Disclaimer: I do not own Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End). I write this for your enjoyment only. On another note, this story is a direct sequel to my previous fem!Yuu fic, "Who She is Within" and I strongly recommend newcomers to this fic to read that one first because I will be making many references to it throughout the story which will be an alternate version of the Shibuya/Shinjuku arc. This is intentional on my part because I want to make things different and interesting instead of parroting the canon timeline with just Yuu's gender swapped. I would also like to thank my beta reader, ResidentialPsycho of DeviantArt for her help in making this fic possible. Enjoy and please review!

Broken Bridges, Mended Hearts

Chapter 1: Swordmaiden of the Demon Army

October 16, 2020

"Hey, big brother Yuu? Will you take us to America with you someday?" Little Aiko asked as she tugged on Yuichiro's short livestock uniform sleeve while her big "brother" was sweeping the living room floor of their humble little home.

Yuichiro smiled as she set down the broom she was using and easily lifted her youngest orphanage sister into her arms before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course, I will if I ever get the chance," she answered cheerfully while spinning Aiko around in the air, making the younger girl squeal with delight.

Akane, whose ears had picked up the sound of her orphanage sisters laughing from the kitchen, stepped into the living room and could not help laughing herself when she witnessed the scene. But as much as she hated to ruin the moment, Akane required Yuichiro's help in the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"Hey, Aiko, can I borrow Yuu for a minute?" she called cheerfully while waving to catch the older girl's attention.

Taking the hint, Yuichiro put Aiko down before ruffling her short brown hair and turning to Akane.

"Yes, Akane? What do you need?"

"I need a bit of help in the kitchen if you don't mind."

"Of course not," Yuu answered. Turning back to Aiko, she bent over and gave the younger girl a playful light flick on the nose. "I have to go help Akane now so that you, Mika, and the others can have dinner soon, ok?"

"Ok, Yuu! I'll go get Chihiro to help set up the table!" the younger girl said gleefully before running off to find their blue-haired sister.

After Aiko left, Yuichiro followed Akane into the kitchen where she was making vegetable soup. It was going to be a simple dinner as always but nobody complained. Since their arrival in Sanguinem, the Hyakuya children were grateful to have anything decent to eat at all and greatly appreciate the efforts of Mika, Yuu, and Akane to provide for them.

As they watched Mikaela and the younger kids help each other set up the dinner table together from the kitchen doorway while waiting for the soup to cook, Akane placed a hand on Yuichiro's shoulder.

"The kids really look up to you, Yuichiro. I hope you'll tell them the truth someday…" she said gently.

Knowing exactly what her sister meant, Yuu nodded as she placed her hand over Akane's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I will, Akane... when I'm ready..." she promised quietly.

The brunette girl turned and looked at Yuu for a moment. "Hmm…ok, I trust you."

Though it was a promise Yuichiro Hyakuya fully intended to keep, she would never get the chance…

Especially now that her precious family's lifeless corpses laid on the tile floor all around her at the gates of Sanguinem…

"I can't just leave you! We were going to see America together, remember?!"

"Just go, you idiot! You can see America for me. Now go…" Mika pleaded.

One last kiss and a confession…

"I love you, Mikaela…good-bye…"

And a life left behind…

No… I don't want to go… but I had no choice. They were all dead… And there was nothing I could do, nothing!

SSSSSS

"Hey, Miss Hyakuya! It isn't wise to space out while we're outside the walls!"

Yuichiro gasped and her eyes shot open when she heard her fellow guardsman and school classmate of nearly four years, Satoshi Hiwatari *1*, call out to her. Both of them were clad in the black and green uniform of the Japanese Imperial Army with Yuichiro wearing a female version consisting of a concealing one-piece dress and cape with the exception of a short pleated skirt to allow for freedom of movement. But since she hated having the skin of her legs exposed, Yuichiro also wore thigh-high stockings in addition to her knee-high black leather boots. Her long raven hair was tied in a low ponytail she wore under the cap that was part of her guard uniform.

"I'm sorry, Sato," she apologized. "I just needed a minute…"

Satoshi's brow furrowed in concern. They had been on guard duty outside the walls for the last few hours and their shift was almost over now that it was approaching midnight. So far, it had been an uneventful night but he suspected that Yuu might be tired or unwell for some reason.

"Are you ok, Yuichiro? If you aren't feeling well, you should've just taken the night off. I'm sure Daisuke, Takeshi, and I would have been ok without you at least for tonight. And it's your birthday, too."

"I'm fine, Sato," the girl insisted as she rested a gloved hand on the hilt of her sword. "As for my birthday, don't worry about that; it's not like I see it as anything special to celebrate."

Although she did not state the reason, Yuichiro's birthday was also the anniversary of the night she lost her first family, the Hyakuya orphans. Even now, the ravenette was still tormented by the fact that her freedom, her very life, costed them theirs, even if it was something she had absolutely no control over.

And after spending the last four years of her life with a new family, Yuichiro had to leave them behind as well when she was accepted into the Shibuya Guard and moved into a dormitory near JIDA Headquarters while attending Shibuya High School. She had passed the entry exam into the Demon Army a few months ago with flying colors and now set her sights on joining the Moon Demon Company which would require her to take an additional (and more difficult) entry exam, one she was currently studying rigorously for.

Satoshi was startled at Yuichiro's comment. He knew it was normal for older people to disregard their own birthdays by the time they reach a certain age but his fellow guard was only sixteen, an age celebrated especially by girls.

"You know, you sound kind of like an old lady when you say that, Yuu. You're sixteen, not sixty for Christ's sake," the blue-haired boy said in astonishment. *2*

Yuichiro glared at him. "Never mind that," she said, not appreciating his joke. "We still have a guard duty shift to complete if you haven't noticed."

