Authors note: So, I just recently got done watching Guilty Crown, and I have to say, I was blown away. The story was amazing, although there were sometimes when I was able to draw parallels to other works; the music was captivating, and the art enchanting. So, when I came to see what kind of community there was for it on this site, I was a little disappointed to see it wasn't getting the amount of love I thought it should be. As such I have decided to throw in my own two cents and create a story of my own! Since most of the stories I see are about changing the ending, or just showing after the show left off, I decided to go to the other extreme, and change things from before the show! Now, without further ado I am happy to present: The tale of Adam!

Tokyo July 15 2022

Kurosu Ouma was a frantic man, although many would find it hard to blame him given the circumstances. He was desperately attempting to create a vaccine for an extra-terrestrial virus, no easy task as said virus seemed to have no similarities to virus strains found on earth, and was spending sleepless nights hoping he could crack this one's code. To an outsider, this would look like an impassioned scientist hoping to prevent an outbreak of a dangerous disease, however to those close to Kurosu, whose number could be counted on two hands, there was a reason to his madness.

When Kurosu had first been told of the mysterious rock that his wife Saeko and daughter Mana had found while on one of their nature hikes on their island home in Oshima, he had been instantly intrigued, there had been what seemed like a meteorite crash a few days before. When Kurosu and his longtime friend Shuichiro went to investigate, they were stunned by their discovery, the crystalized rock was giving off a Genomic Resonance! After quickly heading back to Tokyo and the university, they had immediately began to run tests, soon finding out the rock carried a virus able to contaminate the introns of an individual after being exposed to a Genomic Resonance. While the two friends would have been quite happy to discover all they could about this new form of pseudo-life, Kurosu would soon be given information that would change his perspective entirely.

After receiving a mysterious message to meet at an abandoned university building, Kurosu thinking there was something odd going on, invited Shuichiro to come with him. Inside they were confronted by a young man, who seemed to be barely older than a high school student, he had shoulder length messy blonde hair, bright, mischievous, blue eyes, and wore a simple white lab coat. There the young man, calling himself Yu, revealed his reason for contacting him, that his wife was infected with the newly named Apocalypse Virus, the young man also said his unborn child had bonded with the virus, and he would be the one to bring about the fourth apocalypse, with his older sister as the "Eve" to his "Adam".

However well the young man tried to sugar coat what he said there was one undeniable fact, there was so far a one hundred percent mortality rate for lab rats they had experimented on, which did not leave good odds for his beloved wife. As such he had practically closed himself off to the outside world, trying everything possible to save his currently hospitalized wife. The last time he had seen her a weak ago, her naturally full and vibrant face had turned into a gaunt visage, with her skin seeming paper thin and stretched over her face. He had also seen the crystals, which had seemed to become the diseases calling card, growing at the sides of her head. Kurosu furiously typed more commands into his computer, offhandedly wondering if he should have taken the young boy and Da'ath up on their offer, if only to garner more resources.

These thoughts were driven from his head however, when he heard his phone ring, giving it a quick glance he had almost turned back to work, dismissing the matter as inconsequential, before his eyes widened and he made a mad dash for the piece of plastic. Hitting the accept call button he pressed the phone to his ear, speaking in a hurried matter he said "Hello? This is Kurosu Ouma, is my wife alright? Did anything happen to Saeko?" Hearing the speakers answer his face becomes grim and fearful before responding "She has? Alright I understand, I'll be there right away." Not bothering to end the call Kurosu dashes for the door, hurriedly making his way to his car. As he makes the drive to the hospital on the relatively empty streets of midday Tokyo his mind races with possibilities, would his son be stillborn because of this blasted virus? Would the strain of labor accelerate it in his wife? Taking a deep breath he forces himself to clear his mind, to only focus on the here and now.

As he hurried in he moved quickly to the maternity ward, after arriving he sat in the waiting room provided. He hadn't contacted anyone in his rush to arrive so his only companion in his wait was the drip from the coffee machine. After calling the sitter he hired to watch after Mana to bring her, and waiting for another couple of hours, he finally was called out by the doctor who had delivered Mana, Saeko said she trusted him more than a total stranger.

Wringing his hands in front of the stoic doctor Kurosu finally broke down and asked in a worried voice "How is she? How is Saeko? How is the baby?"

The man merely sighed, taking a cloth and wiping his forehead before saying "The baby is fine. He is a perfectly healthy baby boy, he shows no outward signs of having the disease his mother had, so that is alright. As for Saeko however…" Here he looked to the ground before clasping Kurosu by the shoulder, giving him a strong squeeze before continuing "We did all we could Kurosu, but her constitution was already frail from the disease, added with the exertion of giving birth…I'm afraid there was nothing that could be done. She had Sudden Cardiac Arrest soon after your son was born." Feeling the younger man's shoulder shake underneath him he said nothing more, merely standing in sympathy for a man who had the love of his life taken far too soon.

