Chapter Text
WARNINGS: None
~~
"Well, considering I'm sure this won't be the last time I see you, I guess I'll try to compromise." Tetsuya rested a hand on the hybrid's head. "What's your name?"
"Akashi," He piped up immediately, "Akashi Seijuurou."
"Akashi-kun, huh. It suits you." Tetsuya nodded. The ghost of a smile brushed against his lips as he listened to the shapeshifter chatter, unperturbed by Daiki's rude yet somewhat doting comments.
Their day ended much too quickly for the trio's liking, and when Seijuurou returned to the heavens, Shuuzou's gaze on him was much too knowing.
~~
Missions -- they were an important part of the lives of those who resided in the sky. Whether it be to heal a human, to save one, to change one: or many: missions were always designated for the supposed good of humankind. Only those who had fully matured wings -- and subsequently, bodies -- could take them on, with very, very few exceptions.
Of course, Seijuurou was an outlier to that rule. Being a prodigy whose skills were honed by none other than the God of the Skies himself, it wasn't surprising that he would be assigned one so early on...
...Despite the obvious distaste from those around him.
"Nijimura-sama, at nine years old, he is much too young."
"The rule is that beings -- angels in particular -- with fully matured wings can take on missions."
"Yes, but he is... He is an... He is too--"
"You're much too skeptical. He can take it," Shuuzou waved a hand dismissively, grimacing at the man's words. The angel -- head of the Council, Seijuurou recognised from his badge -- only frowned harder, set on making his leader reconsider his decision.
Seijuurou simply stared, swinging his legs as he sat mid-air. This had been going on for at least twenty minutes, now.
He was surprised Shuuzou had even lasted ten minutes.
"Nijimura-sama, he is too--"
The said man finally turned his gaze on the Council head, power seeping out of his entire being.
(An intimidation tactic that never failed to do the job, Shuuzou had said when teaching such to his disciple.)
"You are too much of a pain in my ass. Do I make myself clear?"
"...Yes."
"Good. You're dismissed."
With a well-disguised shiver of fear, he left. Not missing a single beat, Shuuzou began speaking.
"This will be your first mission, brat. Since you haven't been there yet, here," he thrust a shimmering, turquoise crystal in front of Seijuurou's small figure, "use this to help you teleport properly when you go through the gate, you know the drill. Your task is to save the woman in room 502."
He didn't give any further information. Seijuurou perked up with realisation, and he recognised the challenging glint in his God's eyes instantly.
"Okay."
Jumping to his feet lightly, Seijuurou accepted the crystal. As he made to move, however, Shuuzou spoke.
"When you're done, you can stay in the human world for a while."
And with that simple, whimsical decision, he almost had to recoil at the sheer amount of happiness that burst forth from the child.
Shuuzou sighed exasperatedly, a smile playing on his lips.
'Room 502...'
Seijuurou landed softly on the floor, bare soles silently coming to rest on the cold, peach-hued ceramic. There was a woman, most likely of around forty to fifty years in age, laying in the sole hospital bed in the room.
Seijuurou raised his right arm, palm facing forward as he stood beside her. His left eye began glowing a bright, piercing golden.
Death.
Doctors and nurses rush in to move her body--
--wheeling her into another room, the EMERGENCY light flicking on--
The man lifts a scalpel, forehead creased and perspiration beginning to drip down behind his thin mask and cap--
White gloves gripping the tool firmly but gingerly, slow and precise movements making accurate incisions--
A slip of the hand.
Wincing, an acute pain shot through Seijuurou's mind.
The woman would die in thirty-four hours.
Brows furrowing, the child moved closer, bringing up his other arm to hover over her ribs. He closed his eyes, sucking in a breath.
Seijuurou opened his eyes, exhaling.
Then, his palms began to emit a faint, white light that grew stronger with each second that passed. It began to widen past his hands, faint around the edges, brighter beneath his palms, until it enveloped nearly half of her entire body, extending from her hips to her shoulders. Mismatching crimson and amber narrowed in concentration as Seijuurou's small, thin fingers trembled slightly. He clenched his teeth, the tips of his large, white wings fluttering with exertion as he continued healing the woman.
Sweat began to drip from his forehead to his chin, and Seijuurou swallowed. After a minute passed, the light began to fade, and he breathed out in relief.
It had worked.
The woman's face seemed to soften, and her shoulders relaxed as she lay asleep, unaware in her bed. As if heeding a cue, someone knocked on the door softly.
"Excuse me, miss, I'm coming in."
A nurse walked into the room, stopping beside the bed.
"It's time for your daily check-up."
A couple of other people walked in and the woman stirred, burnt auburn-coloured eyes opening slowly. She sat up, and her eyes widened.
"The pain in my throat... It's gone."
One of the nurses looked at her, bewildered.
"Your coughing...?"
"It's... It seems to be fine," the woman murmured softly, fingers brushing over her neck in wonder. Her stomach grumbled, and her cheeks reddened. She giggled, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Would it be alright to have some food after the check-up?"
"...Most definitely," a man said hesitantly, bringing a wheelchair closer.
Seijuurou smiled.
For his first mission, it was definitely a job well done -- added with the fact that it was the first time he used his healing abilities so seriously, he was proud. Without thinking, Seijuurou's wings began to flap gently, and he brought himself a little closer to the woman -- the first person he was able to help.
"I'm glad."
Seated in her wheelchair, she tilted her head up, eyes wide.
