Their Beginnings

Earth, Apr. 14th 2018 @10:26 PM. The crackling sound of fire and the embers spurting from them reminded him of home, but this was far from it. Only an Earth idiom could describe it, it was "Hell on Earth" for him.

With a torn city around him, Genji was in the midst of destruction and death, and all he could do was sit and watch. One by one, he watched his friends and family die to hands of someone he thought he could trust. After all, he's known this person for as long as he could remember.

"Stop it, please! It's me who you want, right?! So just kill me!! You don't have to do this."

His pleading meant nothing to them, and continued the slaughter. Genji's tears ran hot, wondering why this is happening to them, and why he was so weak. No one in his position should buckle down and beg.

Though he was deeply saddened and distressed, these emotions began to bubble into an unfathomable rage. He's felt these bursts of rage before, but never as great as this. His vision turned red from bursted blood vessels.

"Damn you...Damn you all!! I won't let any of you get away!" His eyes had changed color, and felt another voice talking through him. "We swear...We'll kill you all!" Genji said, though he wasn't in full control of his words.

In fact, he wasn't in control on what was happening to him now, nor would he in just a matter of moments. The others caught onto his words, and hung onto them. It's rare for Genji to want to kill someone, so there was so uneasiness in his remaining ally's hearts.

But how did he get here? What events led to this pinnacle of despair? To start with, we'll have to go back 18 years to his birth.

This is the story of Genji Amasaki.

Hell, Oct. 30th 2000 @11:50 PM. Outside was like any other night. The crimson soil and grass hosted patches of dwindling, warm flames. This time of year, the fire tends to be on the cooler side.

Without a sun, Hell relies on man-built light and scattered flames to luminate their path during the night. During the day, however, the sky brightens up to a bright, bloodied red. This obvious day and night cycle leads to the belief there is a sun, but the permanent collection of clouds hide it. The fire and lights help, but demon eyes have evolved through the millenniums to be more efficient at night.

At some point in the far past, there was a sun and a moon. No one knows of their whereabouts, but researchers suspect they crumbled apart and disappeared due to the increasingly harsh climate, but at least clouds are still around.

While the outside life was normal, no one knew the history of Hell would change in a matter of minutes, all inside of a hospital.

"Grrghh...AAGHH!!" A woman's scream rang in nearby eardrums.

"Regret not taking that epidural?" A man standing by her bed said.

"Errgh- NO I DON'T!! THIS BABY...WILL COME OUT NATURALLY!!" She responded through rapid, heavy breaths.

"Madam Amasaki, please slow down! You're hyperventilating." The nurse at the end of the bed said.

Inside of this hospital room were the King and Queen Consort of Hell. Sung-Ho, a Korean man and Sayaka, a Japanese woman. They both had black hair and brown eyes.

Sayaka slowed her breathing down, but was still in incredible pain.

"You know, you think it'd be easier...given this is my second time."

"Well, you're not wrong. But you had epidural last time."

"Oh...you're right, I did."

"What made you decide against it again?"

"Because I believe the more natural the birth is, the higher chance it'll be a boy." She shifted her eyes onto her bloated stomach.

This whole time, they chose to stay in the dark about the baby. During ultrasounds, the sonographer always referred to the baby with gender-neutral pronouns.

While Sayaka may already have 1 child with Sung-ho, with another just a couple pushes away. Sung-ho has a total of 15, soon to be 16 children. All being girls.

For years, Sung-ho has been with different women in hopes one of them will bear him a son. With no luck, he started to believe it was never going to happen. After all, the Heavens placed a curse on Hell centuries ago, reducing male birth rate from 50% to less than 2%.

He desired a male heir to the throne, but if this baby comes out as a girl, he will pass the throne to his eldest daughter.

Sung-ho's hands gently wrapped around Sayaka's. Their eyes met, and his were full of love.

"If that's what you believe, then I will too. After all, I've always had hope this one will be the one. So give it your all, darling."

His tenderness and kind words filled her brain. With it in mind, she drew in as much air as she could, feeling it brush against her teeth and tongue. Sayaka resumed pushing for several minutes until the baby finally arrived.

Hell, Oct. 31st 2000 @12:00 AM. Bit by bit, Sayaka could feel something comparable to a watermelon slide out of her body. She was very lightheaded, her vision and hearing were blurred, but she could hear the sweet cry of her newborn child.

