TV BROADCAST : "Moments ago, another big battle took place. Everyone around the world and social media is going crazy over what they have witnessed, and it has been a riot of conversations ever since. Other parts of the world were affected by this physically, many tsunamis and landslides and earthquakes had briefly formed before they were put to a stop by nearby Hosts. Many Hosts died in this fight, but all the students are fine. Later on today, the Seven strongest Hosts will host funerals for them all. And in other news, a topic that everyone has been talking about..who the hell is Harvest?"
…
A few hours after the exams were over, all of the exam students were back at where they met up at a few hours ago, and they were hugging their families. Some families had tears in their eyes, conversations were like:
"I'm glad you're okay!"
"I should've went with you.."
"Thank God you're safe.."
"Me and your father were so worried…"
"Shiryu! Espen!"
"Jiyu! Jiyu, where are you?! Oh I see you!"
"Kazuma!"
"We prayed earnestly for all of your safety.."
"Seven! There you are! Get over here! Get over here we needa give you a check-up!"
Everyone else was getting to their families, and Marshy came walking with Duri in her arms, she was carrying him like she was carrying a baby on her chest, holding his legs with his arms around the back of Marshy's neck.
Duri was still unconscious.
[2 hours later]
[The Hospital]
Duri was lying in the hospital bed, while he remained knocked out.
Marshy was sitting in a chair nearby, staring at Duri's bruised up face.
Marshy rubbed his hair, saying, "This..is my real son…this is real…"
Marshy kept rubbing and staring at Duri, until Host Xenon made his appearance walking into the room.
Marshy didn't even bother to turn around, and Xenon said to her, "Marshy."
"What?"
"I came to tell you…if Duri wakes up..tell him I told him good job."
"Good job? Heh. He'll probably say he didn't do anything. He's always said he didn't want to be a hero. But he can't stand when people around him are getting hurt."
"And neither can you. It's making more and more sense you two are actually blood related. Anyway..I've come to pay my respects before I head out. Sorry for what happened to Mifu. It was my fault, I should've told him to leave."
Marshy stood up, and Xenon just looked at her.
Marshy turned around to him, saying, "Mifu…is no longer suffering. That curse that was put on him by Reborn's son a long time ago was killing him. He's in a better place now. And he's a hero. So..I'm not complaining at all..and I'm not blaming anyone but Harvest."
"Was Mifu..your real grandfather?"
"No. He wasn't. He was a weapons crafter for the people of the Garden realm. He would travel from real to realm gathering mythical artifacts to create his weapons for us. He never told me what he used to make my Excalibur."
"Really?"
"Yes. He told me lies for years about my childhood, but yeah..it was to protect my ass. I guess."
"You have your doubts about what he said earlier, don't you?"
"...Kinda. But I'm on the positive side of things. That's why I told Judge Anna and Judge Akio to meet me here. I need to know more about my past."
"Oh. Well good luck to you then. I'm gonna uh..go smoke me a cigarette and take care of this shit."
"What shit?"
"Me and the other Hosts have to go to the families of the deceased Hosts and give them things to help with thei5 situation."
"Dammit..yeah. I figured. We had to do the same thing in our battle against Reborn."
"Last time it was worse. We were getting shit on and Reborn wasn't even using his full power."
"But we won. Let's just try and make sure Harvest doesn't raise that bastard from the fucking dead. We already have to deal with Zabel trying to steal the energy from all the realms to acquire more power to take Duri from us and then kill him to try and control all of us."
"You're right. Let's just stay focused then. I gotta go. See ya around, jackass."
Xenon turned around and started walking away.
"Oi. Xenon."
Xenon stopped, "Yo."
"...Um..thank you."
"Heh. Don't mention it."
"And uh..how is your old man Voel doing?"
"He's trying to get Mifu's funeral situation under control. He's pretty banged up about everything too."
"I told them to cremate Mifu's body so no one can fuck with his body when he's in the ground. Why are they giving your father a hard time?"
"I have to call again and see."
"Screw it. I'll just go down there after I talk to the Judges."
