The afternoon sun cast long shadows through the windows of Mark's childhood home as Goku appeared on the front porch, a small boy with intelligent eyes holding his hand.
Debbie had gone out with a friend of hers - trying to return to some sense of normalcy after everything - leaving the house quiet and peaceful.
Goku knocked once before letting himself in, guiding the child through the doorway with gentle pressure on his shoulder.
"Lelouch? Mikasa?" he called, his voice carrying through the house. "I'm back. And I've brought someone."
Footsteps sounded from upstairs, and moments later Lelouch appeared at the top of the staircase, his expression shifting from casual interest to sharp focus as he noticed the child.
Mikasa emerged from the kitchen, a glass of water in her hand, her dark eyes immediately assessing the newcomer.
"This is Light," Goku introduced, his hand still resting on the boy's shoulder. "Light Yagami."
Light stood perfectly still under their scrutiny, his posture impeccable despite his youth.
He appeared to be around ten years old, with neat brown hair and eyes that seemed far too calculating for a child.
He was dressed in simple clothes that showed signs of recent wear but had clearly been meticulously maintained.
"Hello," Light said, his voice polite and measured. "It's nice to meet you."
Lelouch descended the stairs, his violet eyes never leaving the boy.
Something about this child triggered his instincts - a familiar sense of recognition, like looking into a mirror that reflected a younger version of himself.
Not physically, but in essence - a mind that constantly calculated, analyzed, planned.
"Where's Mark?" Goku asked, glancing around the house.
Lelouch and Mikasa exchanged a quick look.
"He went out," Mikasa said, her voice carefully neutral. "To think."
Goku's expression didn't change, but something in his eyes sharpened. "Sit down, everyone. We have things to discuss."
He guided Light to the living room sofa. "But first, introductions. Light, these are my children - Lelouch and Mikasa."
Light nodded politely to each of them. "Are you also... like me?" he asked, his question vague yet pointed. Trying to test out how much Goku knows about him, and what the other two are.
"Like you?" Lelouch asked, taking a seat across from the boy, his posture relaxed while his mind remained alert.
Goku settled into an armchair, his presence somehow filling the room despite his casual demeanor. "Light is a reincarnator, like you three. Around your age - when both lives' ages are collected - though nothing compared to myself."
He smiled slightly at this. "He's a shinigami - a supposed god of death, but of course, as much a god as myself."
"So not at all, in your estimation," Lelouch commented dryly, familiar with Goku's denial of his divine nature despite all evidence to the contrary in Lelouch's eyes.
'A god of death?' Lelouch thought, studying the boy more intently. 'Interesting. Though if he's truly a shinigami, why does he look human? And more importantly, why would Goku bring him here now? Just because he is like us? Or is there more to it?'
Light's mind was racing behind his carefully composed expression. 'These people are like me - reincarnated. They seem to know each other quite well. I wonder if they remembered everything from birth like me or were different in that aspect.'
'Also, the denial of godhood... If it is to deny the responsibility associated with it then that is another characteristic in line with Goku being the Great Sage.'
"I found Light alone after the recent... events in Chicago," Goku explained, his tone shifting to something more serious. "He has nowhere to go, and I sensed a connection to us."
Mikasa nodded, accepting this explanation without question. Her protective instincts, while primarily focused on her family, extended to all children in vulnerable positions. She had been one herself, once - Light being reincarnated or not.
"But that's not why I came back so urgently," Goku continued, his expression growing more serious. "I sensed Mark leave the universe."
The statement landed like a physical blow. Mikasa straightened, her body tensing as if preparing for combat. Lelouch's eyes widened slightly - the only outward sign of his alarm.
"What do you mean, 'leave the universe'?" Lelouch asked, his voice controlled despite his concern.
"Exactly what I said," Goku replied calmly. "His energy signature disappeared from this reality entirely. It was sudden - not like when we traveled here together."
'Another universe?' Light thought, fascinated despite himself. 'These people can travel between realities?'
"Is he-" Mikasa began, unable to complete the question.
"He's alive," Goku assured her quickly. "I can still sense him, vaguely. Not what he's doing, but that he's alright. I could go to him with instant transmission whenever I want."
The tension in the room decreased slightly, though concern remained evident on both teenagers' faces.
"But first," Goku continued, "I want to know what led to this. This doesn't seem like Mark."
Another glance passed between Lelouch and Mikasa. After a moment, Lelouch straightened his shoulders and met Goku's gaze directly.
"We had a conversation with him," Lelouch began, his voice measured. "About you. About what you're capable of, and why you haven't eliminated the Viltrumite threat entirely."
Goku's expression didn't change, but the air in the room seemed to grow heavier. "I see."
Mikasa spoke up, her voice quiet but firm. "Mark was struggling with the implications. He left to think, saying he needed air."
"And then what happened?" Goku asked.
"We don't know," Lelouch admitted. "He flew out the window. That was the last we saw of him."
Light observed the exchange with rapt attention, absorbing every detail. 'There's so much context I'm missing.'
'Viltrumites - isn't that Omniman's species? A supposed peaceful one? Mark? Some kind of threat that this Goku could eliminate but chooses not to? I need to find out more.'
"I told him that you could destroy the Viltrumite civilization if you wanted to," Lelouch continued, his gaze steady. "That your restraint was a choice, not a limitation. That you were likely using them as a teaching tool for us."