The nurse held the baby close to her body, gently rocking it to help calm it down.

"Well nurse...what is it?" Sung-ho asked. A lump formed in his throat, and felt his skin tighten on his muscles.

"Right. All you ever see is girls nowadays so I usually don't bother to look at anything besides the baby's fa-"

A loud gasp came from the nurse, and she nearly dropped the baby from sheer surprise.

"N-Nurse?! Everything alright?"

Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead, her lower half trembling like an earthquake.

"It's...I-It's...a boy!!"

His heart went silent, and a long chill ran across his entire body.

"R-Really? Are you positive?!"

The nurse approached him and held her arms out. Sung-ho took hold of his child and began feeling pools of tears collect in his eyes.

"Oh, thank goodness..." He whimpered.

"Is he beautiful?" Sayaka asked

"Of course, he came out of you after all."

She lightly giggled. "I'll see him after I rest up. This is all so...sudden."

Sung-ho was okay with her decision, it only meant he can hold on for a little while longer. Though he would have to give up the baby once a nurse came knocking.

On the opposite end of the room from where the bed is another door, but instead of this door leading to the waiting room it leads to the neighboring room. The other nurse slowly walked in with a crying baby in her own hands.

"Hi Lindsay, what's the matter?" The nurse asked.

"Oh nothing, Camila, I hope. I just had a question."

"Go on?"

"Um, so...what time was that baby born?"

"Midnight, right on the dot. Why?"

"Oh goodness. I think that old legend is true."

"Old legend? What are you talking about?"

"Just...watch this."

Lindsay put a stopper in front of the door and backed into the room behind her. The cries from her baby grew louder the farther she went. It was nearly becoming unbearable, and was likely disturbing other people on the floor. But when she approached Camila, the baby grew quieter. Strangely enough, the boy's crying never seemed to change in volume.

"Wow...that's...wow." Camila was lost for words.

"Excuse me, ladies...but what legend are you talking about?" Sung-ho asked.

"It's called "The Interlace". In short, it's believed that children born on the same day, same time, and in a certain mile radius are destined to be together. Whether it's as friends, or as lovers." Camila said.

"This girl and your boy, which, by the way, congratulations, my lord. Were born exactly at midnight, October thirty-first. And we were one room away from each other. Basically, all the criteria were met." Lindsay said.

"That's...amazing. Looks like we don't have to worry about Genji being all alone." Sayaka said, slowly picking herself up to sit.

Sung-ho's eyes widened upon hearing the name.

"Genji? Are you sure? You don't have to do this to make me happy."

"Please...It makes me happy too. Genji is a good name."

Sung-ho softly smiled, happy to know she agreed.

"Well, I'll go and run some tests on Lil' Genji to make sure he's a healthy boy. Excuse me, my lord." Camila bowed from her head and exited the room, as did Lindsay before returning to the room she was in.

"Y'know, I really wish everyone could drop the formalities. Being called a Lord has never really been my thing."

"Well, those things just come with the title. I'd say let them, not that I think they'll ever stop. It'd probably be weird for them to address you like your buddies."

"I think I'd prefer that than "your highness"." He said, chuckling as he sat down besides her. He held her hand and continued his soft smile. Together, they waited for Camila to return with Genji.

Hell, Oct. 31st 2000 @12:21 AM. Three light knocks came from the outside door. Right after, Camila returned to the room. Sung-ho immediately stood up to greet her back.

"So, nurse...How's he looking?"

Worry washed over his face after seeing her expression full of solemnity.

"I'm sorry, my lord. But your son has been birthed with a sin."

"A sin? Well, that's great, isn't it? It'll only make him stronger."

Camila shook her head. "No, this sin is the very last thing you would want for your child..."

Camila motioned Genji for Sung-ho to hold. With his baby in his arms, he scanned around to find the marking. Soon, he found it.

"A black circle with...a wolf's paw inside of it?"

"Yes, my lord. The Sin of Wrath is known to have a circle with an "x" in the middle, but it's also known to have odd designs. All the other sins have one set marking, so it has to be Wrath."

"I understand...I could only wonder what the paw could mean. I mean, there has to be a reason for it."

