What If The Windigos Had Not Invaded The Mirror Universe?

Life is harsh. Sometimes you can try live a happy, fulfilling life when, without reason, monsters or other evil entities decide to harm you and your loved ones. We are all familiar with the damage the Windigos caused to the Sirens during the Winter War. However, what would have happened if they never landed in the Mirror Universe? Follow us as we see the words through X and Aria Blaze's eyes.

The first date. To be honest, those were words that a Kaiju turned human like X would have never thought in the past. However, his last mission ended up rekindling his memories and convinced him to try to open up his feelings with a certain Siren.

He was now standing in front of a large restaurant known as the Sea's Treasure, waiting for Aria Blaze to arrive. As usual, he was wearing his white shirt and black pants along with his black scarf, black jacket, and white mask, which caused the people outside the restaurant to give him funny looks. A normal man would have feel embarrassed by the attention he was gathering, but X was far from a normal man. "Where could she be?" asked the kaiju to himself before he heard the sound of boots walking towards him.

"I know you aren't exactly from around here, X, but I thought you would have come dressed in better clothes," answered a feminine voice as X turned around. It was a pink woman with pigtails wearing a white shirt and a jacket and pants with multiple shades of green and purple. Despite the jab at his fashion sense, there was no scorn to her voice and she approached him with a teasing smile.

"You do realize that I spent most of my life before I met you getting into fights and traveling around? These are the only clothes I have and my courting skills are rusty, so this is the best I can do at the moment," said the kaiju with a shrug of his shoulders. "Okay, old man. Guess it's my job to teach you how to date again. Just follow my lead and you'll be fine," said Aria Blaze as she took her lover's hand and escorted him inside the restaurant.

The restaurant was surprisingly larger on the inside than on the outside with walls and floors painted with varying shades of blue, seafoam green, and coral pink. The tables and chairs were made of handcrafted oak with some gold decorations, almost as if they were themed after treasure chests.

X and Aria Blaze were reading the menus and X was shocked at the wide variety of seafood the restaurant offered. Pictures of salmon, tunas, yellowtails, octopus, calamari, clams, and other fishes galore overwhelmed him. Furthermore, the fish dishes were served in a variety of cooking styles from Maretaly, Prance, and even Neighpon.

X's red eyes scanned his surroundings, forgotten instincts taking over as he watched for the intentions of everybody around him and took notes of exit points. 'Wait, why am I thinking of exit points?' thought the kaiju as Aria put her menu down and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "X, relax. There are no monsters here," said Aria with a smirk as the waiter approached. Despite her words, X noticed that some of the other clients were warily looking at him due to his outfit and even the waiter was a bit intimidated by him.

"Welcome to the Sea's Treasure. I will be your waiter tonight. May I take your order?" inquired the waiter professionally. X didn't knew how to respond and was silent for a few seconds before Aria Blaze took charge. "We're in the mood for something classic yet classy, so I want to order a Cartoccio and he wants an Eel Matelote," said Aria with a smile on her face. "Excellent choice, ma'am. Both of them are great Maretalian dishes. They will arrive in a few moments," said the waiter as he left.

The Siren noticed X's awkwardness and stared at his eyes. "Okay, dude. What's going on? You are not having some flashbacks right now?" inquired the Siren. "It's not that. Ever since...I became what I am. I have known nothing but fighting. Irys, Megalon, and Gigan were my first friends as we have the same...job, but being surrounded by people and going on dates is out of my scope," admitted X as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Big guy, don't worry. I'll help you through this. You are quite hopeless at romance, aren't you?" teased Aria Blaze and, for a second, the vision of a Xillian woman substituted her own in X's mind before returning back to normal. 'They might be different, but she shares Controller 011's teasing attitude towards me,' thought the Kaiju nostalgically.

"Since this is your first date, let's keep this simple. What do you do for work or for fun?" asked the Siren. The Kaiju hummed as he closed his eyes and thought of an answer. "Well, I work as a mercenary or bodyguard depending on the situation. For professional reasons, I cannot tell you more about my work. However I can tell you that I spend my free time either practicing martial arts and talking with Gigan and the others. What about you?" inquired X to Aria.

"In my case, my cousins and I make our living singing and traveling around. My hobbies are martial arts and swimming whenever my cousins and I are lucky enough to go to a hotel with pool," said Aria with a smile. The both of them kept talking, asking small questions and sharing memories until eventually the waiter returned.