Kurosu futilely tried to wipe away from his face and in a voice periodically broken by sobs he said "Can I…Can I see her? One last time?" Seeing the man give him a slight nod, he allowed himself to be led down the hall. Walking into the small room, he saw his wife, eyes closed, almost peaceful in her faux-sleep. Walking over he clasped her hand falling to his knees he began to sob as he said "Oh Saeko, I'm so sorry. If only I had worked harder, I should have figured it out sooner. And now you're…you're…" Here his sobs became incomprehensive babbling as he began to truly grieve for his lost love.

After he had calmed down the doctor spoke up "Your son has been checked out, would you like to see him? He still needs a name." After receiving a nod the man left to get the as of yet unnamed boy.

Hearing the door open Kurosu glanced over to see his daughter walk in, her eyes wide with childish innocence. Seeing her he gave her a small smile, sitting down in the chair provided he opened his arms and allowed his now eldest child to leap into his arms. Seeing her glance over at the bed Kurosu sighed, knowing he would have to explain to a little girl why her mother wasn't with them anymore, the mere thought of it caused his eyes to water, and his breath starting to shake.

Luckily he was saved from his explanation by the doctor coming back with a bundle of blankets, that were oddly enough silent. Hearing nothing from the spot where his child was supposed to be caused a strike of fear to shoot through his heart, seeing his distress the doctor quickly said in a quiet voice "It's alright Kurosu, he is asleep. Looks like the day tired him out." Handing the child to his father, the doctor decided to give the newly broken family some time alone, before walking out however he turned back around and asked "Pardon me for asking, but is there a name you had in mind for him?"

Kurosu looked down at the sleeping child in his arms, seeing his serene face that was extremely similar to his own. Thinking back on his life, he realized he had been by himself for the majority of it, the first real connections he made were with Saeko who was gone now, and Shuichiro who had drifted away from him ever since the meeting with Yu. His entire life he had not been a part of a group, and threw himself into science, which had led to this whole situation. If there was one thing he wished would not happen to his own child, that he would not be secluded like he had. That his son would find a group of loyal friends to support him.

"Shu" he muttered to himself, thinking of the exact word for what he was thinking of. Looking up at the doctor he answered "My sons name, it will be Shu Ouma."

The doctor nodded as he wrote a note for himself saying as he was walking out the door "It's quite a nice name isn't it? Shu."

Shu

Shu

"Shu! Wake up sleepy head! Me and Triton have already gotten dressed!"

Shu Ouma, a boy of only seven years old jolted out of his bed, feeling his heartbeat skyrocket as his ears begin to ring. He silently glared at his older sister, who only gave him an insufferable smile as she skipped away happily whistling a tune. Standing up he began to get dressed, fuming at the way his sister decided to wake him up. Thinking about his sister and Triton being alone together, his frown deepened and he began getting dressed even faster. He didn't know why, but lately he began feeling more angry whenever he thought of his two closest people alone together, especially with the ways he had seen Triton stare at Mana whenever they had gone swimming.

Quickly moving into the bathroom to brush his teeth, his movement quickly stopped, as he stared wide eyed at his reflection. Moving his hair away from the base of his neck, trailing his hand over the spot now in plain view. Seeming to grow out of his skin was what looked like blue colored crystals, scratching at it revealed it to be as much part of his skin as the rest of it. Deciding to cover it up he grabbed a Band-Aid and placed it over the crystals. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, feeling fear begin to creep up his spine when all of a sudden he heard "Better hurry, we don't want to leave Mana alone with Triton too long do we? If we spend too long worrying about it he may begin trying to do…adult things….to her." Jumping up Shu began looking all around, trying to locate the voice, when his eyes moved slowly to the mirror and looking in silent horror at what was there.

Staring back at him was himself, yet at the same time, not. This version of him was wearing a too wide grin, his eyes staring unblinkingly back at him. This time when he spoke, it was a little off, like his voice was a pitch or two higher than what it was supposed to be. "What's the matter now? We need to hurry, make sure Triton doesn't do anything to our Mana." The way he said Mana's name made Shu feel odd, he was practically caressing every syllable, his voice dropping low when he did.

"Who, who are you? Why do you look like me?" Shu spoke in a near whisper that did nothing to hide the intensity of his questioning. However the other Shu's smile seemed to stretch even wider, as if amused at his questioning.

