Archive of Our Own

This knowledge has been lost to time, but the realm of gods have dominion over the Earth. Split into opposite pairs, their influences forge the cyclical courses of the world.

And every so often these gods tire of their abundant power, a mere drop in the ocean of their realm. Sometimes, they will become so bored of their duty, recklessly sprinkling their power onto the Earth in uneven clumps — some getting more, and others getting less. These fickle gods might instead desire to experience their forces in the scale of a human life.

'This is absurd! You will not go walking into the human realm for fun! Do you even realise the chaos it would cause?' Lady Luck, shimmering in white, held back her opposite.

'I will. And you will not stop me,' said the Lord of Misfortune, his inky darkness tangling with the white light.

'If you go, I must go too,' said Lady Luck. Annoyance spread across her face. 'I will not enjoy fixing all the damage you cause...'

Lord Misfortune stared at her straightfaced. 'There is no undoing misfortune once it happens. Will you still walk in the human realm with me, knowing that?'

Lady Luck lowered her head dutifully. 'Of course. There must be balance. It is why we exist together. Wherever you are, I'll find you.'

'And what if I destroy you?'

They stared at each other, silence growing with their light clashing against dark. The human realm — just a mere star hanging between them — flickered silently. Lady Luck reached out to it with a pale hand.

'Then it will be lucky if something else happens instead.'

Five years after the Legion war, Shin couldn't believe what his life was now. With all the pain and loss he'd experienced — be it from his brother, losing his parents and his comrades, and the betrayal of their supposed 'saviour' country — Shin had felt haunted in his life. Like some god of misfortune stalked his every step, just waiting to rip anything that brought him happiness away forever.

Sometimes it almost felt too fitting. His namesake, Reaper, following him everywhere in the 86th Sector, and his esper power allowing him to hear the laments and regret of the long dead. What more could a god of misfortune need?

And that question repeated itself in his mind constantly, with one exception. The reason he couldn't believe what his life had become.

'Lena.'

The silver-haired woman was seated on the couch in their living room, a blanket draped generously over her lower half. A curled up Fido — now in a domestic dog body — completed the look. With her eyes closed, head against the pillow behind her, she was a picture of cozy sleepiness.

And every time he saw her, that haunted feeling he had disappeared. Lena was his light in life, where everything else was a dark dead end. After so much loss — too much for one person to bear — meeting Lena was his ultimate fortune. The manifestation of all the luck in his life, brought to him in one person.

And now, they didn't need to worry about the war anymore. They had a modest house in a peaceful country, away from all those awful things of the past. And most of all, they had each other.

The war had not been won without its sacrifices though. Once again, Shin's endless haunting of misfortune struck. He had lost a leg in the final operation to shut down the Legion — crushed beyond saving when his Reginleif fell from the broadcasting tower. With all the rubble that followed, it was lucky he escaped with his life at all.

After things had settled, countries gradually repaired their governments and cities. And once Shin had adapted to a prosthesis, he and Lena could finally do everything they had wanted to do. He thought he couldn't be happier, that it would be perfect for them from then on. But then Lena started to get sick. It was slow at first: dizzy spells, tiredness, confusion. Over several years it progressed to loss of coordination, worsening vision and hearing, and lapses in memory. That conversation with her doctors about the side effects of overusing the paraRAID had been the worst kind of despair Shin had ever felt.

Now, five years on, she was practically bedbound and in hospice care at home. And Lena wasn't going to get better. She was going to die. Right in front of him.

Unsurprisingly, Fido did his best to keep Shin's spirits up, making sure he remembered his duty.

There is no time for hiding your love.

She is staying strong for you, so you must do the same.

You must make every moment count.

And so he would.

He would think about what to do with himself after Lena had—

No time for that.

Gathering his strength once more, Shin knelt down beside her to place a kiss to her head. Lena stirred, slowly blinking her eyes and beaming up at him. Nothing about her love for him had changed, and he was so grateful for it that sometimes it made him want to cry. What did she ever see in someone like him?

He pushed down the guilt that rose in his chest for waking her.

'Sorry,' he said. 'You can rest more if you want.'