The waiter arrived with two plates and two glasses where he proceeded to pour wine into. Aria's plate had a poached fish with herbs and oils that smiled tantalizing whereas his plate had an eel cooked with red wine and paired with mashed potatoes and brioche. Aria ate her meal with gusto, actually smiling blissfully as she closed her eyes in satisfaction.

X realized that he had to take his mask off to eat and, with some hesitation, removed it from his face. As expected, the waiter and some of the guests were uncomfortable with his scars, but they remained silent and let him be. "Hope this is tasty," said X as he cut the eel with his knife and used the fork to bring the eel into his mouth. As he bit into the eel, his eyes widened from tasting the umami of the eel and noticed the flavor of plums inside it. As he chewed, he noticed other flavors that he never experienced before. The Kaiju cut the eel into more pieces, dragging them across the sauce and mashed potatoes and complimenting it with a bite from the brioche.

He groaned in appreciation and noticed Aria giving him a smug smile at his expression. "So, do you want to come again in the next date?" teased Aria Blaze. "Definitely," answered X with a smile.

A couple of weeks later, X returned to the Sea's Treasure. To his annoyance, his outfit was no better than last time. Bagan, for all his godly power, only allowed him to cross universes, but he couldn't give him currency from this world or any type of clothing. "This world is affecting me if I'm feeling embarrassed for not having more clothes than the ones on my back," said X with annoyance. A snort behind him told him that his date arrived.

Aria, as usual, wore a casual shirt, jacket, and pants that complimented her curvy figure and matched her pigtails, yet differed from the outfit she wore last time. "Okay, X. I seriously need to take you shopping after this date is over. Otherwise, people will think you are hobo for wearing the same thing," said Aria as she rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately, I don't get to stay around often due to my work, Aria. It's for that reason, that our dates at the Sea's Treasure are the only reprieve I get from work," said X with a shy smile. A blush appeared on Aria's face as she punched his arm. "Flatterer. Let's get inside," said the Siren as she walked ahead of him, making a show of swaying her hips with each steps to get his attention.

X and Aria Blaze sat on the same table as last time, only this time X took his mask off beforehand. Some of the clients were intimidated, but a few others saw his face from last time and, as such, were more tolerant about it. The same waiter from before arrived and he handled himself better than before.

"What would the both of you like to order?" inquired the waiter. "We are in the mood for something different, so we would like some sashimi and sushi. The chef can use whatever fish he or she wants for both meals, but we both are expecting some sake," said the Siren with confidence. "Very well, your plate will arrive in a few minutes," said the waiter as he departed.

"You seem to really love fish, Aria. You know your way around the menu," said X as he noticedf how quickly she ordered. "X, my family and I are Sirens, so you can bet we have a pescatarian diet. This is the only restaurant I know where everything is seafood and has multiple cooking styles, so my cousins and I ate everything on the menu at least once," stated Aria Blaze with a smile.

"To be honest, I rarely ate in my Kaiju form and even when I was known as Praetorian Guard 094, I only ate military rations," said X after a few moments of recollection. Aria groaned as she heard his words. "X, you are not a soldier right now. Live a little, have fun, savor your meal, and enjoy your time with me. That's an order, soldier," said the Siren with a mock authority to her voice.

Once again, his mind flashed to his life before and he remembered how frustrated Controller 011 was when he insisted on spending the date without eating food so that he could stand guard over her. 'This date is bringing up some bittersweet memories,' thought X with a sad smile as the waiter arrived.

The sashimi were cut slices of yellowtail, salmon, tuna, and even octopus over a bed of rice and the sushi rolls that were brought had salmon, tuna, and avocado inside while the top had cream cheese and some salmon roe. Both Aria and X ate their portions together, enjoying the taste of the rice, the chewiness of the fish, the texture of the seaweed in the sushi rolls, and then washing it down with some slightly bitter sake. The two of them left the restaurant with warm bellies and
holding hands, having enjoyed the food thoroughly.

"Well, it's time for me to go, Aria...Hey," said the Kaiju as Aria refused to take her hand off of his. "Oh, no. I don't mind going out with you while you wear your old clothes, but if we are going to eat here again, then I'll better drag your ass with me to buy you some clothes," said the Siren with conviction as the kaiju sighed. 'So bossy,' thought X with a smile on his face.

