Chapter Text
All Shu could feel was the cold temperature radiating off the ground, a complete contrast from the soft comfort he got from his futon. What was happening? Opening his eyes, his gaze was met with a wall of grey, various unknown splatters and stains littered the monotone surface.
"W-Where am I?" he muttered to himself, "M-Mom? Dad?" he called out with a small voice, not understanding anything. His head throbbed, perhaps from contact with this hard surface he was on.
He got onto his feet, relieved after seeing that the kimono he was wearing wasn't too dirty. Cautiously, Shu made his way to the opening at the end of wherever he was standing. It was bright, and a figure passed by every now and then. Getting there, he was shocked by what he saw.
Gone was the vast field outside where he lived. Gone was the smell of fresh air and the buzzing of cicadas. He didn't know what to think of what he saw. Tall structures were lined up all the way until the furthest he could see, and the busy street seemed to have an endless amount of people, bustling here and there. Strange contraptions with four wheels travelled down the middle between all the people, and there were so many things he had never seen before everywhere.
Quickly ducking back into the darkness of the alley behind him, he tried to gather himself. Where was he? Did some strange power transport him here? He did feel slight supernatural power in the latest memory he could gather from before he had awoken.
After calming down his rapidly beating heart, he slowly made his way back to the opening in the alley. For now, he wanted to get to a place with less people but still hidden.
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As he walked through the streets, he heard frequent whispers around him.
"Oh my goodness! Look at what that boy is wearing!"
"Oh!!! That's so cute! Is that a Japanese kimono? It goes perfectly with his eyes!"
"Aww, he looks so pretty in it, do you think he's lost? He looks kind of confused..."
Shu could feel his cheeks burning at the comments, his walk turning into a slight jog and then a run. Not knowing where he was heading, random turns were taken until he found a small and quiet park in a slightly secluded place.
A small playhouse was located at the edge of the play area. Crawling inside, he sat down and gathered his legs to his chest, hugging them tightly.
"I-I..." he sniffled, feeling tears coming up now that he was truly alone, "W-What's happening...I'm scared...I-I wanna go h-home!"
For the first time since waking up in this frightening situation, he cried. In the dark corner of the playhouse, the sniffles of a young boy echoed, until suddenly...
WOOF!
"...huh?"
WOOF! RUFF! WOOF!
Shu lifted his head at the sound, was there a doggy?
Sure enough, a retriever with a silky golden coat of fur bounded into the playhouse, almost taking up more space than Shu was. A look of shock replaced the sad expression he had on as the dog started sniffing and nuzzling him.
"A-Are you comforting me, Mr. Doggy?"
As if it was responding, the dog rolled onto its back, exposing its tummy as if it was asking for some tummy rubs. Shu giggled at its antics, gladly giving the friendly creature all the pats and rubs it wanted.
"Aww, you're so cute and fluffy, aren't you the cutest little doggy!" he laughed as the dog nuzzled up against his side once more. Why was it here alone? He looked well taken care of, so his owner was probably looking for him somewhere near here.
"Augustus! Where did you go????"
Right on cue, the calls of someone else's voice could be heard. The dog perked up, but instead of running back to his owner as Shu expected, it instead stayed with him, barking loudly as if it was calling his owner over here instead. Shu was flustered, what was he going to say when the owner of the dog saw him here?
The shadow of a person approached the playhouse. He seemed quite tall, as Shu could only see the bottom parts of his legs from where he was sitting. The person ducked down, breathing hard as their head peeked in.
Shu held onto the dog for dear life, trying to hide behind it, but failing to do so and instead looking directly into the other's eyes.
Strangely enough, for a moment right after the person noticed him, it felt like his eyes turned dark for a second. The light purple eyes widened, like they were giving Shu a quick scan as a shocked look overtook the other's face. But when Shu blinked, the expression was gone, as if it was an illusion.
The stranger had a kind look on his face and was slightly sweaty, probably from running around looking for his pet.
"Hey there!" they spoke first.
"H-Hello..." Shu replied. If they were the owner of this cute doggy they couldn't be that bad, right? "I-Is this your doggy?"
The man with golden hair that was almost matching the dog's gave him a wide smile, "Yep!! This is Augustus, and my name is Luca! POOOOOOOOOG!!"
Shu couldn't help but smile at the man called Luca, it felt like he was made out of boundless energy itself.
"Well, I've told you my name, how about you tell me yours!" Luca then proceeded to ask.
"O-Oh, my name is-" Shu was about to tell him his name when he started coughing. All the running and crying must've made him dehydrated, his throat turning dry.
"Woah there! You okay?" the other sounded worried, "Here, I have a bottle of water. It's not weirdge of anything! I'll drink it first just to prove it, okay?" The man took a sip from the bottle before offering it to Shu. Accepting it after seeing the other trying it first, Shu took small sips from the bottle as to not take too much.