"No. I'll go. Do what you have to do. I'll see you around.."
Xenon left the room, leaving Marshy to think, 'He's in a hurry. Some of his friends were Hosts, and they were killed in the battle. I share his pain. He acts like it's nothing, putting on his tough guy face...but he's easy to read.'
Marshy turned around back to look at Duri, and she grinned.
Suddenly, walking into the room were Seven, Kazuma, Nine, Jiyu, Ren-Ren, Shiryu, and Espen.
Kazuma said, "Hi, Marshy!"
Everyone told him to shush, and Kazuma replied, "Ooo..sorry. How's Duri doing?"
Marshy sighed, "He's still not waking up. His pulse is irrationally unstable at times. Being in his Titan form really messed him up. Well…because he's new to it. I hope he'll be okay."
Ren-Ren said, "Pfft. He'll be fine like always. Bro is covered in plot armor."
Kazuma replied, "No he's just tough!"
Everyone told him to shush again, and Kazuma whispered, "Duri is tough. Mhm mhm."
Shiryu said, "Duri…did great…out there. I wonder if this hospital has graham crackers.."
Espen responded, "It's a hospital. They do."
"Ehhh..you don't know that."
"I do."
Seven stepped up, looking straight at Duri.
Seven commented, "He even sleeps angrily."
Marshy chuckled, "Haha, yeah. That's just how he is."
"Yeah. Oh, I almost forgot. I got distracted and shit like that. Um..when Duri wakes his ass up, could you give him this?"
Seven handed Marshy a note, and Marshy took it from her.
Marshy asked with a curious and adorable chibi look, "Can I read it?"
"No! I mean um..no please, haha. I have to leave, my parents are wanting to take me somewhere."
"Your parents are out there? Why didn't they come in?"
"They said they don't bow at their rivals. But they send their condolences to you."
"Sounds like them. Pricks. I mean, didn't mean to call your parents that."
"They are."
"They're going to check out the Spirit of Wrath form you had earlier?"
"Ugh..those nerds BUGGED me about it. I don't even know how it happened."
Marshy looked at Seven's missing arm, and said to everyone, "You're brave. All of you nerds are brave for what you did. None of you ran during your fights…you stayed and even defeated one of them. You all played a role today. You all did something to help. And for that..I say thank you. Even though…we lost some Hosts in the process..but we still won. And I bet those Hosts would be proud that we won. You're all worthy of becoming tournament fighters. All the exam students are, it's a good thing you all passed the exams and shit like that. Please don't lose that bravery and strength of yours. Duri is blessed to have you all as friends. Understand?"
Seven, Kazuma, Nine, Jiyu, Espen, Shiryu, and Ren-Ren nodded, "Yes, Host Marshy. And thank you very much."
Marshy's ear twitched, and she said, "You're welcome. I have to go now. You brats be safe and behave yourselves. I sure do hope that Tek kid is okay too.."
"Yokai, Host Marshy."
Marshy started walking out of the room, leaving all the teenagers in there.
Seven sighed, "I have to leave too. My parents are gonna get pissed."
Ren-Ren answered, "Newsflash, when are your parents NOT pissed? I'm an upcoming perfect villain and I'm not even pissed all the time."
"Totally."
Nine wondered, "Oi, guys, if I give Duri a little shock to his heart with my power, you think he'll wake up?"
Shiryu replied, "That's..not wise…I want some water..very thirsty.."
Seven chuckled, leaving and saying, "Alright I'm leaving now, don't kill each other. Especially you, Nine."
Nine went, "Awww, why?"
"Imagine."
Seven left, and Nine grinned with small shocks of green lightning around her finger, "Hehe..I'm going to try it."
Kazuma responds, "If you do that, and if he wakes up from it, he's going to be reaaaaally mad!"
Jiyu added, "Or he could d-die.."
Nine rolled her eyes, "Oh please. Like a little shock will kill someone like Duri. He's a Titan for crying out loud!"
Everyone told Nine to shush, and she replied with a whisper, "Don't tell me what to do. Fine. I won't do it. Happy, you damn nerds."