Lena shook her head softly.

'I'd rather spend my time with you.'

The twinge in Shin's chest turned into something stronger. Her voice was so tiny... Nothing resembling that bold, daring, defiant commander he fought for so long ago.

Shin slid closer to her, gently wrapping her in his arms and letting her presence soothe him. It was several pleasant minutes of silence later until Lena spoke again.

'Shin?'

'Mmm?'

'I've been thinking...'

Shin tilted her head down at her, waiting patiently.

'What if I asked Vika to—'

'Lena, no,' Shin said gently, though still sternly enough to make his feelings clear.

He held her a little tighter, pressing his mouth to her shoulder. That violet scent of hers made Shin feel truly home. He was convinced nothing, and no one, could ever replicate it to perfection.

'I don’t want you to become a Sirin…' he admitted.

He felt Lena manage a smile. 'Even if my last words are that I love you?'

Shin shifted uneasily, his lips pulled tight.

'People and machines,' he said, looking at his hands. 'I don’t think we’re meant to be one and the same.' His eyes became distant, thinking about things long in the past. Thinking about Rei. Lena considered this, but gently shook her head. 'I think people and machines are meant to live together. We’ve been living with one for years,' she answered, looking over to Fido, quietly seated by Lena’s feet.

He bobbed up at the mention of his name and gave a 'Pi!' of agreement. 'We use them for almost everything. Transport, communication,' she nodded to the machines beeping next to her — the ones Shin had tuned out so he barely noticed them — then to Shin’s prosthetic leg. 'Replacement parts.'

Shin put a reluctant hand on his now-metallic knee.

Lena continued, 'Their life gives us life. In a way, we’re already one and the same.' Shin’s phone beeped right at that moment, making Lena chuckle. He looked at the name, Gelda, and sighed, reaching back to put it away. Lena stopped him.

'Take it if it’s important.'

'You’re more important.' His fingers wrapped around her own, startlingly cold. Their difference in temperature pulled at his heart for all the wrong reasons now.

Lena wormed her hands out, closing his empty palms. 'Someone needs you, Shin.'

Her smile was so earnest, grey eyes pleading with all the strength she had left. How could he say no to her?

But how could he leave her?

But his grandmother—

But Lena’s here and she’s—

Shin’s lip quivered. He felt like his heart was breaking in two.

There was a long silence with just the steady beep of the medical monitors to fill it. 'I’ll see what she wants,' Shin said, leaving the room.

Just outside the doorway, Shin called the number back. Gelda answered. 'Shinei…'

His grandmother’s voice trembled with raw emotion, stopping him from greeting her back. What had happened? He could hear her trying to compose herself on the other end of the line, but it was messy. Time seemed to stretch on in the silence. The woman drew a shaky breath and tried again.

'Shinei… Your grandfather has passed away…'

After a few minutes, Shin reentered the room, quiet as a stone.

'Seiei Nouzen passed away.'

Lena’s eyes softened with sadness. 'Shin, I’m so sorry.'

She held out her hand for him, but he stood, unmoving, staring at emptiness. There was a shadow on his face Lena hadn’t seen for a long time, something that felt like a reminder of the sorrow that seemed to always follow Shin.

His voice muddied, turning thick and heavy as he explained, 'I’m now interim head of House Nouzen. They want me to fly back to Sankt Jeder to officialise it or have me transfer the title.'

Lena blinked at him with solemn eyes. 'What will you do?'

'Give it to Yatrai. I don’t want it.'

A sad smile crossed Lena's face. She would support him with his choice, of course, though it meant he had to leave her for a day. She would be fine for that long.

Shin, however, was reeling. His wife was dying and they want him to leave her just to sign some papers?! Not to mention the way they treated Seiei… The first thing they discussed wasn’t his funeral, it was who would take over for him. Apparently the Nouzen family matters take precedence over everything.

It was precisely why Shin didn’t want to be head. He didn’t want to be associated with people like that. It’s not like they were bad people, but all the bickering and rules and politics were just too petty for someone like Shin. He was sure that even if he had grown up in their family, he would’ve knocked the title anyway.