Before she managed to turn, however, Seijuurou was gone.
Not that it would've made a difference.
Two times in one year that he was allowed entry into the human world -- he truly was lucky, Seijuurou thought to himself. Perhaps he would be able to catch 'Kuroko-san' this time, too?
Walking along the streets with a smile, the child looked around with avid interest. There were lanterns hanging from strange buildings... Stores, they were called. They sold things to gain money, and there were different currencies depending on the country.
It was very complicated -- in both the Underworld and the Skies, however, whilst there were stores, they didn't particularly use any currency to buy anything. He wasn't sure about the Underworld, but in the Skies, managing a store was like managing a mission -- it was something for the good of people, and that was all. Differently coloured -- light, pastel colours, always pastel -- silken togas, variations of outfits that were practically always the same, plain foods and water for those who were fond of the idea of sustenance, akin to their human days... The occasional store that displayed peculiar items from the human world...
...Seijuurou wondered if he'd ever remember his human life.
For one who was reborn into a being of the Skies, there wasn't any particular mechanism preventing them from remembering. Their memories weren't stolen, tampered with -- just forgotten, simple remnants of the past. There were ones who remembered, and ones who didn't: it was as simple as that.
Of course, remembering wasn't always pleasant, nor was it unpleasant. Some looked at their past lives with nothing but simple intrigue and a laissez-faire point of view, some were entirely uninterested, some sought their past lives -- often trying to find those who'd already passed, existences either vanished, reborn or asleep.
Though he harboured curiousity, Seijuurou wasn't particularly interested in the idea of chasing down ghosts from his past. He had no idea when he'd died, after all. For all he knew, he could've been asleep for centuries before his rebirth.
Thoughts running through his mind, the hybrid paused, feet coming to a stop at a storefront. There was a display counter, and a couple of humans were scattered around it, picking up various items and inspecting them.
'...?'
There was an aura being emitted from a golden lamp -- was that what it was called? It was an old-fashioned lamp that he'd seen in a human picture book once when he was five, if he remembered correctly -- it was faint, but it was definitely there.
Head tilting in confusion, Seijuurou's small hands reached out to grasp the handle. Careful not to lift the entire lamp up, so the scarce number of humans wouldn't notice a flying object, he picked up the lid and slid it off--
Smoke.
Strange, green smoke spurted out of the lamp in an instant, clouding his field of vision.
It cleared to reveal an... Adult man, it seemed, floating mid-air. In place of legs, he had some kind of... Wispy bottom-half that dissipated into nothing.
The man's brow twitched, as if hearing Seijuurou's thoughts, and legs materialised out of thin air. He dropped to the floor, landing with ease. Adjusting his glasses with a single hand, he stared down at the red-haired child with something akin to distaste.
Then, he reeled back like he'd been stung.
'His hair is as green as the smoke...' Seijuurou blinked.
"..."
"You..." the man's brows drew together, "You are an... angel, are you not? Why did you summon me?"
"Summon?" Seijuurou echoed in confusion. The man was clearly a mystical being... Not one of the Skies, though, evidently.
All beings of the Skies had wings -- though not all beings with wings were of the Skies.
"Uhm... Mr Lamp man--"
"Lamp-man--?!"
The said man let out a strangled noise, before clearing his throat. He adjusted his glasses once more.
"I am Midoriya Shintarou, a genie. I get summoned when people open lamps, and each person I can only grant a single wish once."
"A genie that grants wishes..." Seijuurou breathed, eyes wide with awe, "That's amazing!"
"O-oh," Shintarou stuttered, taken aback at the practically blinding brightness of the child's smile. He coughed.
"Well then, do you have a wish for me to grant?"
Seijuurou fell silent, humming under his breath. He paused, deep in thought.
His head whipped up abruptly, heterochromatic eyes piercing into the genie.
"Mr Genie, are you lonely?"
"Huh?"
Shintarou was at a loss for words once more, completely baffled as to how Seijuurou's thought process worked.
"Do you have any friends that you work with?"
"...No. Even if I did, as I get summoned often, we would barely spend any time together," Shintarou answered, uncertain why he was explaining this. Seemingly coming to a decision, Seijuurou beamed up at the man.
"Okay, then! My wish is for you to have a companion who will be by your side for life! Oh, not always by your side though, because then they wouldn't have any time for themselves," he added as an afterthought. Shintarou's jaw dropped open.
"No, wait--"
Too late.
The moment Seijuurou had uttered his wish, Shintarou's fate was sealed.
It was at moments like this that he cursed his own power.
A bright light flashed, blinding everyone in the vicinity -- or it would have, if humans were actually able to see the genie. Unfortunately, being the only one who actually could, Seijuurou was the sole being who was temporarily blinded.
"..."
"...Huh?"
An unfamiliar voice.
Seijuurou rubbed his eyes, opening them slowly.
A... tail?
A thin, black tail with an arrowhead tip at the end was waving itself in front of his face.
Before he could even think of looking up at the owner, Shintarou let out a string of curses--
"Whathaveyoudone youREALLYwishedforalifetimecompanion I'mbeingsummonedsomewhereelsenanodayooooooooo--"
--and with a puff of smoke, he was gone, taking his "lifetime companion" with him, who barely even managed to shriek in surprise before they both vanished.
Well then.
Seijuurou blinked.
...He... Had done a good deed, right?
He looked back at the lamp. The magical aura was gone.
Seijuurou tilted his head to the side.
Oh well.