Outside in the hallway, as Seven was walking, she went through the front doors and stepped all the way outside. Sitting in a black and red shiny SUV in front of her was her parents.
Seven was thinking, 'I'm exposed to everyone that I've got one arm. I don't know why..but I feel kind of free. But it's an uncomfortable feeling. I need to be at ease. If only I could talk to Duri again..'
Her mom: Hinata - had long white hair in a ponytail, hazel eyes, and an eye patch.
Her dad : Zaiyen - had a red and black buzz cut with a black slick bang coming down. And he had blue eyes.
Hinata and Zaiyen immediately jumped out of the car, and rushed over to Seven.
Hinata was smelling Seven all over, while her father Zaiyen was checking her pulse.
Zaiyen said, "Mhm mhm. Mhm mum. Blood pressure is spiked. Heartbeat is insanely fast. Hinata, honey, what do ya got?"
Hinata replied, "Tch. Smells like the L word!"
Zaiyen gasped, "No..not our Seven.."
"Yes. She's getting old enough to where she's experiencing feelings for BOYS. And out of all people, she had to like the one who is the son of our rival??? Nonsense."
"Affirmative. Her feelings are confirmed and indeed expeditious."
Seven replied, "Mom..dad..don't tell me.."
Hinata and Zaiyen grinned at the same time, then looked at Seven.
"Hoh? Tell you what?" They said at the same time.
"You heard..me and Nine's conversation…at the exams.."
"Hehe.."
"Fuck," Seven grumbled as she blushed.
Hinata replied, "Allow me to change the subject before I confirm a kill on that Titan boy Duri."
Zaiyen agreed, "Affirmative, honey."
"Seven. About the Spirit Of Wrath.."
[Somewhere else]
[Judge Akio's lost memory domain]
Judge Akio, Judge Anna, and Marshy were standing on a white cloud, and all around them and below them, was a blue sky and nothing else.
Marshy said, "This is your lost memory domain?"
Judge Akio answered, "Yes. I can go back as far as you've been alive."
"No risks or anything like that?"
"...I know you're cautious, Marshy, but trust us. The Titans have trusted us to be the bridge and connection between the Garden realm and Earth. Peacefully saying we are trustworthy."
"Mhm alright. Do your thing priest boy."
"Ugh. We're not priests."
"Yeah okay. So how are we doing this? You want me to close my eyes and hold my hands out like I'm praying or something?"
"None of that. Turn towards me right quick. It'll be fast."
Marshy turned to Judge Akio, and Akio slapped her forehead.
Marshy stood still without flinching, and they all saw a bunch of scenes from Marshy's life appear all over the place.
Marshy said, "I don't like your methods, Akio."
"I needed to hit you to get a better reaction from your mind and body. I couldn't read anything at first. Usually it's easy. Since this domain reacts to your energy, getting hit makes your energy intertwine with the energy in the air around them. My domain simply takes that energy and discovers its past. Just how dogs can track someone using their scent."
Judge Anna said, "Based on what we're looking at here…Mifu was telling the truth. Marshy, why did you wait until now to come to us to look at your past?"
"Because I trusted Mifu. Trusted everything he ever said to me. I didn't think twice about doubting him."
Marshy looked at all of the scenes of her life that were playing. She saw when the Titans made her barren with their power, and she saw when Duri was banished out of the Garden realm for being a hybrid.
Marshy watched all of this with her fists clenched.
She saw her first husband, who was Duri's father.
Suddenly, a tear fell down Marshy's eye, and she fell to her knees.
Judges Akio and Anna rushed to her.
"Host Marshy!"
"Host Marshy what's wrong?!"
Marshy slowly wiped her eyes, and she was slowly standing up on her own, replying, "I..remember that man. But..I can only remember his face…can you show me our conversations? The things that we talked about..?"
"I'd have to smack you again to go that deep into your past."
"Well get the smacking! I'm ready!"
"Okay!"
Akio and Anna smacked Marshy in the head together, and scenes of her and her unidentified husband (Duri's father) popped up.
