Ch.1 Shining Prince

DEM headquarters Westcott was in a good mood in his office with Ellen at his side had just recently gotten fully recovered from her fight with inverse Tohka, and they were discussing what to do next. Then someone entered his office, a young man with navy blue messy hair, wearing a black eye mask, a black suit, and black gloves with matching boots. He was followed by three followers cloaked by the shadows. Ellen took note that he was an unfamiliar person and said in a calm manner.

"I don't recall ever allowing anyone to visit the director today"

The young man looked at Ellen, but his expression was hard to tell because of his mask and he muttered something under his breath and his followers began walking towards Isaacs's desk. Back in Tengu city Shido Itsuka and his sister Kotori were walking home with Tohka Yatogami, and getting ready to have dinner since Shido had promised to make their favorites today. As they walk a figure hiding in a nearby ally of the young man watches as they walk and talks with someone over a communicator in their ear.

"Targets in sight, your orders Shinra?"

Over their communicator, someone gives them orders.

"Do it"

Shido was talking with Tohka about going to a bakery to pick up her favorite bread on the way home to have their dinner.

"Shido how much bread can we get?"

Shido smiled at Tohka.

"As much as you'd like since you've been patient this last week"

Tohka lets out an excited yell as Kotori smiles because her beloved brother is having a good time, and because he promised to cook her favorites. Also, Origami was keeping an eye on them as per ususal, and she noticed the figure spying on them as well. As she approaches, the figure pulls out an object that resembled a black crystal and tosses it at Shido and the girls. The crystal hits Shido in the head, but her barely felt it as he caught it in his hand confusing him.

"Hmm, what is this?"

Tohka and Kotori come over to inspect his sudden stop in movement and take note of the crystal with Tohka thinking it's candy.

"Oh is this some sort of hard candy?"

Tohka starts drooling as Kotori immediately notices that it is a crystal but not what type it is.

"Huh, a crystal?"

Before Kotori can finish her thought on the matter the crystal starts to glow, breaks, and releases black smoke which engulfs the three of them. Origami notices this while keeping tabs on the mysterious figure and runs to help Shido but is also engulfed by the smoke without the others noticing since Shido only called out for Kotori and Tohka.

"Kotori…Tohka.."

They shout for each other until blackness completely consumes his vision, and just as quickly as it had begun Shido opened his eyes and suddenly it was bright and sunny again. Shido looks around for the girls.

"Kotori!...Tohka!..where are they?"

Shido looks up worried since he had no idea where the girls were, or even where he was. But he clearly in the same city only different somehow, and he walks around for a minute until someone runs into him and knocks him down. After being dazed a hand reaches for him.

"Hey you okay buddy?"

Shido looked up and saw a boy around his age and same height with light skin wearing the Raizen uniform, and Shido takes his hand.

"Yeah thanks"

The boy had purple hair style, he even had identical hair to Shido's, and his eyes were blue.

"Sorry about that I was on my way home and I got a little excited"

"No that's okay…um have you seen a couple of girls around here?"

"No, are you going on a date or something?"

"No, I'm just a little lost I guess"

"Really then I'll help I know this place pretty well"

"Thanks, I appreciate that…oh, my name is Shido…what about you?"

"Shido? Huh, that's my dad's name…my name is Akihiko, Akihiko Itsuka"

The boy Akihiko extends his arm to shake Shido's hand.

"Huh my name is Itsuka too"

"Really then you should meet my dad he'd love to hear that"

"Hehe I'll take your word on it"

The two boys walk around for a half hour till it started to get dark.

"Well thanks for the help Akihiko but maybe the girls went home, so maybe I should check there"

"Okay, my mom might get mad at me for being late but oh well"

The boys walk in the same direction for a while until they reach the apartment complex and take notice of it.

"Oh, you live here too Shido?"

"Yeah for a long time, and you?"

"Since I was born, I live here with my parents and my younger sister Aiko"

"Really?"

The two make their way to the same door and that's when they become really suspicious. Shido is the first to say anything.

"Uh maybe you got the wrong door this is my apartment"

Akihiko was feeling suspicious as well.

"No, I live here"

Akihiko opens the door which is unlocked, and once inside he announces he's home.

"Hey, mom I'm home!"

From another room, a woman's voice echoes through the apartment.

"Aki where have you been? I've been worried"

The woman enters the hallway and much to Shido's shock the woman looked exactly like Tohka only older, wearing a typical housewife outfit with an apron that had bread on it, and she didn't seem to recognize Shido at all.

"Oh mom this is new buddy of mine, funny thing his name is Shido"

"Really that's nice …hi my name is Tohka Itsuka…"

The woman hugs Akihiko and rubs her face against his.

"And I'm this young man's mother"

Akihiko puts on an embarrassed look on his face.

"Mom I'm sixteen"

"So what, I love you just the same as the day you were born"

Despite having an embarrassed look, Akihiko puts on a genuine smile.

"Haha I love you too mom"

Shido decides not to ask too many questions, and looks around. As he looks he notices that it was indeed the same apartment but with different furniture, and for some reason a new room was built into it.

"How on earth did they get permission to do that?"

But what really caught his eye, nailed to the wall, was Sandalphon, and below it was a photo with a date that was dated four years from now. In the photo, Shido himself was in it, and he was with Tohka cutting a wedding cake. As he looks at the photo, the older Tohka approaches from behind with a blush.

"This was the day I married my husband….that was one of the happiest days of my life"

Shido thinks to himself how beautiful Tohka looked in the dress, and then notices another photo dated a little later of Tohka holding a newborn baby.