'Go,' Lena said.

Shin looked up at her, confused.

'I know you don’t want to be part of their family games, so you should go and tell them.'

'But—'

'I’ll be fine. I’m not going anywhere.' She offered him a reassuring smile. 'And I’ll have Fido here for company.'

'Pi!' said Fido, eagerly wagging his tail.

Shin stared at the two of them, uncertainty sloshing around his chest. He knew if Lena was able, she would be dragging him to the family meeting, no ifs or buts.

A sigh left his lips. He bent down to her, planting a kiss on her forehead. He checked the time. Middle afternoon. If he’s lucky he can make it back here by late evening.

Lena brought his face back down, wordlessly asking for a proper kiss goodbye. Shin smiled. Of course he was going to oblige her. He was thankful she hasn’t lost that cheeky side yet.

Their lips tenderly interlocked, and Shin once again noticed the lack of warmth in them. Would she really be okay?

Before he left, he double checked she had everything within reach. He gathered his few things, then turned to his loyal companion and said, 'Watch over her for me, Fido.'

'Pi!'

The lovable dog-robot wagged his tail in cheerful undertaking.

Fido's enthusiasm eased Shin's mind somewhat, and he managed a hopeful smile as he left.

'I’ll see you both when I get back.'

Lena waved him goodbye, hearing the singular step of his prosthetic foot grow fainter and fainter beyond the room.

She couldn’t stop her smile from slipping into a frown, and Fido whined sadly next to her.

'I know...' She reached over to give him an affectionate ruffle. 'Don't worry. He’ll be back soon.'

Her eyes glanced over to the side window. The clouds from earlier had gathered into a thick, dark cloak that now covered the sky entirely.

Lena wondered aloud to her entrusted protector. 'Do you think it’ll rain?'

It was pouring by the time Shin got to the airport. He threw his jacket over his head as he dashed from the taxi into the lobby, shaking off the water as he walked up to the check-in desk. When he told Gelda he was on his way, she messaged back that the family had already secured him a flight ticket, so all he needed to do was grab it from check-in and head to the gate.

He had no luggage with him since he intended to return home straight away. That made it only a few minutes to grab the ticket and speed to the gate — even though he didn’t need to; he was just anxious, as anyone would be in his situation — then another half hour until he was on the plane.

As they taxied to the runway for takeoff, a crack of lightning split the sky and thunder shook the plane. The captain’s deep voice came through the intercom.

'Good evening, folks. We’ve got a major storm system heading this way, but it shouldn’t be a problem once we’re in the air. We’ll take a wide arc to avoid the worst of it so the flight isn’t impacted. We’re quite lucky too, since apparently they’re cancelling all the flights at the airport after this one due to the bad weather.'

Shin clicked his tongue. Hopefully the storm would blow over by the time he had finished signing over the title. He knew it was selfish of him but he wanted to get back to Lena as soon as possible, storms and annoying relatives be damned.

The cabin crew began the pre-flight procedures but Shin’s mind was elsewhere. His leg was bouncing up and down so fast that the woman next to him thought he was afraid of flying and tried to offer him some reassurance. When he told her he was simply anxious from being away from his ill wife, she gave him a sympathetic expression and offered him a coffee-flavoured candy from her handbag. Shin took it just to be polite. Ultimately it would do nothing to ease his worries about Lena.

It was two hours later by the time he landed in Sankt Jeder. He took a taxi straight to the Nouzen Estate, dashing up the wide marble steps and trying not to slip from the rain with his bad leg.

Mitz and Yatrai opened the door and greeted him with a ‘Welcome back,’ that Shin found too friendly given the circumstances.

‘This isn’t my home,’ he said, brushing past them both.

He didn’t have time to stand around and chat. They strode down the main hall where Mitz and Yatrai escorted Shin to the main chamber of the estate. Shin at least wanted to pay his respects while he was here. After all, wasn’t that the whole purpose of him being the Undertaker?