Satoshi sighed and raised his hands in the air as if acknowledging defeat. Although he was concerned for Yuichiro, he knew better than to argue with the girl when her mind was made up about anything. Unless Satoshi was her superior officer, which he was not, Yuichiro had no reason to heed his words and they both knew it.

"Ok, ok, fine. Sheesh, why do you have to be so difficult sometimes, Yuu? After knowing each other for almost four years, I'd think you'd loosen up a bit and learn to take a joke by now."

Yuichiro gave him a blank look. "Loosen up? I find it a bit hard to 'loosen up' around someone who bribed Takeshi Saehara to pull up my skirt just to see if I was really a girl," she snorted.

Satoshi rolled his eyes. "Seriously, are you still bitter about that, Yuichiro? We did say we were sorry and gave you some presents so why can't you let bygones be bygones?"

Before Yuu could answer, they heard an alarmed Daisuke Niwa calling from behind them.

"Yuu! Sato! Look out, a Four Horseman of John has appeared!"

"Shit!" Yuu cursed as she quickly withdrew her blade from its sheath in one fluid motion and prepared to charge toward the gigantic white arachnid-like monster that just broke through a nearby billboard. And from the looks of it, the creature was hungry and looking for some fresh meat, namely the group of guards before it.

Alarmed, Satoshi attempted to grab Yuichiro by the shoulder and hold her back.

"Not so fast!" he warned. "You mustn't fight that thing alone! Let the guys cover your back first!"

Although he didn't mean anything by it, the ravenette took her fellow guardsman's words the wrong way as she did any comment she believed cast her ability to fight in doubt simply because of her sex.

"What? You don't think I can take that damn monster down just because I'm a girl? Well, screw you, Satoshi Hiwatari!" Yuichiro snapped as she broke free of his grip and charged towards the menacing creature alone with her sword drawn.

Although he tried to stop Yuichiro only because he didn't want to see her get hurt needlessly, Satoshi knew he had unwittingly struck a nerve with the girl by his comment and realized it too late.

Despite what Satoshi, Daisuke, and Takeshi thought, Yuichiro was able to take down the monster alone by striking a weak spot between its eyes and driving her sword into its brain before slicing it clean in half while ignoring the dark blood splashing over her. And easily too considering that she had studied the monsters that were unleashed upon mankind after the apocalypse at great length.

After the monster's lifeless body collapse to the ground, Yuichiro removed her sword and shook the blood off the blade with a single swiping gesture before sliding it back into the sheath at her belt.

When Satoshi, Daisuke, and Takeshi finally caught up to her and confirmed that the monster was indeed dead, they found themselves reprehending their fellow guard for her reckless though successful, act.

"That was horribly reckless, Yuu!" Takeshi exclaimed.

"Not to mention an act of insubordination," Daisuke added with his arms crossed. "You know we'll have to report this to the higher ups when we get back, don't you?"

Yuichiro narrowed her eyes at her fellow guards but appeared unfazed by the warning.

"I don't care," she said coolly. "Do what you will. But never underestimate me just because I'm female again, understand?"

Satoshi clapped a hand to his head in frustration. "Dammit, Yuu, I didn't mean it like that! Why do you always have to take everything I say the wrong way?"

"Must be PMS…" Takeshi muttered. That comment got him a glare from the other two boys as well as Yuichiro herself. By now, they all knew the brunette boy had an unfortunate tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and making a bad situation even worse.

"Like you would know anything about that, Saehara!" Yuu snapped as she turned around and prepared to go back inside the walls. "Anyway, I believe our shift is now over and I for one could use a hot meal and bath. Good night, boys!"

And with that, Yuichiro Hyakuya left her fellow guards and classmates without another word.

After she was gone and out of earshot, Daisuke sighed in frustration. "Seriously, working with girls can such a pain, even if it is Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose's orders," he said.

"Well, if you ask me, I guess it's probably his way of punishing us for what we did to Yuichiro back in seventh grade," Satoshi confessed.

"It's times like this I wish Yuu really was a boy," Takeshi added. "Wasn't she listening when our superiors told us never to act alone when engaging the enemy?"

"Heh, there's no guarantee she would be any easier to deal with even if she was one of the guys; we've all dealt with our fair share of difficult male comrades as well," Satoshi pointed out before getting to the more important issue at hand.

"Anyway, we better head on back. So who'll do the honors and report Yuu's act of insubordination to her guardian?"

The other two boys were silent. No one really wanted to answer that, including Satoshi himself. Maybe it was the still-lingering guilt over the skirt-pulling prank they played on Yuichiro years ago in addition to the fact that it was also her birthday but they all knew it was something that had to be done.

"How about we draw straws for that, Sato?" Takeshi suggested quietly. That was the smartest thing he said all night.

"Good idea, Takeshi," Daisuke snorted before holding his hand out to the other boy. "You got any straws?"

The brunette boy looked down in embarrassment at suggesting a plan they didn't have the means to carry out.

"Umm… not really," he confessed.

"Ok, how about paper, rocks, and scissors? First one out gets to tell the lieutenant colonel," Satoshi suggested.

The other boys nodded. "Agreed," they said.

Footnotes:

1. Satoshi Hiwatari, Daisuke Niwa, and Takeshi Saehara are major characters in another one of my favorite anime series, DN Angel, and will be making cameo appearances in my AU OnS fic. They also appeared in my prequel "Who She is Within".

2. About 3 million people in Japan are Christians so after the apocalypse, some may survive and mention Christ in difficult or awkward situations.