They had multiple conversations, laughing and talking with each other, arguing with each other, fighting mythical beasts and villains together, and even flying together.
Marshy looked at all of these with a passion, she was truly invested in every word her and Duri's father said to each other.
Marshy said, "He..looks so much like Duri..same birthmark and everything..but with longer hair.."
Akio said, "Yes."
"What did the old Titans do with Duri's father after they banished Duri into the realm void?"
"We're going to have to slap you again."
Marshy wiped more of her tears, answering, "Do it!"
Akio and Anna had glowing golden energy around their hands, they pulled their arms back, gave a loud battle cry, and smacked Marshy in the head again.
More scenes of Marshy's past appeared, and she saw the old Titans banish Duri's father into the realm void too.
Marshy asked, "...And these are your old Titans.. the ones who used to rule over the Garden realm…am I right or am I wrong?"
Akio and Anna answered, "You are correct. Times have changed now. The new Titans abandoned the strict ways of their elders."
"...Take me to the Garden realm. I wanna speak to everyone. There's too much I want to know. Like who my parents are, the history and true purpose of the Titans, and why Duri is the Angel Titan."
"We cannot simply take you to the Garden realm. It's a process. You know this Marshy. Please do not be in such a hurry. After what happened, you need rest."
"Fuck rest. I had enough of that when I wasn't there to protect Duri in time."
"And..the Titans want to meet with Duri."
"Heh? How come? And when?"
"They didn't say when. Since Duri is the Angel Titan, it has to be something important."
"...They didn't tell you why they wanted to see my son?"
"No. But Duri is free to tell you when he gets back."
"Interesting."
"But Marshy…go get some rest. Your Excalibur took a ton of your energy away too, also damaging your body. Rest will help you restore your energy."
"I wish I could. The doctors said if Duri's heart rate goes at a normal rate for at least 5 hours straight, I can take him home so he can rest there."
"We wish you both the best of luck."
"Thanks, Judges."
[Saitama Japan]
Tetsuya and Chaos were with each other, driving to the deceased Hosts Hosts houses; Kedarah and Hanako were doing the same thing, and Chaos and Xenon were doing the same thing.
They dealt with a lot of tears, screaming, anger, and pain from the families. Which was all expected.
After a few hours, Xenon and Chaos were leaning against a dark blue car. Xenon was smoking yet another cigarette, and Chaos was drinking a soda.
Chaos said, "Long day.."
Xenon responded, "I hate doing this."
"Who loves it? Who loves going to a family and seeing the pain in their eyes because seeing us..will remind them of their husband or wife was…a Host."
"You make a good point, brat. Going through this before..made me wanna reconsider everything, and made me wanna quit it all."
"Oh yeah? What changed?"
"I started to remember my old family. How things turned out with them. I know the pain they're all going through. It's not a good fucking feeling either. I wanna keep families from going through this. I made that vow a long time ago. But here it goes again. Same shit different day."
"Listen, I know I'm the last person you wanna hear advice from, but we can't save everyone. Hell..YOU told me that. In war…there are losses…people will die. We just have to save as many as we can. The Hosts that lost their lives, they don't want us to be sad over this. They looked up to us as teachers. We can't disappoint."
"..."
"What?"
"For a person who jokes a lot..you have a way with words, kid."
Chaos scratched the back of his neck, "I mean I'm not like-."
"You just earned yourself a cigarette. Here, enjoy it."
"Yeah, no thanks."
"No? Hm. Suit yourself. Let's go."
Another few hours passed, and it was night time.
[Marshy and Duri's house]
Duri was laying in his bed, still passed out, and Marshy was sitting in a chair beside his bed.
Duri's heart rate and pulse were stable for a few hours in the hospital, so he was able to go home with Marshy.
Marshy hasn't left the chair once.
Marshy thought, 'Will Duri be awake for his official and ACTUAL first day of school?'
The next day, Duri was still asleep, and Marshy never left his side. Marshy would check his temperature constantly, and it was always hot.
At night, Marshy would be asleep in the chair, with her hand on Duri's hand.