"(This must have been when Akihiko was born)"

The older Tohka asks Akihiko to do a favor that involved him leaving the apartment.

"Akihiko could run to the mini store and buy an extra carton of milk for mom?"

Akihiko smiles and nods.

"Sure mom…Shido I'll be back in a sec, so just stay here and talk with my mom or something"

Akihiko leaves the apartment but pops his head back through the door with a flustered look.

"And no baby pictures mom!"

After he leaves for sure Tohka looks at Shido with a now serious look.

"So who are exactly?"

Shido looks at her with confusion.

"Well I'm just a student"

"No I mean why do you look my husband when he was younger?"

"You noticed?"

"I'm not stupid; I just didn't want to upset my son"

"Okay I'll tell what I remember, but you may not believe me"

Shido tells the older Tohka what happened with the black cloud and his sudden appearance in this strange world, and much to his surprise Tohka seems to trust him.

"I see, I guess it's not too unbelievable considering everything we've seen, but I have some things I want to ask you"

"Sure anything"

After asking a few questions about her younger years that Shido knew about the older Tohka can't help but smile warmly

"It really is you"

She hugged Shido and then they talked for a while, and after talking he realizes that he is, in fact, the future, but some things were different from the time he remembers.

"So me and you are married in this time?"

"Yeah for about twenty years now"

"...Am I a good husband to you?"

"Of course you are, sure we've argued but we never say anything we don't mean"

"That's good…"

The two continue their talk while elsewhere Akihiko is buying the milk his mom told him to get, and as he walks back home he is approached by a figure wearing a jet black suit, a black cap, navy boots and fingerless gloves. They only thing he could tell is that the person was female and that she was not friendly.

"Who are you?"

The girl snickered with a smug smile underneath her cap as she pulls out a small hand ax in one hand, and a long sword in the other. Akihiko backs u a little as gets a glance of a single azure eye underneath the cap. Akihiko's eyes widen at the sight as he begins running away, but then suddenly he smashes against something and falls to the ground.

"What the?!"

He stands up and feels an invisible wall in front of his body, and he begins to panic as the girl walks up behind him.

"Hmm too easy"

She slashes him once across the chest with her ax and prepares to slash again with her sword to finish it quickly by slicing him across the chest.

"(Someone help me!)"

As the girl was in her slashing motion time seemed to slow down, Akihiko could hear his own heartbeat, and a voice echoed in his head.

"(I'm here don't worry)"

He raises his arms and a sword appears like a glint of light in his hands. The girl looks surprised as she recognizes the blade, and Akihiko opens his eyes to see what had happened; he was holding the sword from his home, Tohka's Sandalphon or at least a smaller sword resembling it that had jagged edges.

"Mom's sword?"

Not wanting to question what had happened Akihiko assumes a two-handed stance with the sword and prepares to fight back, but as he prepares to fight the sword disappears from his hands

"No, way!"

The girl reassumes her assault on Akihiko without saying anything. At the apartment, Shido talks with the adult Tohka and was having a nice time learning about she had been doing all this time later.

"You know Tohka I'm amazed how much you've matured at this age"

"Well when you become a parent you have to set an example for your children"

"Well, Akihiko looks like a fine young man…by the way where's the older me and Aiko?"

"Oh my husband's on a business trip to America for the next week, and Aiko is spending the night at a friend's place"

Shido put on a slight disappointed look.

"Oh I was kind of hoping to meet my daughter"

"I promise she's a very good girl"

"I believe it coming from you…Akihiko's sure taking a long time though"

Since it's been so long Shido decides to go look for Akihiko. He looks for a little while, and when he finally finds him he was beaten up badly and covered in slash wounds.

"Akihiko!"

Shido runs over to check on him, he was breathing fine and his heartbeat was steady.

"Are you okay? Talk to me!"

Akihiko struggles to say anything.

"…..I'm okay man don't worry"

Upon checking on him, the mysterious girl waits in an alley and throws a crystal at the two which breaks on the ground; upon breaking it releases a dark cloud, and just like before Shido is engulfed by it. Only this time he was holding on to Akihiko through the ordeal since wherever they ended up he needed a doctor. When his vision returned again he was in a very familiar place, the Fraxinus. Also fortunate that a familiar face was before him Reine, and he couldn't tell if she was older or not due her tired appearance.

"Reine I'm so glad it's you, he needs help right now!"

She looks at him with her usual expression and reaches for a communicator.

"Akane you should look at this"

Without any other words, Shido begins hearing doors open, and upon the final door opening he sees a girl wearing Kotori's commander outfit but with the jacket completely on. She looked about sixteen, and even had Kotori's hair color, but her hair was shorter and straight and tied with a single black ribbon in a very short ponytail, her eyes were amber-brown; she looked at Shido with contempt.

"Reine what the hell is this crap!?"

Shido looked at the girl with fear.

"Come on my friend needs a doctor"

The girls look changes to sympathy.

"Reine, get this guy to the sickbay, and keep an eye on our doppelganger"

"Doppelganger?"

Shido is slapped with handcuffs by a guard, but he was grateful to the girl for helping Akihiko.

"Thank you miss uh…"

The girl looks at him again.

"My name is Akane Itsuka, and I'm the commander of this ship"

Another Itsuka, but this one looked like Kotori, and now Shido had more questions. He was alone for the moment, had no idea where Tohka and Kotori where, met his own son, and now a girl looking like Kotori was before him treating him like a criminal.