A young boy could be seen sitting all by his lonesome in the middle of nowhere. He wasn't wearing anything of note, just some shorts, a jacket and a scarf. Countless people had died left and right around him, yet he sat on the ground shell shocked and stoic, as if contemplating life. Countless Honkai Beasts flew around him murdering and brutalizing without reason, yet avoided him like the plague. May have something to do with the mountain he was sitting upon.
One curious Honkai Beast Seraph, a Cassiel, floated over to him before being violently ripped in half. Did I mention this mountain was a pile of carcasses? Honkai beast corpses in actuality.
And all while this was going on, a single thought ran through this boys head,
'How fitting. Even in death I can't escape the glaring issue of the world rejecting me. And even while alive I'm still too late.'
Rather alarming statements I must admit for such a young boy to have flowing through his head.
But then again,
"Your not a normal child now are you?"
Gold eyes shined briefly in recognition at the figure suddenly standing over them, before dulling once more.
"Sorry to disappoint you sir, just having a midlife crisis is all. I also suggest you leave."
Oh?
"Why is that?" the man asked.
The boy looked at him, before slowly standing up and walking past him.
"Because despite the fact you can protect yourself, it's rather annoying having to watch over someone infinitely more dangerous than these abominations."
And with those words, the boy began dragging part of the Cassiel corpse behind him, as he began to swing it like a dominatrix swings a whip at the flood of Honkai before him.
The figure, a blonde haired man with green eyes stared with a bit of amusement, and a hint of intrigue at the ensuing slaughter.
This boy... he seemed quite different. And not just with his abnormal intelligence.
The man watched as the boy swung the Cassiel half until it tore into threads. Glancing down at his now useless weapon, the boy shrugged to himself before lunging forward with his teeth bared.
A Honkai Templar had it's neck crunched into before it slumped forward dead, all while the boy spat out part of it's neck and used it's slumping body as a trampoline to launch onto another Templar.
This one had the sense to struggle, but it too was subdued swiftly by another bite.
Purple blood or rather liquid drenched the boy yet he ignored it as if it was common for him to see, a fact the watching man did not ignore.
'His manner of fighting belies his age, though his methods are barbaric and crude, they do get the job done. How interesting.'
And so the man watched on in this fashion of fascinated observation, as the boy eventually ran out of beasts to torment.
Then the boy turned his sights to the man and began slowly walking towards him.
Coming to a stop before him, he looked up at the man before speaking.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of the Overseer personally coming to watch me?"
"You know who I am?"
The boy nodded.
"Yes unfortunately. You know, it be would be so much simpler to kill you where you stand? Relieving you of the burden called life."
"Kill you say? I'm afraid this body of mine still has some work to carry out, so I'll have to decline your offer of relief."
A glint of light.
"I wasn't offering."
The boy lunged forward pulling out a rusty knife in the process, and aiming to stab the throat.
The man, Otto, casually leaned back as the knife whistled harmlessly over his head.
The boy didn't give up and kept slashing at Otto, who casually sidestepped every now and then to avoid the thrusts of what he considered a feral beast.
This kept up until eventually they stopped, due to the boy panting in exertion.
The boy gasped for air as he leaned forward on his hands and knees.
"Your more difficult to kill than expected. How troublesome."
Otto simply waited for the boy to stop breathing so heavily, before walking forward and grabbing the kids arm.
"Oi? What are you-"
*Chop*
A hand chopped the boys neck making him slump into unconsciousness. Otto then slung him over his shoulder.
"Oh?"
The movement causing the scarf to slide down and reveal fading purple lines.
"He did all that while severely hindered? Impressive I must say for one of such a young age."
A boy of no more than 13 years of age, had massacred a wave of beasts that would have a squadron of B rank Valkyries struggling, all while suffering from slight honkai infection. An infection that was almost entirely gone mind you.
This requires further study. Who knows? Maybe there is some secret that only he holds.
___________
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The boy woke up to a feeling of comfort and warmth. As he slowly blinked his eyes open, the events of time prior rang through his head.
"I see your awake."
A polite voice shook him from his thoughts.
He looked up at the speaker.
A white haired woman in a black nun like outfit. He couldn't see her eyes due to the fact that she had an orange visor cover majority of that facial area.
Once she confirmed she had his attention, she held out a small pile of clothes.