In the main chamber sat Seiei’s coffin, surrounded by other Nouzens and his grandmother Gelda. She directed an apologetic smile his way, knowing the pain it caused him to travel at this time. Shin gave her a polite nod, then walked up to the open casket. It was decorated with several floral arrangements, as well as a vast collection of antique blades. Shin only just now realised that in his haste he had not brought anything to offer to Seiei's departed soul.

He hoped that wouldn't anger whatever god of misfortune walked with him.

To Shin, his grandfather looked peaceful in death, something he realised was actually a first for him. His focus wandered from Seiei’s still face to the table just to the right. There was a pen atop one of two papers. Were they really this monstrous?

At least now he can get this over with quickly.

‘Which one of you set this up?’ Shin asked, indicating the table.

Mitz stepped forward with a too-proud grin. ‘I did. I thought I would make this as quick and easy for you as possible,’ he said.

Shin stepped over and scanned the two pages. One was a simple document for him to accept the title as Head of House Nouzen. The other was to relinquish it to another family member.

He picked up the pen. ‘Congratulations, Yatrai. You’re the matriarch now.’

All the Nouzens looked at him in shock. Mitz's mouth dropped open, but it quickly turned into a scowl. ‘Just like that? You, who knows nothing of our family traditions, decided just like that?’

Yatrai tried to hold his brother back but was easily shaken off by his seething anger.

‘Seiei was a fool to have named you as his successor...’ He strode right up to Shin’s face, eyes narrowed in ire, his voice low with dark intent. ‘And you were too busy imitating your father and eloping with that Celena bitch to change i—’

Lightning flashed. A punch cracked through the room. The crowd gasped.

Shin shook out the hand that had landed the blow, turning his back to a sprawled Mitz. He signed the document, handing it to Yatrai to complete with his own signature. Without another word, he walked out of the room.

Once he was alone, Shin took a deep breath. After being calculated and gentle with Lena for so long, he had almost forgotten what it felt like to act on impulse. He was mildly worried that it felt better than he remembered.

But regardless, what he came here to do was done now, so he could finally go back to where he belonged. Would Lena still be there waiting for him? What if something's happened to her?

He beelined for the main entrance, wondering if there would still be any flights back home. Shin grabbed the door but was almost knocked out as it flung open from the wind's power. He stared death at those dark clouds that dared to show their false light. No plane would be flying in this...

A hand reached down to help him up. It was Yatrai.

'Shin, I—'

'You don't have to pay me back for what I did. I could have decided with a coin toss and not cared any less.' Shin couldn't look at him. Guilt started to pepper his chest.

Yatrai held his shoulder. 'No, that's not why I'm here. You need to get home, right?'

Shin now locked eyes with him, trying to read his intentions. His desperation might have shown a little simply from the mentioned chance of a way home. If he hadn't been hardened so much by his life, he'd probably be a pleading mess.

But Shin was not that kid from long ago. He nodded once. Yatrai smirked.

'Follow me.'

The rain beat down on the roof. The wind howled. Lightning lit the windows and thunder shook the sky.

Lena held Fido close, trying to remain at ease. Shin had been with her for so long, she'd forgotten what home was like without him. Shin made everything easier. Easy enough to almost forget the curse of her ailing health.

Where had Shin gone? Would he be back soon?

Another bolt of lightning struck nearby. The house lights flickered. Lena closed her eyes as fear welled up in her chest. Tears began to fall from her eyes.

'Fido... Where is Shin? Why isn't he here? Did he leave me?'

'Pi! Pi pi pi!' Fido explained.

But it was to no avail. Lena couldn't understand Fido the way Shin could. All Lena knew is that Fido was trying to ease her concerns. She held the little robot tighter.

'I'm so scared, Fido.... Why did this storm have to happen? Why now?'

Another flash of lightning. One of Lena's machines flatlined. Her and Fido turned to it in alarm. Lena reached out a shaky hand, but the machine continued its steady rhythm before she could touch it. Lena sighed in relief and Fido relaxed back into her arms.

The storm raged on, and all Lena could do was hug Fido and tell herself that Shin would be here soon. He would be coming home any second. He'd make it through the storm to see her once again.

'Shin...'

More tears fell. Sobs racked her body. Everything felt cold.