Many dates later since then X has become more cheerful. He stopped wearing his mask whenever he went out with Aria and the citizens slowly got used to his scarred appearance, so they did not spare him a second glance. He was wearing a red shirt and a black jacket over it, which matched the black pants he wore. Once again, he was waiting at the Sea's treasure when Aria Blaze appeared before him.

The Siren gave him appreciative lookover and whistled. "Nice to see that you kept the clothes I gave you after our second date," said Aria Blaze with a smirk. "Thanks, though I find it ironic that you decided to wear the same outfit from our first date here," countered X with a smile. Aria Blaze shrugged and sashayed towards X before hooking one of her arms against his own. "What can I say? I was feeling nostalgic," said the Siren as they both entered the restaurant.

The waiter smiled as he greeted Aria Blaze and X. After multiple dates, the waiter slowly warmed up to X, so now he was unbothered by his appearance. "What would the two of you want today?" inquired the waiter. "I would like to try the squid ink pasta," said X as he was curious over the new dish. "I want the seafood risotto," answered Aria Blaze equally as fast. "Very well, I will also bring complimentary wine for the both of you. Please wait a few minutes," said the waiter as he left the table.

Aria Blaze smirked at X's choice of food. "Squid Ink pasta, really?" X shrugged at her answer. "I had my fair share of fighting giant squids and octopus, especially since Gigan is uncomfortable fighting them after hacking Terra's internet. Needless to say, I'm feeling curious," stated the kaiju. "Good point. I was feeling in the mood for something Prench, hence the risotto," said Aria Blaze after a pause. "It helps that the wine they offer pairs well with the seafood here," added X, which Aria Blaze followed with an appreciative nod. Soon enough, the waiter arrived with the food and both of them dug in.

X groaned in appreciation as the pasta was soft and creamy, yet slightly salty from the squid ink. He smiled when Aria laughed at his blackened lips and teeth from the ink, but the napkin cleaned his lips and the wine cleaned his teeth while warming his belly with its fruity flavor. Aria Blaze, meanwhile, ate her risotto, loving the taste of shrimp, calamari, and creamy al dente rice to top it off. Eventually, both of them finished their meal and left the restaurant with smiles on their faces.

X and Aria Blaze took a cab to Camp Everfree. Although X could simply visit Aria's apartment with her cousins, both of them agreed that Adagio or Sonata could ruin the moment if they were to walk in on them, so they went to a private cabin that Gloriosa lent them. He and Aria eventually left the cab and walked to the cabin before stopping at its door.

"X. I hate to be mushy, but thanks for being with me. Ever since I met you, life has become much better. I remember my mother clearly now, my cousins and I no longer have to cause strife to survive, and we even get along better now. Thanks for making me the happiest Siren alive," said Aria Blaze with a smile on her face.

X smiled as he looked at his lover's purple eyes. There was a time where she would say something and look at him in a certain way and he would end up remembering his time as Praetorian Guard 094 and his marriage with Controller 011. However, he was no longer that person and Aria Blaze was no longer a substitute for his wife. He loved her as much as he loved Controller 011 in his old life and he decided to make her know it.

"Since I became who I am, my life has been nothing but fighting and killing. Gigan and the others brought me solace, but you actually made me want to live a life beyond my mission. I am the lucky one to have ended up with you as my lover," said X as he gently placed his hand on her cheek.

Both of them blushed as they leaned forward and their lips touched. The world seemed to freeze as their lips slid together before they eventually decided to pull away.

Aria Blaze gave him a warm smile as she opened the door of the cabin and brought him inside before locking the door behind them. Later that night, red vapor, invisible to the naked eye for anyone who was not a Siren, emanated from the cabin, a testament of the love both of them held towards each other.

The END

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter with one of the Bridge's favorite couples. The dishes that Aria and Monster X ordered at the restaurant, with the exception of the sushi and sashimi, were based on anime dishes. The eel matelote and the cartoccio were based on dishes made by Ryo Kurokiba from the series Shokugeki No Soma. The squid ink pasta was based on the pasta eaten by Joseph Joestar from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency. Lastly, the seafood risotto was based on the risotto created by Sanji from One Piece. Highly recommend these anime shows and I hope you all have a wonderful 2025.