"Once you are done getting dressed, the Overseer has requested I bring you to him."
The boy stared at her before reaching forward and snatching the clothes from her hands, before darting into the bathroom.
The lady waited for a bit, until the boy came out in the clothes. Before walking over to his bed and picking up armguards and a rather dirty scarf and wrapping it around his neck.
Black pants, white undershirt, a black jacket, gold forearm vambraces, and a blackish blue scarf. With white hair, and those gold eyes the kid almost looked like an anime protagonist.
The lady across from him looked him up and down before nodding to herself in satisfaction.
"As expected it looks good. If you would follow me please."
She opened the door to the room, and followed the boy outside the door. She then got in front of him and began leading the way forward.
As they walked the boy glanced around the areas they walked through. Tech he didn't even dream of possessing filled most of the rooms, as well as countless people walking about the area.
He thought of questioning the lady but decided not to.
Soon they arrived at their destination, the Overseers office. The lady opened the door and bowed at the other sole occupant.
"Lord Otto, I have brought him as you requested."
"Thank you Amber, your to good for me truly."
"Understatement of the century..." the boy muttered.
If the other two heard they gave no notice of such. Amber simply left the room, and a staredown ensued between the two males.
Until finally the silence was broken.
"You have a name?"
"..."
"Come now. Surely we can't have an amicable conversation without an exchange of names? You know mine, seems only fair you should tell me yours."
"..."
The boy was silent. Otto decided to take another approach.
"Well we'll come to that later. Why were you in that village? Where were your parents?"
"..."
Still nothing huh? Hmm. Maybe the answers required can be gained in another way.
Illusory feathers fluttered noiselessly as Otto continued trying to coax the boy to open up.
The feathers drifted around the room slowly falling towards the boy. Right before they could land on him, he finally spoke.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you. My mind is a place even I long to escape from."
Fascinating.
"You can see them?"
"The feathers of your copy of Fenghuang Down? Yes and no. Can I see them? No. But can I see them? Yes."
Now to an outsider this exchange would make no sense. How can you both see and not see something? Don't ask is my response. To see is to see is all.
But that's not all.
"Your eyes. You seem to hate me, yet I've never met you as far as I recall. Why is that?"
The boy snorted.
"Must suck huh? Not being in control, not holding all the cards, not being able to manipulate someone or something to your liking. It's rather frustrating right? That feeling of dealing with something out of your control. "
Otto's smile visibly cramped.
"Who are you truly?"
"No no. Not who am I, who are you? Are you Otto Apocalypse, the Overseer? Are you Clown α, the person indirectly responsible for the untold loss of thousands? Are you Otto the doting grandfather? Or, are you perhaps, Otto Apocalypse, the guy who is living a life of perpetual torment due to accidentally killing your beloved Kallen?"
"..." now Otto went quiet, while the boy had a rather happy expression.
"Now look who's silent. Does the truth hurt? Does it suck to have a literal child know more about you than you do of them? Oh wait! I forgot to mention! You tortured a child all in the name of science. Tell me, did it feel good breaking that purple haired girl? Did you get off on it you bastard? Come on! Speak up! Why so quiet! Perhaps your upset that I probably know more about the fool who called himself Kallen's best friend, yet was the one who killed her? Or maybe, deep down, you know that if you succeed in your plan, she will never love you ba-"
*Bang!*
A gunshot firing through the wall made the boy shut up in fear.
As his head turned to Otto, he made to open his mouth and apologize, but instead was taken aback at what he saw.
Exhaustion.
"As if. I need a child to tell me what I've done was wrong. I know. Everything I've done, was for her. She will reject me, I'm certain of it. But I don't care. She was my everything. I-"
Otto clamped up. His shoulders sagged as his Shamash copy dissipated in golden sparks.
"Get out."
Wordlessly the boy turned to leave, but not without taking a glance at the visibly weary man in front of him.
A door shutting closed allowed Otto to finally slump to the ground.
A kid. A literal child made him feel regret for the first time in a while.
How strange. He could handle others saying it, take it at face value even with a smile. But a kid comes along and breaks all the defenses instantly.
"Hahaha. How fitting for the clown of humanity. Becoming the butt of a joke yet again."
And so he sat. Just reminiscing for a while.
Outside the door, the boy was listening in.