"T-Thank you, Luca-oniisan..." the other perked up when Shu talked, "My name is Shu. Shu Yamino..."
He grinned.
"Alright! Is it okay if I call you Shu?" Shu nodded, "Well, Shu, what are you doing here by yourself?"
"I-I'm just resting. It's my f-first day around here..." Shu replied, it was best to be slightly vague right? He didn't trust the person in front of him completely yet, although he seemed quite nice.
Luca raised an eyebrow at this statement, but nodded, seemingly accepting it. Augustus nuzzled Shu's hand for more pets, gaining giggles from both of them.
"Augustus is cute, isn't he?"
"Yeah! He's really friendly...is he like this with everyone?" Shu was curious.
"Nope!" Luca replied, popping the P at the end of the word, "He's usually pretty cautious of strangers, but I guess he took to you right away! I'm really surprised!"
Shu laughed, still petting Augustus' head. Luca smiled in return, getting up from his squatting position and stretching his legs outside the house.
"Well! I think it's time for me and Augustus to go! We've got places to be! It was pretty POG meeting you, Shu!"
Shu deflated a bit at the statement, he was going to be alone again.
However, he got out of the house along with Augustus, smiling at the pair.
"It was nice meeting you too, Luca-oniisan."
The pair parted with a wave.
"Yeah, Augustus and I found him. I'll keep you posted on where he's headed."
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Shu made his way back into an area with a bit more people. It was slightly less scary to be where there were some people instead of none. He looked at the tall structures all around him, reading one of the signs saying NIJI SHOPPING MALL.
There seemed to be a lot of people walking about and going up and down on what looked like moving stairs. Curious, he went into one of them. The air inside was cooler than outside, making Shu wonder if it was some kind of magic or sorcery. Following the flow of the crowd, he ended up around the middle of the mall, looking around at all the different places.
"It kind of looks like the market back at home where all the shops are selling different things." he spoke to himself, there were weird looking clothes cut halfway at the arms and legs, as well as many foods that looked and smelled interesting. The delicious smells reminded his body that he was hungry, his stomach gurgling at the thought of food.
As he was daydreaming about food, he bumped into another body. It was a person wearing an outfit that several others in the mall were wearing as well. Perhaps it was a uniform for a special division of people? The lady looked down at him, analysing him.
"Hello, child, are you lost? Where's your guardian?" she asked kindly.
"U-Um, I'm not lost. My mother sent me o-out for errands." he replied, trying to subtly move further away.
However, this seemed to be an unsatisfactory answer for the other, as she frowned, grabbing him by his wrist and dragging him toward a circle in the middle with several people on weird square gadgets.
"I see...well, why don't you come with me and wait in the lost children's centre? I'll make an announcement so your guardian can come get you, how about that?" she said with no room for disagreement.
"N-No, I don't want to!" he tried to pull his wrist away, but it didn't work and he was almost to the circle when suddenly another hand clasped onto his shoulder, surprising him.
"H-Hi!" a breathless voice could be heard coming from behind him. Turning around, he saw another tall person with a fox hat and sunglasses on holding onto him, "I've been looking all over for you!"
Shu looked at him in shock, not knowing what to say.
"Sorry, do you know this child?" the lady asked the tall person.
"Yep! Sorry, he's my brother. I looked away for one second and he disappeared! Mom's going to kill me if she finds out about this, won't she, Yuu?" the man looked down at Shu, seemingly waiting for a reply.
"Y-Yeah! Sorry, niisan, I just saw something and wanted to take a closer look..." whatever idea this person had was better than being taken away somewhere.
Satisfied, the lady let go of Shu. After giving the other a firm warning about not letting him run off again, she left, leaving the two "brothers" standing alone together. Shu looked up, not knowing what the other really wanted from him. The man with the pretty blue eyes smiled at him, kneeling down to his level.
"Hey there. Sorry, you just looked like you were kind of in trouble, so I stepped in to help. You okay?" Shu nodded, hands grasping at the edges of his kimono sleeves.
"Well, I'm Mysta. Mysta Rias. Would it be okay if you tell me your name? I'm pretty sure it's not Yuu, ahaha..."
Shu smiled, "My name is Shu. Shu Yamino...you were pretty close, Mysta-oniisan."
The other chuckled at his answer, and was about to say something else when they were interrupted by a gurgle. Leave it to his hunger to strike at this exact moment. Shu blushed at the embarrassing sound, feeling his face and ears start to heat up. The other seemed to think nothing of it, simply taking Shu's hand in his own, making him jump.
"Are you hungry? Well, I just so happen to be on my way to lunch, would you like to come with me?"
Shu's eyes sparkled with the prospect of eating food, but he didn't want to intrude.
