her. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"My bench is very popular today," Eren said sarcastically as his hands tensed around his cane. "Why are you here, brother and sister of Rias?"

"As much as I would love to talk to you about my dear Ria-tan and what she's been up to," Sirzechs laughed again despite Eren's evident unease. "I am actually here for your companion. I hope you don't mind if I steal him away? We have business to attend to."

Michael again had to signal his guards not to do anything stupid at the devil's provocative words.

Must Sirzechs rile them up so much.

"Go ahead," Eren grunted. "I don't care."

"Thank you," Sirzechs said with his easy smile. "I hope you don't mind if I return some other day? To talk? I am always happy to get to know Rias' friends."

"I won't stop you."

"Until then."

Lucifer gave Michael a wave as Grayfia, the stickler for propriety, gave another curtsy that the blind boy couldn't see.

The Seraph also bid his farewells to the dying boy.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Eren Yeager," Michael said formally. "Walk with the Lord's blessing."

Eren grunted in dismissal, tapping his cane on the ground rhythmically as his guests and their hidden entourage left him.

As soon as they left, they saw a small girl rush towards the clearing they had just left.

Upon seeing the pair, she froze.

"Don't mind us, Koneko-chan," Sirzechs waived the young girl by with a smile. "We were just taking a walk together before the meeting."

The young devil stared at the pair with wide, golden eyes.

Michael nodded in greeting.

She bowed as they walked by, much to Grayfia's silent pride. As soon as they were out of eyesight, Koneko resumed her run.

They heard her speedy footsteps, no matter how quiet she tried to be. They were some of the strongest beings on the planet.

Both men shared a smile.

As they were leaving the small forest park towards the school, the other students having long gone for the day, Sirzechs finally spoke up.

"I am surprised," the devil said lightly. "As I understand it, young Eren, back there is a figure of contention within your faction. I heard he's destroyed a few churches and even almost lamed one of your more experienced exorcists."

"She recovered without issue," Michael answered just as lightly. He knew how the game was played. "And we always offer salvation to those who would seek it. So long as he does not become a devil, our hands will always be extended."

Lucifer laughed as if Michael had told a joke.

They might be walking to a peace conference, but immortal beings like them had long memories. Just because they were doing what was best for their people and the world did not mean they forgot the friends and family they had lost at the other's hands.

Peace always came after war.

And war always followed peace.

Such was the nature of the world.

"If Eren ends up in heaven," Sirzechs said, still chuckling. "Rias will never let me hear the end of it. The Child of Evil? An Angel? There is some delicious irony there."

Michael didn't comment on the devil's blase handling of secrets. Every one of his guards was trustworthy. They knew that this peace conference was just a pretext. The actual negotiations had been going on behind the scenes for decades, and the terms had already been laid out.

One of the most significant benefits the angels would gain was a system similar to the Evil Piece system. A way to replenish their race that had been lost with his Father's death.

It was also a key benefit for the fallen. More angels meant more that might fall, though that part went unsaid.

The Brave Saint system was ready after long years of work from both Beelzebub and Azazel.

The leaders of the three factions had just been waiting for an excuse, a show they could put on for the others in their factions and the world.

Kokabiel had been that excuse, and this conference was that show.

"Eren Yeager will never be an angel."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because it would be cruel," Michael answered, pity leaking into his voice. "Salvation only comes to those who search for it. And that boy never will. He does not regret his sins, so he cannot repent. He only regrets their necessity. He will never give them up. Would he become an angel, his sins would drag him down. He would fall instantly."

"I suppose that makes him the perfect devil, then," Sirzechs said lightly. "Rias will be happy."

"That would be crueller still," Michael shook his head. "If he could repent, he might take such a deal. Just as Eren cannot repent, so too can he not forgive himself. He is already in hell. Angel, fallen, or devil, it does not matter. Unless he learns to live again, death will be his only rest."

For a long moment, the group was quiet. Eventually, the Crimson Satan said one word.

"Good."

It was not a kind sentiment, and Michael gave his companion a challenging look.

Sirzechs, for all his faults, was not a cruel devil.

He would not wish a child suffering if it did not serve his interests.

But his interests were many and varied.

"Rias needs to learn to lose," the devil said. "Better it be someone she has only known for a short time and a death she can prepare for. Even if we have peace, a devil's life is never peaceful."