'Shin!'

Lena cried, drowned out by another crash of thunder.

'Ah...!'

Something gripped Lena's chest. She struggled to inhale. Beside her, all her machines beeped in an irregular tone.

'Shi...iinnn.........'

Then the lights went out, and the house was enveloped in darkness.

Master Nouzen should have returned by now. His prolonged absence had made this situation with Miss Milize rather dire. And given the incredible storm outside, it was not unlikely that Master Nouzen would not be able to return home tonight at all.

That would not have caused me distress, however...

Miss Milize had collapsed just as the power failed. Her machines, which her body relied on, could no longer function. And that means if nothing changed, Miss Milize would not be long for this world.

As only a mere robot companion, what, if anything, could I do to help the missus? I was not warm and comforting like the master. I could not ease her worries or pain like he could. I could not even give her life in this timely hour of need.

If only those machines...

Oh.

My duty is clear. Master Nouzen entrusted his beloved to me. If I fail to do all I can to keep that promise, I could never bear to look the master in the eyes again.

Even if Master Nouzen doesn't return until tomorrow—

Even if this ultimately proves futile—

Even if I perish—

I will carry out my duty to the very end.

Fido wriggled out of Lena's grip and descended to the ground, next to the machines. He carefully examined the power cords, following them to the wall. He yanked them out, and without hesitation, plugged them into himself.

The machines beeped back to life. Lena gasped and coughed. Fido was relieved just to hear those sounds alone, and not the eerie silence preceding death.

He could feel the power draining right out of him. Slowly, clumsily, he teetered back to the machines at Lena's side. He didn't even have the strength to jump back up next to her. On the cold, hard ground, he lay, his red eyes closing slowly.

'Piii....iiiii........'

Lena slowly leaned over and saw him on the floor. 'Fido?'

The robot did not respond. Lena followed the power cords back to the robot, her eyes widening in surprise.

'Oh, Fido...'

Lena's eyes filled with tears that raced down her cheeks in a gentle cry. Even with her life-giving machines restored, she still felt incredibly weak. Lena knew her consciousness was slipping. Her eyes opened less and less with each breath.

If only Shin could get here... before she died.

With the last of her strength, she prayed for the tiniest bit of luck that she would see Shin one more time.

Shin had made it back home thanks to Yatrai. His idea was to take one of the Nouzen's first acquired jet planes — a renewed invention since the war ended — to blitz through the storm. After enough shaking to make Shin never want to step foot in one again, he exited the plane to a police escort, called in by Councilwoman Frederica, or so Yatrai had said.

The escort got him back home faster than he could have hoped. Relief started to ease Shin's tensions the closer he got. But that was all erased when the officer informed him that power had been lost in the area due to the storm.

Shin's reflexes activated in an instant. Before the car even stopped outside the house he opened the car door and stumbled out. He sprinted to the front entrance, throwing it open and calling out.

'Lena! Lena?!'

He made his way to the couch where she last was—

And that's when he saw her.

Lying back, silent and still, looking for all the world... dead.

Tears pricked at his eyes as he knelt down next to her. He reached out a hand to brush her hair out of her face.

His voice quivered. '...Lena?'

She was still warm. His hand searched out one of her own.

'Lena? Hey.... Ope—' His voice broke into a sob. 'Open your eyes, Lena.'

Nothing moved. Shin crumpled into the couch at her side, still holding her hand, pleading with everything he had left.

Then there was movement. Sound. A rustle and a slow exhale of breath. Shin looked up, meeting eyes with his love. They were barely open, and her voice was so tiny as she spoke.

'Shin? Is it really you?'

Tears tracked down Shin's cheeks, with a smile of both pain and enormous love radiating back to Lena.

'Yes... I'm back Lena.' Shin wiped his eyes. 'I'm home.'

Lena smiled back faintly, but it soon turned sad. 'Shin... I'm sorry...'

'What do you mean?'

'Fido...'

Shin looked down to where Lena weakly gestured. Just next to her machines was the little robot, curled like he was asleep. He saw the power cords attached to him and understood.