And before Shu could question him again he heard Haruka call "Shu? Hurry down, your breakfast is getting cold." His head snapped to the door where he heard Haruka talk to him from, before whipping back to the mirror and the other Shu, who was mysteriously gone, replaced with Shu's normal reflection.

Shaking away the fear in his chest and chalking his experience up to still being half asleep before calling back "Yeah Haruka, just finishing up!" Splashing some water on his face to wake himself up, and ran downstairs. Seeing Mana and Triton sitting down he fought down the urge to sit in between them, he decided to do the exact opposite and sat down next to Haruka. Scarfing down his food as quickly as possible, the children said their goodbyes to Haruka and decided to spend their last day on Oshima in the expansive forest that covered most of the island.

After about an hour of aimlessly roaming the urban land of the island, Shu felt and odd feeling come over him, without his bidding his legs began to take him away from Mana and Triton. He heard them call out to him but it was distant, as if they were very far away, or speaking through a bad connection. By the time the feeling left he found himself being shaken by Triton while Mana called his name. Looking around with wide eyes he yawned and asked "Triton? Mana? What's the matter? I thought we were gonna explore a bit?"

"Shu, you completely zoned out, you didn't react at all when we said your name. You've been completely zoned out for like, ten minutes. Are you alright?" Mana walked over and pulled him into her chest, feeling his forehead to see if he had a fever. After squirming away he looked around where they had ended up, he was about to walk away when he had suddenly felt a pulse go through his body. Looking around he saw nothing but still felt a strong connection to this area.

Suddenly a whisper went through his mind "This is it, where you became who you are. Who we are." Looking around wildly he saw nothing but Mana and Triton standing together waiting for him. Unable to stop himself he ran up and shot in between them and grabbed both of their hands, preventing them from getting too close. Ignoring the apologetic look Mana sent Triton, and the subsequent feeling of anger that followed he took off, dragging the two others behind him.

As the sun set on their last day the three children sat on a seaside cliff, Shu with his head on Mana's lap, watching the waves crash on the coast, and Triton and Mana leaning backwards, Triton's hand covering Mana's , giving her a soft smile that she returned.

After seeing Shu fall asleep Triton took a deep breath, and prepared himself for what he was about to do. In the short time he had spent with the Ouma family he had grown to care for each member differently, Haruka became a surrogate mother, Kurosu with his random visits from the lab was like an eccentric uncle, Shu was like a younger brother that he wanted to protect, despite the way odd way he had been acting as of late, and Mana was the one he had the strongest feelings for, loving the kind and caring nature she had, always fretting about Shu whenever he wasn't close by.

As such, he had decided that today, as their last day on the island that they met, he would tell Mana about the feelings he had been hiding from both her and Shu, as well as his concerns for Shu's behavior. Lately he had seemed to be becoming more and more possessive of Mana, like earlier when he had purposefully gotten in between them, or last week when he had wedged himself between them while on the couch. He didn't think the boy was doing it on purpose, Shu had seemed to take after Mana when it was necessary for him to be caring instead of his normal adventurous self. But that didn't change the fact that there was something off with his surrogate brother, and he needed to know what it was, and it was likely that Mana would know what it was.

Looking over he was startled to find Mana looking at him with curious eyes, finding himself tongue tied he could do nothing as she asked "Triton? What's wrong? You were looking like something was bothering you, did some ants crawl into your pants?" Although she started with a serious, caring face, by the end her face had cracked into a half-grin she tried to keep down and giggles she kept hidden with her hand.

Feeling his cheeks flush in embarrassment he quickly stuttered out "N-no! Not at all! What would make you think of something like that!" Ignoring the now audible laughs that left her, Triton took a deep breath and said "No, I'm actually worried about Shu." Seeing her expectant gaze he continued "Haven't you noticed how odd he's been as of late? Earlier he was completely out of it, he's never been like that before. I was wondering if it is just something that happens every now and again, you've been with Shu for his whole life so I thought you might know."

Mana seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before she moved the hand that wasn't with Triton's to begin to pet Shu's head. Speaking in a soft tone she said "No, nothing like this at least. When he was really young he did some odd things, like that time we lost him in a department store when he was three. We don't know how but he managed to find us, when we asked him how he said some weird voice calling him prince told him where to go." Chuckling she continued "He demanded we call him that for three whole weeks. But no, nothing this bad, honestly, it's scaring me a bit." Still running her hands through Shu's hair, Mana let her voice trail off.