Michael's expression soured slightly.

They might be signing a peace treaty today, but he could never allow himself to forget just what kind of creatures devils were.

"By the way," Sirzechs continued, a grin forming on his face. "Please do not mention Eren in front of Serafall."

"Why not?"

Michael hadn't actually planned on doing such, considering the matter with the blind boy done. He was also well aware of the Leviathan's... mercurial moods.

Especially with regards to the Seraphs.

"Her sister is sweet on the boy," Sirzechs smiled mischievously. "I don't know about you, but I don't want Leviathan going on a rampage during a peace conference out of jealousy."

"Ah," Michael blinked in surprise. "I see. Young love? And between the Sitri Heiress and a human? Is this the 'bad boy' appeal I hear so much about? I confess I do not understand such matters."

"Take a tragic backstory, a touch of danger, and wrap it all in a mystery? Human or devil, teenage girls lap that up," Sirzechs was nodding sagely. "How do you think I got- ow ow ow, Grayfia!"

Out of angelic kindness, Michael pretended not to notice the Crimson Devil's plight as his wife mercilessly pinched him.

It would be cruel to point out that the Queen had broken the etiquette she valued so highly.

Such mercy was expected of a Seraph such as him.

Peace was on the horizon, he had taken his first rest in centuries, and Michael saw Sirzechs Lucifer get tormented by his wife.

For the first time in a very long time, the mantle on Michael's back, the weight on his wings, felt just a little lighter.

With such matters on his mind, Michael spent only a few moments of quiet prayer. He prayed that salvation would come for the boy on the bench.

********

It's never really gone into in DxD, because almost everything we get is from Issei's perspective, but it is hinted that all three faction leaders have been in contact for a long time before the actual peace conference. And the Brave Saint system comes about after only a month or so.

In my mind, just like most negotiations happen away from the actual deal table, it is pretty likely that the Peace Conference only happened after a deal had been finalized. That would also explain how easily it comes about in the books/show. Rather than three factions deciding to have peace after millennia of war because of a ten-minute talk, much more is happening behind the scenes. Again, this isn't explicitly canon, but it lines up with it and doesn't contradict it.

My biggest issue with this chapter was more on how to portray Michael. The Heaven faction is the most underrepresented in all of DxD. I also never want to bash religions (despite Eren's views), but they are represented in a fairly military way in DxD, so I tried to strike a balance here. Sirzechs is canonically shown to be manipulative and will do anything to better Rias, so I think I got him down reasonably well.

Next week, we will wrap up the peace conference. Until then, I will be waiting on the bench.

 

[SirGrim]

My biggest issue with this chapter was more on how to portray Michael

Click to shrink...

I for one think you've done an excellent job. Every new interaction and plot thread is just building more anticipation for how you plan to wrap this all up. Will it be in a nice pretty bow, or will it all crash together like tangled Christmas lights? Given your quality of writing, I think either would be very fun to read.

 

[Gwynx]

Eren as always sowing chaos and being an essence of chaos just for freedom. Now it's our turn to wait on the bench until next week...

nice work

 

[Spearow]

"If God exists, she either allows the world to be like this, makes the world like this, or is helpless to change the world. Either way, believing in her or not does not change whether she is real or her effect on me and the world."

"Her? You believe God to be a woman?"

Click to shrink...

plot twist, God was Ymir Fritz all along.

 

[kz3838]

Thank you for the great chapter, I really like how you wrote Michael here and the way his apology confused Eren was hilarious! Stay safe out there, and keep up the good work!

 

[Vanbers]

>Michael
>Portrayed as genuinely good in his core, and wanting to help people because he's genuinely a pretty nice guy
>In a DxD story

Witchcraft.



Anyways, I liked it. I always like when the super-common subversion of "God/Heaven/Angels are all actually super evil/incompetent/stupid/etc.!" gets subverted and they're actually just nice people.

 

[Speedshot]

Always happy to join you on the bench. Chapter was rlly good.

 

[BanzEye]

Hey, did I miss something on Irina? Because I haven't seen anything on her in a while. Did she die in this fic, or is this something that happens in DxD? I admit I've never actually watched the anime or read the light novels/manga, so I wouldn't know.