Fido had kept her alive long enough for him to say goodbye...

A tender hand stroked his metallic body.

'Thank you, Fido. Truly.'

Shin carefully picked him up, placing him on the couch between the both of them. They both stroked him with gentle hands.

'This means more to me than I could ever say. That you performed your duty to the very end... That you gave up your life for Lena... What more could you do to prove your defiance against misfortune? Much more than I could...'

'It's the biggest stroke of luck that could have happened. Fido's sacrifice allowed me to see you one more time,' Lena said, beaming at Shin through her tears.

Shin leaned over and gave his love a gentle kiss. 'I'm sorry Lena. My curse of misfortune seems to have gotten to you. I didn't want any of this to happen...'

Lena shook her head. 'No Shin. This is how it has to be. There's no undoing misfortune once it's done.'

Something hazy overtook Shin's brain. Where had he heard that before?

'Do you still not remember?' asked Lena.

Shin didn't know what she meant. 'Remember what?'

Lena let out a soft laugh, reached out her hands and brought Shin's forehead to her own. She closed her eyes, looking deep in concentration.

Warmth filled Shin's whole body, and his consciousness faded into dark.

Shin awoke in a realm of light and dark. In front of him was a point of light, hovering alone. Just looking at him made him feel nostalgic and melancholy.

The realm of light behind it shifted. He looked up and saw Lena, only this wasn't the Lena he knew. This Lena was healthy and majestic and etherial. She looked like a goddess. A name surfaced up from the depths of his memory.

'Lady... Luck?' he uttered in disbelief.

'That's right, Lord Misfortune,' she replied.

Shin looked at himself. He was cloaked almost entirely in darkness, the same kind that made up this half of the realm. Things started coming back to him now.

He was the one who wanted to walk as a soul on Earth. He had no say over how his life would go, and simply found himself as Shinei Nouzen. That meant that... the haunting of misfortune he felt... It was just himself. He was the god of misfortune.

And Lena — Lady Luck, rather, had followed him, becoming Vladilena Milize. Through her own luck she had found herself commanding Spearhead Squadron, finding Shin, becoming his confidant and carrier, and eventually, reuniting with him and falling in love and living her life with him.

Tears began falling from his eyes — drops of shadow that spiralled into the hovering light of Earth to become new souls.

‘I really did destroy you in the end…’

‘Not quite,’ Lady Luck said. ‘Fido saved me.’

‘Fido…’ The lord wiped his eyes. 'He's a robot. He doesn't even have a soul, and yet he did something so noble…’ Lord Misfortune peered into that point of hovering light, seeing Fido’s lifeless body. ‘After what he did, I can’t just let him disappear. Even a soulless robot deserves reincarnation at the very least.’

Lady Luck nodded. ‘I feel the same. He brought me back to life. Something akin to an act of god.’ She smiled mischievously. ‘Perhaps becoming a god would be fitting for him?’

Lord Misfortune laughed. ‘Perhaps new company would be nice.’

The two gods nodded, and the Lord of Misfortune reached a hand out to Earth. He appeared before Fido as his god-like self, wreathed in darkness. The god touched the mechanical body, reigniting the circuits for just a moment.

Fido awoke.

‘Time to go, Fido,’ the Lord of Misfortune said.

Fido looked around, confused at what was happening. He could feel the remnants of his last order fading.

‘Did I do good?’ Fido asked.

The Lord of Misfortune smiled. ‘No.’

Fido’s dog-like form drooped sadly.

‘You performed your duty to the very end.’

Fido looked up at the god of darkness, leaping into his open arms.

They returned to the realm of light and dark where Lady Luck greeted them.

‘Fido… I am eternally grateful,’ said the goddess of light. ‘We hereby establish you as the Presider of Defiance. You defy the worst misfortunes and the best of luck.’

Fido couldn’t believe it. He? A god? With his two most cherished people?

What higher honour could he have earned?

And so the realm of light and dark was no longer. From then on it was three gods keeping balance over the Earth.

Light, dark, and orange. Or…

Lady Luck, Lord Misfortune, and Presider of Defiance (The Orange One).