Triton took another deep breath, deciding to take some of the courage Shu always seemed to have and finally tell her. At least he was going to before he saw Mana stiffen and stop touching Shu, not noticing anything wrong with the boy he asked "Mana? Are you alr-"

Before he could finish Mana was already standing, holding Shu the way a mother might hold a young baby. As she began to walk away she said over her shoulder "Well Triton? Are you coming?" Not waiting for a response she kept going, her mind running a mile a minute. Remember the exact texture of the rocks that seem to have become part of Shu. She was curious what he was hiding underneath the bandage, she thought he had been trying to be older by shaving with Haruka's razor, she definitely didn't expect those rocks to be on his skin. She knew those rocks by feeling alone, they were the ones that had been on mothers skin right before she was brought to the hospital. Deciding she would tell her father the first chance she got when they made it to Tokyo, she had lost her mother because of those rocks, she wouldn't lose her little brother to them as well.

That night as all in the house were resting for their trip the next day, Shu suddenly sat up, casting a quick glance toward the still sleeping Triton he stood up and walked into the hallway. Walking into Mana's room he stood over her, watching her sleep he brought his hand up to stroke the side of her face. Speaking in a quiet tone he said "Oh Eve, you are the closest to the Prince genetically, which makes you the best to rule with him. However," Here his hand moved to her neck, palm ghosting over the pale skin as he continued "you are finding out too much too soon. If you keep pushing, the Prince will soon break, and mature too quickly. I hope you don't push for much longer, otherwise….well, there are plenty of women on this planet, I'm sure one of them could match up well enough."

Suddenly Mana began to move, stirring awake, causing him to snatch his hand away. Staring up with sleep blurred eyes Mana mumbled "Shu? What are you doing here?"

Shu's eyes began to water, his lower lip trembling, and his hands fidgeting, as he said "Mana? I had a bad dream, can I sleep with you?" Seeing her give a warm, almost motherly, smile she opened the blanket and allowed Shu to fall asleep next to her, hoping his dreams would return to their childish innocence.

Tokyo, December 24th, 2029 A.D.

Mana tapped her foot as she waited in the church in the Ruppongi district, waiting for Haruka and father to return. She had sent Haruka to find her father, he had probably gotten distracted by something in the lab, or had fallen asleep after an all-nighter. She was desperate to tell him about Shu, she didn't want to tell Haruka because her father was a scientist, and he said he was working on a cure for what happened to mother. If he had it, then he could quickly give it to Shu and stop history from repeating itself.

Hearing the doors creak open, Mana excitedly turned to them, only for her expression to falter after seeing the head of blonde hair signifying it was Triton, not her father coming in. Hearing him cautiously call out "Mana? Are you here?" she breathed a deep sigh and stepped away from the pew she had been sitting on. Walking over she heard his happy cry as his footsteps approached her at the front of the church.

Right before he was about to say something, Mana broke through the silence and said, pointing up at the model of the crucifixion "Do you know the story of how he got there?" Waiting for him to shake his head she continued "Some people didn't like the things he said, so they wanted to hurt him. They managed to convince one of his close friends, a man named Judas, to turn him in. So then they put him up on this cross, as their punishment, but he forgave them, for everything wrong they had ever done. He took all of their hate, their sadness, all the things that made them sad, even though it hurt himself to do it. And because of that, we thank him by giving to our fellow man, to show his sacrifice wasn't in vain." Seeing his wide eyed look at her rather lengthy explanation she finished "Or at least, that's how Haruka explained it."

The two sat in silence once again before Triton broke it by saying "Haruka is weird." At those words the two broke down in unintelligible giggles, their laughter echoing through the empty church. After calming down, Triton decided to say what had been burning in his mind since yesterday. Taking a deep breath to steel his nerves he said "Mana, I've been around you and Shu for a while now. And it has been the best time of my life, I've grown to see Shu as a little brother. But for you, I don't feel like you are family, I have these feelings in my chest, and they won't go away. What I'm trying to say Mana, is that….I like you!" As he spoke, both Mana and Triton failed to hear the church doors opening, something they would both come to regret.

Shu walked down the path toward to the church Mana told him to come to, admiring the cherry blossoms that lined the path. As he began to push open the doors , he began to hear snippets of what sounded like Triton talking, wondering what he was doing here when Mana had told him in private. As he opened the doors he heard Triton say "….Mana, is that…I like you!" Hearing him say those words caused Shu to freeze, and a pit to form in his stomach, he had seen enough sappy romance movies with Mana to know that meant she and Triton would be getting married now. While this should have caused him to be happy to know that Triton would soon be a real part of his family, but for some reason he was hoping Mana would say no, that she would stay with him, not leave him like she would if she went with Triton.