[The next morning]
The birds chirped loudly, and the sun was beaming into the room.
Marshy sat her head up, looking at the sun's brightness, and saw Duri breathing peacefully, still unconscious.
Marshy stood up, and she started to stretch.
Marshy had a tournament she had to go host that morning, so she had to go.
Marshy went through Duri's dressers, and she started grabbing his black school uniform and shoes.
She placed the uniform and shoes in the chair, with Seven's note on top of it, and Marshy wrote a note on top of that one too, saying, "Duri, just in case you wake up, here is your school uniform. Today will officially be your real first day of school. I uh..love you, Duri. And we need to talk."
Marshy had left, and school was starting in half an hour.
..
[At the school]
1200 students were roaming the school, talking amongst each other, and walking with each other to class. The kids who took the tournament exams were being questioned by everyone, especially Seven, Kazuma, Nine, Ren-Ren, Shiryu, Espen, and Jiyu. They were getting asked all sorts of questions about what it was like fighting real strong villains. And they even asked Seven a bunch of times what her Spirit of Wrath form was, and kept asking about her arm.
Seven ignored everyone, and she kept looking around to see if Duri was around, but there was no sign of him.
Seven, Kazuma, Nine, Ren-Ren, Shiryu, Espen, Tek and Jiyu all had classes together, and Duri was in their class too.
Seven even had a new metal arm, which was created by Jiyu's family, and it was much stronger than the one she had last time.
Tek was away from everyone, sitting on top of the school roof, reading his small black book.
Tek looked down the roof again, thinking, 'Tch. Unnecessary attention. What vanity.'
Then he closed his book, and sat in silence. He kept thinking about his family of his chain users and wondered what they really were about.
'Chain users…treated with respect in the Harvest realm once. I wanna know more about them. My uncle..is also a chain user. And he's stronger than me. If I study more about my family, I'll learn how to beat him. And..I can't let Duri beat me…he's my rival and competition..something I never had before..what is my true potential?'
[Marshy and Duri's house]
(12 minutes later)
The bed rustled slowly, and Duri was moving. His eyes slowly opened, and he sat up slowly.
He looked left and right, and he yawned. He was wearing red plaid pajamas, and black socks.
"I'm..home?"
Duri rubbed his tired eyes, and he checked his phone, which was sitting on his small dresser beside his bed.
Duri exclaimed, "Oh..oh..oh shit! Today's school! Dammit damnit damnit I'm gonna be late!'
Duri turned to get out of bed, and as soon as his feet touched the floor, he was transferred somewhere else.
Duri in his red plaid pajamas stood in a bright white area on top of a grey circular platform, and he was confused. He said, "Um..hello?! Where the hell am I? Whoever snatched me up, I demand you to put me back or I'll send your ass to hell! I have to get to school!"
The bright light started to fade away, and Duri looked ready for anything.
Out of nowhere, there were tall waves of blue and gold water all around him, and on top of those waves..were Titans.
The sky was blue and gold and white, and there were some Titans up there looking down at Duri. The Titans looked like humans, some were super super tall, some were different colors, some had horns, some had wings, some had glowing body parts and hair with different colored eyes.
Duri heard the Titans chatter all around him, thinking, 'This power pressure..is crazy strong..but I can endure it..'
Duri yelled out, "Oi! Who are all you idiots? I have to get to school, dumabsses!"
No one replied, and Duri continued, "I know you people heard me!"
Out of nowhere, a 15 foot tall Titan man with dark pink hair, yellow eyes, a grey face, red horns, shirtless with bright white shorts, and sandles dropped feet first a few feet away from Duri.
Duri asked him, "Hey you, moron. Who are you and where am I?"
"Hahahahaha! THIS is our Angel Titan?! I've heard the rumors, everyone said you were something special. I want to test that, brat! Fight me!"
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE AM I?"
"This is the Garden realm! And I…am the Beast Titan!"
"...What?"
"Yes! Be amazed and fight me! I wanna see if you are the real Angel Titan!"
"I have to get to class..but if I beat you quickly..then I'm getting outta here. Bring it, bitch."