'He's much more human than I expected. I almost feel bad for hi-'
He slapped himself quietly.
'No! No feeling pity for him! He killed untold thousands, and tortured an already broken girl for goodness sake!' the boy berated himself for feeling pity.
'Yet he also made advancements in science that saved millions more.' came the annoying voice of his conscious.
'Well he also took over someone's body! Bro is a literal body snatcher that kills those he deems useless once he's done with them!'
'Your not any better. You would just as soon dispose of anyone who you deem a threat no?'
'I'm not like him!'
'Your right. Your much worse. You lack basic common sense, and are socially inept. You beat down someone who was already broken and did so with glee. You who endangered ▇▇▇▇▇▇ cannot be talking. Besides, if ▇▇▇▇ were to harm ▇▇ you would become someone just as bad. Your not like him, you could potentially be much worse.' the voice of his conscious responded back with an almost sad tone.
At this the boy fell silent. He backed off from the door and began walking back to his room area, before pausing and walking off another way.
Several people stopped to stare at the boy walking with purpose.
He soon arrived at a kitchen area.
He washed his hands and took off his jacket, before pulling up a stool and beginning to get to work.
30 minutes later
A polite knock on the Overseers door rang through the room.
"Come in."
Silence.
"Come in."
Silence once more.
Otto got up from his desk and went to the door. Opening it, he looked for a visitor but saw none.
Shrugging he went to close the door only to find a warm fragrance brushing his nose.
Looking down he saw a rather horrid attempt at cooking. It was hard to tell what it was, as mismatched as the stuff was.
Scratching his head, Otto was briefly confused on who left it there.
*Stare*
Until he felt a pair of eyes on him.
He glanced to his right, and made eye contact with a poorly hidden mop of white hair staring at him. Or rather the horrid attempt at food.
'Is this a joke?' Otto couldn't help but think to himself. He picked it up nonetheless.
Feeling the pressure of those golden eyes upon him, Otto took a bite of the food while holding back a grimace. The food wasn't bad at at all actually.
"Mm. It's urk... Quite good.." he managed to choke out.
It was just very bland and mediocre. To a man who is used to dining on food much better, the food was passable.
Satisfied the boy left, leaving Otto to fathom what that was about.
Now this wasn't just a one and done thing, oh no.
A week later, on the second Tuesday, the boy disappeared from the HQ. Amber panicked and many others were left to figure out how a child managed to leave without anything or anyone being alerted.
Several hours later, a large shadow obscured several windows of the Schicksal North American Branch dining area in the evening, before a loud crash was heard as two entities came slamming down.
A Flame Emperor and Frost Emperor, Emperor class Honkai beasts. They had landed while a few Valkyries were eating, causing them to take up arms in defense. Yet the beasts ignored them, Both of them were trembling as they struggled to right themselves. Trembling from what you ask? Fear.
Yet as they tried to escape, another shadow obscured the room before a figure crashed into both of their frames.
The resulting impact killed them both upon a boot crushing their cores, in a rather melodramatic ending.
The missing boy of the day was the suspect who had done this.
He gazed at the Valkyries before waving.
"My apologies, but does anyone know where the R and D department is?"
A random person pointed to the right.
"Thanks. Enjoy your dinner."
He began to drag the carcasses in the direction supplied to him, all the while ignoring the various stares and whispers surrounding him.
Suffice to say, the R&D department had a heart attack when the kid showed up holding the beasts.
Amber was not happy when she found him, and led him away by the back of his jacket.
On the fifth month of the year, the boy disappeared yet again.
This time Amber was only slightly worried but more exasperated than anything else.
And yet again he reappeared later that day, this time knocking on Otto's door.
Before just barging in and holding up a squirming object.
"Here." the boy said, placing the squirming Kevin ELF down on Otto's desk. The ELF glared at the boy who just ignored it.
As Otto raised an eyebrow, the boy elaborated.
"This is an ELF. Equipment: Living Weapon. This one is the strongest by a large margin. Feed him ramen."
And then the boy left.
Leaving a chibi and and a blonde to stare at each other.
"Excuse me but WHAT THE FU-"
____
The frequent disappearances stopped for a while as the boy got to know those around him, becoming friends with a few people, and somehow gaining a rival. It's always blondes I swear.