"Yes, I agree, but there's another thing...He also has a rare condition called Instability. Do you know about it?"

"Instability? That's a mental disorder, isn't it?"

"Yes. He'll show less demon-like traits, inability to manage negative emotions, etcetera. In fact, his instability is the reason your son kept crying as loud as he did despite the baby girl in the other room."

"I did notice that, and thought it was strange. But that seems to explain it."

"Fortunately, this condition gets easier to live with and becomes dormant as time passes on, but these first ten years or so will be rough."

"That's..." His sorrowful expression turned into one of hope. "...perfectly fine. Hardships create strong people. I'm sure he'll learn how to manage."

"Wise words, my lord."

There was silence in the room for a brief moment until loud wails from the other room were heard. Moments after they started, Lindsay opened the door to their room.

"Again, huh? She must really want to be next to him." Camila said with a light chuckle.

"Yes, as do the parents. They want to see the magic happen."

She walked into the room, baby in one hand and holding the door with the other. Slowly, a man and a woman holding onto him for help walked in. The man looked up and was stunned.

"L-Lord Sung-ho!! Never in a million years did I expect to ever be in the same building as you!"

Sung-ho observed him and the woman up and down. His eyes sharpened into a scowl.

"Kneel, and do not speak until you are told."

The air in the room grew heavy, and most felt their stomach sink from a growing fear.

"M-My Lord...I would b-but my wife ne-"

"Not going to comply?...A grave mistake. Give me your names."

"It's Retso Tachibana, my lord...And my wife's name is Joy.."

Retso and Joy were unique demons in their own way. Retso has brown hair, a stubble beard and glasses. His unique trait is golden amber eyes. Joy, on the other hand, was likely one of the most interesting demons to exist due to her undemonic trait which is her white hair. Other than that, she is fairly normal with her red eyes.

"Retso and Joy Tachibana, hm?" Sung-ho slowly approached him and his wife, still staring. The two were face to face with the most powerful man in Hell, and all they could do was stand there and see what judgment would be imposed.

His terrifying and stern expression turned into a warming look. His eyes shook off their stiffness, and he gave a small smile.

"Congratulations on the beautiful baby girl, Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana."

Relief came in like a waterfall over them all, besides Sayaka. She knew exactly where he was going with it.

"Excuse him. He thinks acting all big and scary since he's the King is a funny prank. He's a big softie deep down."

"Well, it certainly gave me a big scare." Retso said with a nervous chuckle.

"I wasn't! I would have fought the big man himself if I needed to!" Joy said boldly with a giggle.

"Sorry about her, she isn't afraid to say what's on her mind."

"No need to apologize. That only means she is a strong woman."

Joy smiled from the compliment. Her loud statement also woke Genji up again, which caused him to start crying again. Which in turn caused the girl to start back up again.

"Yeesh, it's never-ending with these two." Lindsay said.

"Well, now we know there's another way to stop it." Camila said in response.

The nurses approached each other with babies in arms and held them close to each other. Like magic, they both began to quiet down, and the girl started to giggle."

"Congrats on the boy, my lord. I bet you feel like the luckiest man in all three realms right now. What's his name?"

"Thank you and believe me, I feel like I'm on top of the world right now. His name is Genji. What's the girl's?"

"Her name is Zoey. We wanted to give her a meaningful name, and we thought Zoey was perfect. A name meaning "life.""

"Life, hm? Well she already seems full of it."

"She got it from her mama!"

There was some small laughter after Joy's comment. Shortly after, Genji and Zoey fell into complete silence, resuming their slumber.

"Retso, Joy, let's keep in touch. I think it's only fair if we become good friends like our children already seem to be. Maybe some months from now we can set up a playdate."

"Oou! I think that's a wonderful idea! I can picture it now. Genji and Zoey playing on a swing set is just the cutest thing ever!"

"Let's wait to see it happen." Retso said with a chuckle.

Before leaving, the parents got to know each other a little more. They separated ways in the parking lots to go home. Sung-ho and Sayaka wanted to get home as soon as possible since they knew there was someone waiting for them to return, increasingly growing tired since it was far past her bedtime. But she wanted to see Genji for herself.

Hell, Oct. 31st 2000 @12:43 AM. The Amasaki Residence is a mansion passed down from ruler to ruler, so it's also known as "Mansion of Kings and Queens". Inside of the living room were two girls watching TV on a couch. Sung-ho opened the door to the living room, which immediately gained the attention of the girls.