"I-It's okay, I don't have money, and I don't want to trouble you-"
"Nonsense! I can't leave a hungry kid with no food! Come on! I'm getting burgers today!"
"What is a burger?"
Mysta looked surprised at the question, freezing slightly before regaining his composure. He smiled again.
"They're a kind of really delicious food! I'm 100% sure you'll love it!"
After entering a place called WcBonalds, the pair sat down at a table, Mysta going out to order while Shu waited at the table. Looking around him, there were so many things he didn't understand. Bright glowing squares were all around him, but there was no trace of any magic input supplying energy to them. However, there were a bunch of delicious smells coming from around him, making him wait in anticipation for what was about to come.
Mysta came back with a tray stacked with two round items, two of what looked like yellow sticks in a carton, and two paper cups with straws coming out of them.
"Thanks for waiting so patiently, Shu! Here, I promise you they'll taste really good!"
Shu nodded, already eager to try this so-called burger.
And it was delicious. There was the yummy meat in the burger that Mysta told him he should try to take a huge bite of, but he only managed to bite halfway up the round food item. The "fries" were also crunchy, and finishing up with a sip of some kind of fizzy orange juice, it was perfect. It tasted different than the orange juice at home, but it was sweet in the same kind of way.
Halfway through eating his own food, Mysta had finished. Saying he had some urgent business, he left first, telling Shu it would be fine if he just finished his food at his own pace and left the tray there for people to collect after. Shu nodded, thanking Mysta profusely for the food while the other just laughed and said it was fine.
"Bye-bye, Mysta-oniisan!"
"Bye, Shu!"
Sitting by himself, Shu took another small sip of the orange juice.
It tasted...different. But it was the only thing that reminded him of home. Thinking of his parents, he felt his eyes getting wet again, but quickly scrubbed at them, telling himself to not cry in a public place. He would just finish his food and figure out what to do next. There must be a way to get back.
There had to be.
"Yeah, he really doesn't know anything. It'll be a fresh start, but I'm sure we'll make it work, guys. I'll keep y'all posted."
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Shu had wandered about the mall area as well as the outside areas for quite a while now. His feet hurt slightly with the sandals he was wearing, and his kimono was slightly scuffed from getting caught on various things, but he was somehow managing to not break down and cry.
Walking down the street, a small crowd was gathering in front. Curious, he went over to see what the commotion was about.
"WELCOME TO YORUMI'S MAGIC SHOW!" a loud voice was exclaiming where the crowd was looking at.
A small girl with twintails in a cute dress was in front of the crowd, along with a tall man and another girl wearing a lab coat.
"Today, my pals from SMC have gathered to help me perform magic tricks! Please watch carefully and enjoy the performance we've prepared!" the girl continued. The crowd went wild so Shu also got slightly excited for what was to come.
The show went on, the trio pulling off various tricks. Shu was amazed. The girl could do things like conjure doves out of a hat, switch the people in two different boxes, and do tricks regarding cards as well. Maybe she knew about magic and sorcery! Perhaps he could ask her how to get back home!
Looking around in the crowd, he wanted to see if someone else was also curious about what kind of magic this was. One person who stood out was a young man with glasses and was wearing a cape, he was wearing shoes with heels that made him taller as well. It appeared as though he was taking some kind of notes on the performance currently in front of them. Shu's eyes lit up, maybe he was the one to ask!
He made his way over, nervously pulling on the stranger's cape.
"U-Um, hello...w-would it be okay if I asked you a question...?" he was scared to start the conversation, but he really wanted to find a way home as soon as possible.
The stranger was surprised, turning his head to look down at Shu.
"Oh! Hello there!" the stranger smiled, and Shu was relieved. This person had a really nice, gentle voice, and didn't seemed annoyed that Shu had interrupted whatever he was writing down.
"My n-name is Shu! I-I just wanted to know if you were taking notes on the magic that the lady is doing..."
"Why yes, yes I was. Is there something you're curious about? The secrets to the magic perhaps?' the man let out a soft laugh and pat Shu on the head, "Ah, my name is Ike, by the way."
Shu nodded with enthusiasm, "Yes! I-I want to know if what that person is doing is magic? Sorcery? Or some other kind of power?"
In contrast to what Shu thought, the other person frowned at the question, seemingly in deep thought about it.
"Shu, I'm sorry, but I don't think that the magic you're thinking of is the same as what Yorumi is performing..." Ike replied slowly. The gears started to turn in Shu's brain.
"What do you mean? Is it not...magic?"
Ike's eyebrows formed a crease in between. It looked like he was struggling with whether to tell Shu something or keep it a secret.
He led Shu to a nearby bench, sitting down and gesturing for Shu to take a seat next to him, "I-I mean...it is magic, but from what I can tell about your question, I don't think it's the kind of magic you're looking for."