However, his hopes were crushed when he heard Mana say, while stuttering and with cheeks the same color as her hair "Triton….this, this is so sudden. But…I do like you too, a lot!" When this reached his ears, Shu felt like his heart was cracked in two, now his sister, HIS Mana was going to leave! She was going to leave and never come back, and it was all Triton's fault! Without realizing it his breath had begun to speed up, the bandage hiding his crystals bursting off as they grew in size and started to spread. Finally unable to keep his pain silent he let out a loud scream, simultaneously creating a shockwave that knocked over the candles lit all over the church.

Alerted by the scream and the pulse of air accompanying it, Mana and Triton turned to see Shu doubled over, clutching his arms, looking the epitome of the word pain. Feeling scared for the young boy Triton immediately called out to him, "Shu! Get over here! Are you alright?" When he didn't respond Triton started to walk towards him, Mana not too far behind. Right as he was about to touch Shu's shoulder, the boy's head shot up and screamed, creating another blast that pushed them back, stoking the fallen candles to the point where they started to spread around.

"Get away from me! Traitor! You took Mana from me! Stay away!" Shu repeated these words to Triton many times, leaving the older boy in shock and unable to respond. When Mana tried to get close and comfort her obviously ailing younger brother he turned his fury to her "You! You were mine! You were my sister! Only mine! But you chose him! Him over me!" As he spoke, he lost what little control over his emotions he had left, the crystal that had up till now stayed hidden underneath his hair now spread out, beginning to cover his face, forming a mask of sorts.

This quick growth startled the two, especially Triton, who was unfamiliar with said rocks and afraid of the effect Shu's part normal, part monster face had on him. Scrambling back until his back his a pew he pointed his hand up at Shu and stuttered out "Mon-mo-monster!"

Feeling the hurt caused by the words thrown by his former friend, Shu reached his hand up to his face, his eyes widening when he realized the rocks on his neck had spread. Suddenly his eyes turned to Mana, searching her own, when he only found fear in her eyes he looked down at his hands, seeing the rocks begin to overtake one of them. Clutching his hands to his head he began to chant "Make it go away. Make it go away. Make it all go away!"

Suddenly, the voice from the other day appeared, its calm tone soothing his weary mind as it said "Are you sure that is what you wish for young Prince? What about Mana? Is she not the one you want beside you?" Shu looked up at Mana, the fear still prevalent in her eyes, and he shook his head, curling into the fetal position after he had done so. "As you wish, my lord." Suddenly Shu's body was jerked up, like a marionette with an inept puppeteer, staring at the two of them with a too wide grin. The voice that only Shu could hear suddenly found a willing throat and said "It really is too bad Mana, you could have been Eve and ruled forever with Shu. But you have given it all away to be with that peasant!" The voice practically spat the word peasant, stretching Shu's arms out the voice finished "Now then, would you kindly….DIE!"

Suddenly a concussive wave hit them, much larger than any that had come before, the very foundations of the church groaned before collapsing, Shu's body being thrown away from Mana and Triton. The wave stretched all the way to the outskirts of the district, many were killed by the debris flying around, others suddenly found their bodies crystalized, before shattering and blowing away with the wind, unwittingly spreading the virus to other hosts. After the wave died down, the aftermath left the district in shambles, most buildings were left in ruins, most people were left dead or dying in the street, at least, those who weren't crystalized and spread on the winds of the island nation.

Surveying the destruction was one blonde haired being, one who held the looks of a teen. Stepping off a skyscraper he gently floated down, defying the very laws of nature, stepping onto the rubble of the former Ruppongi district. Walking over to a small body, strewn haphazardly on a couple of rocks, he gently grabbed the body and laid him on his back. Picking his phone out of his pocket he dialed a number from the speed-dial, laying it on his ear he said "Shuichiro? Yes, drop all of your experiments and get me the next flight out of Japan. Where are you? Really? Then meet up with me where we first met, it seems our King has awoken. Where am I headed? To Da'ath HQ, you mean specifically? Well you should have asked then! We are headed to Israel. See you soon Shuichiro!" Closing the phone he looked over his shoulder and said "Looks like things will be quite interesting with you young King….quite interesting indeed."

Well, that's the start off to this story, I've had this idea stuck in my head for days! So, how will the story change with Shu as patient zero? How will Da'ath and the GHQ act now that they have their chosen one on deck? All these things and more will be revealed as our story progresses! So, if you have any questions, comments, or critiques please place a review so I can see them! This chapter wasn't beta'ed, so any mistakes are all on me, also if anyone would like to beta this story, please tell me!

So, as always, stay classy internet!