"Mommy! Daddy! You're home!" One of the girls exclaimed, rushing off the couch to hug them.

"About time, huh? I was starting to miss my baby girl. Did you have fun with Hina?" Sung-ho asked, getting on one knee to hug his daughter.

"Mmhm! We played lots of games, watched movies, and drew a lot! Hina is really good at drawing!"

"Is that so? I'm glad to hear you had a fun time." He said, standing back up.

"I'm surprised you were able to stay up this late, Katrina."

"I'm super tired, but...I want to see my little sister!" Katrina said excitedly but quietly as to not wake him up.

Katrina is Sayaka's first born child, as well as Sung-ho's fifteenth daughter. She's five years old with black hair and purple eyes. Though purple is not her natural eye color, and are just colored contacts she wears for a specific reason.

"You think it's a girl, huh? Well you'll be pleasantly surprised to see..." Sayaka knelt down in front of Katrina and held Genji out in front of her. "...You have a little brother, Katrina. His name is Genji."

Her eyes widened from shock and excitement. She would have been happy with a younger sister, but she had hope for a brother. And she was beyond ecstatic she got what she wished for.

"Can I hold him?"

"Of course you can. Hold your hands out."

Katrina did as she was told, and held Genji without being told how. She had practiced holding a baby using her dolls weeks before.

"Hi Genji, it's me, Katrina! I'm your big sister, and we're going to have tons of fun together. We'll eat and play, and I'll always help you with homework because sometimes it's hard! Most of all, I'll always protect you so you never have to be scared of anything. I love you!" Katrina loudly whispered to make sure he heard.

Genji reacted to her words but softly giggling and reaching his hand up to her face, but his arm came back down and his giggling stopped after a few moments.

"I think he was trying to take my nose!" Katrina said, giggling as she gave Genji back to her mother.

"Maybe, but it looks like he was too tired. So I think we should all head to bed."

Katrina nodded and went straight to her room to change, leaving the adults alone.

"Birthing a boy? That's amazing. Congratulations, my lords." Hina said, standing up from the couch. She was too stunned to speak until now.

"Thank you, Hina. And thank you for watching over Katrina all this time, so..." Sung-ho dug into his pocket and took out a money envelope.

"O-Oh, don't worry about it. The agency pays me."

"I know, but baby-sitting wasn't stated as part of your services. So please take this for going the extra mile. We really appreciate it."

"My lord, please understand that anything you request of me I will do, even if it doesn't line up with what my job is. I feel as though my true role is to serve your family in all matters until I die."

"My family? I figured you would serve the next King or Queen once I'm finished."

"Well, that's how it's supposed to go...but..." Hina looked away, getting a bit red in the face. "Of all the people I've served, you and your family have been the most kind to me. Offering all sorts of things, and even inviting me for dinner from time to time...So I'd like to only serve the Amasakis, if that's okay."

Hina was born into a lineage of demons that served the Kings and Queens of Hell. She was average height with short black hair and brown eyes. Sung-ho was surprised to see her get flustered since her voice and expression is monotone.

"If that's what you want, then no one will stop you. In fact, I'm happy you want to stick with us."

Hina's face grew even more red, but before she did or said anything embarrassing, she bowed.

"Thank you, my lord. I'll be on my way now."

She began walking to the exit, but Sung-ho held the money envelope in front of her.

"Don't forget about this, or else I'll just have to transfer this into your bank account."

Knowing there was no escaping the money, she gratefully took it. "Th-Thank you!" She said before leaving the room.

"Well, now we know we'll always have someone reliable for the family." Sayaka said, to which Sung-ho agreed. "Let's get to bed."

Sayaka kissed him on his cheek and left the room for the master bedroom.

"Gladly, I'm beat."

At the end of the night. Sayaka, Sung-ho, and Katrina slept together in the master bedroom with Genji beside them in his crib.

Sung-ho couldn't be happier, he was with the true love of his life and has completed his family. He figured his life would be smooth sailing from here on out.

But this isn't about Sung-ho, Sayaka, or Katrina. This is the story of Genji, who in just a couple years from now would be subjected to sorrow and misery again and again.