"I-I don't understand, Ike-niisan..."
"Well, the magic you're looking for, am I right in assuming it's something along the lines of making elements just with energy, mana, or something like that? Or perhaps something like flying and sending blasts of power to your opponent?" he asked Shu slowly.
Shu nodded. Sorcery and magic were different in the end product, but the concepts were similar on the basic levels.
"The magic tricks that Yorumi is doing...well, it's just what we call sleight of hand, or simple tricks just to fool your brain into thinking something impossible happened. So, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I don't think what you're trying to find is here, Shu. Honestly, if you searched the whole globe for it, I don't really think you'd be able to find it."
Shu was speechless. He felt like a hole had opened up inside his heart. Magic, sorcery, and those sorts of things didn't exist here...? What was he going to do? How was he going to get home? Mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, would he ever see them again?
"B-But...how...I...uh..." incoherent words and phrases were all that came out of his mouth, and he looked at Ike, seeing a worried look on his face.
"Shu? Shu? Are you okay? Hmm, maybe I should have put it in a more delicate way? I'm sorry, but it really is an illusion. I'm sure that if you want to become a magician someday, you'll be an amazing one though!" Ike smiled at the younger boy, once again patting him on his head.
Shu smiled, the joy not quite making it into his eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, Ike-niisan. I-It was nice talking to you, but I think I have to g-go..." Shu's gaze was fixed onto the floor.
"Of course. It was nice meeting you too, Shu."
A small figure headed off into the night.
"Yes, yes, I know I was quite direct, but we...need to really break him down so he doesn't think of resisting, don't we...? It's for the good of both him and us...ehehehe..."
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Without a destination in mind, a small figure was wandering around in the cover of night. Small feet staggered with pain as the delicate body it was holding up swayed from side to side.
There was no way to go home...he was stuck here for...who knows how long(forever).
When Shu looked up, he had somehow ended up back at the same alley where he had awoken earlier this day. He thought of everything that had happened. He was whisked away from his own home and world, met a friendly dog and his owner, a nice older brother who gave him food, and another older brother who had just told him the full magnitude of his situation.
It was hopeless. Shu's legs gave out, using up the final strength they had, and he collapsed against the side of one of the walls in the alleyway. All the unreleased tears and sobs that he had been storing inside felt like they were surging up in his chest.
His breathing quickened, it felt like he couldn't get enough oxygen to his body in time.
The small cries of a child echoed through the empty, dirty alleyway with only one person to witness it.
Shu paused in fully crying when he saw a shadow come up behind him, his hiccuping and breathing putting too much stress on his body for him to try to put up any kind of defensive stance. He could do nothing as the shadowy figure came closer, vision blurry from the tears clouding up his line of sight.
It was another tall person. He had hair as black as the sky with red highlights, which contrasted starkly with his white suit, not a single stain on it despite him being in this dirty alleyway. Golden eyes flashed, reminding him of...
Demon?
No, no way, This was an entirely different world. How could there be a demon here?
"Hello there, child." this person had a deep voice, making Shu tremble with how thick the sound was.
"P-Please leave me alone..." he tried to shuffle further down the path, "I'm not bothering a-anyone. I'm j-just..."
The man took another step forward, "No worry, I'm not here to harm you...I simply want to...help."
"No, no, please. Just g-g-go away...I-I don't have anywhere to...this isn't where I'm supposed to be...I-I can't!" Shu tried to speak, but no more words could make their way out. He broke down in the dingy alleyway, setting a pitiful scene for anyone who witnessed it.
A small body curled up in the depths of an alleyway, kimono and sandals worn out from walking all day. Pretty amethyst eyes were shining with unshed tears as small shoulders shivered from the cold and fear.
"Child. Listen to me." the other's voice carried a sort of authority, and Shu looked up.
"My name is Vox. Vox Akuma." Shu's eyes widened. Akuma?
The man proceeded to open his palm, and a small red and black flame appeared, lighting up both the hallway and both of the people in it. Shu gasped audibly.
"You're like me, aren't you?" Vox asked.
Shu nodded, not trusting his voice.
"Come with me, I'll give you a place to stay. Most likely the only place on this planet where you'll belong." Shu stared up at the outstretched hand with a warm fire on it, the heat licking at the edges of Vox's fingers. Images of his parents, grandparents, and friends flashed by in his mind.
He would most likely never see them again.
The decision was already made for him.
He launched himself at Vox, giving his waist a tight hug.
"P-Please...stay with me. D-Don't leave me...I don't want to be alone anymore." he managed a small whisper, which made the demon smile.
"Don't worry, my boy. Where we're going, you'll never be alone again."
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to complete this story: please choose a GOOD (?) or BAD (?) ending by going to chapter 2 or 3, thanks!