Goku sighed, "I understand where you were coming from, Lelouch. But I would have preferred to be consulted first. This is about how Mark views me going forward. I would have preferred to be the one to bring it up to him."
Mikasa lowered her head slightly. "I'm sorry. I should have stopped the conversation."
"No," Lelouch interjected. "The responsibility is mine. I initiated the discussion." He paused, then added, "Though, I still believe the timing was appropriate, and that it should have come from me rather than you, Goku."
Goku raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"You won't defend yourself," Lelouch explained. "You won't justify your past actions or emphasize that you aren't the same person as before - the vengeful, wrathful god who had Creation either fall in line or be cleansed and remade in his image."
"You would have simply accepted whatever judgment Mark formed. And I can't accept that."
'What is he talking about?' Light wondered, his mind racing to keep up. 'Cleansed creation? Remade it in his image? Is he talking about the war against the Heaven's armies?'
'Or am I actually mistaken about who Goku is? Damn it - more and more questions just keep piling up with no answers in sight.'
After a moment of silence, Goku smiled softly, rising from his chair to approach Lelouch. He ruffled the teenager's hair affectionately.
"Thank you for wanting to protect your dad's image in front of your little brother," Goku said warmly. "But I can fight my own battles."
Lelouch looked surprised then slightly embarrassed at the gesture, a faint flush coloring his cheeks. Before he could retort, Goku stepped back and gave them all a reassuring smile.
"I'll be back soon enough," he said, placing two fingers to his forehead. "Take care of Light while I'm gone."
And then he vanished, leaving behind only a slight flicking sound in the air.
The three stared at the empty space where Goku had been, the silence stretching between them.
'He teleported,' Light thought, fascinated. 'No technology, no preparation, just... gone.'
Mikasa was the first to break the silence. She approached Light and crouched before him, bringing herself to his eye level.
Her expression remained serious, but there was a gentleness in her eyes that hadn't been there before.
"Are you hungry?" she asked simply.
Light considered the question.
He wasn't hungry in the traditional sense - his shinigami nature meant he required minimal sustenance. But after days of surviving on whatever scraps he could find, the idea of real food was appealing.
"I could eat," he answered carefully, maintaining his polite demeanor.
Lelouch rose from his seat, smoothing his clothing. "I'll make pancakes," he announced, heading toward the kitchen.
'Pancakes?' Light thought, somewhat bemused. 'Here we are, discussing gods and universe-hopping, and now we're having pancakes. The domesticity is almost surreal.'
As Lelouch busied himself in the kitchen, Light found himself alone with Mikasa in the living room. She remained crouched at his level, studying him with those penetrating dark eyes.
"You've been alone for a while," she stated rather than asked.
Light nodded, seeing no reason to deny the obvious. "Since the attack on the city."
"You survived Omni-Man's rampage," she said, a hint of respect entering her voice. "That shows resourcefulness."
'She's evaluating me,' Light realized. 'Not just my story, but my capabilities, my potential threat level. She might look like a teenager, but she thinks like a soldier.'
"I was lucky," Light replied modestly, though luck had nothing to do with it. His shinigami eyes had shown him exactly where to be to avoid the destruction.
Mikasa seemed to sense the half-truth but didn't press. Instead, she stood and gestured toward the kitchen. "Come. You can watch Lelouch cook. He's very good at it."
Light followed her, his mind still integrating everything he learned in the past hour with what he knew within these ten years of rebirth.
He'd been reborn into a world of superheroes and villains, discovered he retained shinigami characteristics,
survived a city-wide catastrophe, and now found himself in the home of apparent dimension travelers - (possibly, they could be from this dimension and simply capable of traveling to others) - with a caretaker who might be an actual god.
'This is nothing like using the Death Note,'he thought as he settled onto a kitchen stool, watching Lelouch expertly mix batter. 'The power dynamics are entirely different. I'm not the one with godlike abilities anymore - I'm surrounded by beings who vastly outclass me.'
The realization should have been humbling, perhaps even frightening. But Light Yagami had never lacked for confidence. Even in this new scenario, his mind was already calculating, adapting, planning.
'I'll learn everything I can from them,'he decided as the comforting aroma of cooking pancakes filled the kitchen.
'About this world, about their abilities, about what they know of reincarnation and other worlds. Knowledge is power, even when you're not the strongest being in the room.'
Lelouch glanced up from the stove, catching Light's thoughtful expression. Their eyes met briefly, and Light had the distinct impression that Lelouch saw right through his childish appearance to how he was really like.
'This one is dangerous,' Lelouch thought as he flipped a perfectly golden pancake. 'Not physically, perhaps, but his mind... I recognize that look. He's assessing, analyzing, planning. Just as I would. It's quite interesting though.'
'Been a while since I've met anyone who could challenge me intellectually - barring Goku. He doesn't count. Being so old gives him way too big of an advantage.'
He slid the first pancake onto a plate and passed it to Light with a polite smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Welcome to our strange little family," Lelouch said, his tone pleasant but his gaze sharp. "I hope you'll find it... educational."
Light accepted the plate with a matching smile, equally polite and equally false. "I'm sure I will," he replied. "I've always valued a good education."
And so met two brothers who will take worlds by storm - eventually.
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(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter!
So, yeah, Lelouch and Light meet - Mikasa too, but we all can't deny that these two are the highlight of this chapter.
Do tell me how you found their thoughts.
Well, I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)