And then yet again out of nowhere the boy disappeared. Except this time he was found arguing with a certain Theresa.
"I'm telling you Highschool DxD has a much better Light Novel than Blue Exorcist!"
"Hah! As if! A perverted good for nothing idiot like that couldn't possibly be better than the literal Son of Satan!"
Arguing over manga it seems.
Amber upon finding the two:
"You little brat!"
"Eh? Oh Shi-"
Suffice to say, once Amber grabbed him his cries of pain and begging echoed all throughout the building.
____
A week after that, he was called to the Overseer.
Once he entered, he was met with an ELF lunging at his face. The boy grabbed it and tucked it in his scarf. The ELF quickly dozed off.
Meanwhile Otto was slumped at his desk.
"Keep that foul thing away from me. I beg."
Well that's new. An almost human Otto.
"Is there a reason I was called here?"
Otto slowly lifted his head.
"Is there a reason you seem fit on causing my Valkyries and Researches to die early from stress?"
"Fair enough."
....
A peaceful silence.
"Otto. Be honest, why did you bring me here. This isn't your style."
"..."
"Why? Did you, bring me here? I repeat it isn't your style. Is there something you want from me?"
"...."
"..."
"Kid. You were in an area infested with a horde of beasts on the equivalent of filling a small city. Yet not only did you survive, you managed to kill most if not all of them. Not to mention, doing so while partially infected. Pardon me for being a little curious, on how a literal child managed to perform better at a job my employees get paid to do, than they would themselves at your age!"
Huh. That's a new one. Forgot he was human after all. A little out of character for him.
"I can't explain how. Maybe I was lucky? Who knows."
Otto glared at him.
"Bullshit. I guess you were lucky enough to somehow subdue that ELF then to? Where did you even find that actually?"
"Uhhhhhhh......."
Flashback
"Wonder if I'll get in trouble for crossing the sea illegally? Hmmm. Nah."
He sped up the boat he stole, whistling cheerfully as he casually ran over a few bumps in the sea.
Flashback End
"No idea where I found it."
"Uh huh. *Sigh* Whatever. I called you here to ask if your willing to tell me your name? You've been here for a year already, and yet everyone calls you boy. Unfortunately for you this isn't God of War, so we can't let that slide. So.... What should we call you?"
"Uh."
"Do you have a name?"
"... Ehe?"
"*Sigh* Of course. Why make my job easier. Screw it. Plan B."
Otto snapped his fingers. The boy heard rustling before a bag was dropped over his head. He was dragged kicking and screaming away as Otto sighed again and got up.
"Please don't kill him you overbearing children. I've gotten rather used to his eccentricity. So tiring nonetheless."
Huh. The Aizawa/Otto saga has begun.
Meanwhile with the kidnapped child
The boy had long since stopped struggling upon realizing he wasn't getting away so easily.
After a short while he was unceremoniously dumped on the ground, as the bag was removed.
A lock of blonde hair made him realize his predicament.
"I am not fighting you again. You tossed my salad Bianka."
The aforementioned Bianka blinked in indignation.
"I don't think about fighting all the time you know?! Is that seriously how you think of me?"
"A muscle headed idiot who barely uses her brain? Yes." came his immediate reply.
Bianka slumped in the corner.
"How mean..."
Ignoring her, the boy looked around the room.
The sole occupants were him, Bianka Ataegina, Theresa Apocalypse, Rita Rossweisse, and Amber. Not to mention the sparsely decorated room, and the cake on the table. There was also a black opaque box placed in front of the sitting boy.
"What is all this?" the boy asked.
Ignoring the moping figure of Bianka in the corner, Theresa was the one to answer.
"Well we decided to throw you a party seeing as how you've been here for a while, and uh maybe help you pick out a nickname at least? We only invited people you were comfortable around."
How sweet.
"So... Whose idea was it to bag me like an old western movie?"
"Bianka."
"It was Bianka."
"Miss Bianka."
"Gah? You guys!"
The other three immediately threw Bianka under the bus as she squawked in indignation.
As her face turned red, she couldn't take it anymore and began chasing the others around the room.
The boy watched for a bit as his hand rummaged in the box, finding only a single slip of paper.
As he read it, his eyes widened, before a smile appeared on his face.
'You guys... Thanks for this. It means a lot more than you'll ever know' the boy, no, August whispered to himself.