Heart of Everything
One
A Meeting In the Nightmare
Renalee sat there looking at the unconscious hooligans, or what would be known to the excorcist headquarters; the Three Stooges-- Ravi, Allen and Kanda. They looked so peaceful in their sleep. She knew Kanda was just taking a nap and that his injuries were near to completely healed. She smiled then as she stood up looking at each othe them.
They were dear friends to her. Each of them felt strongly towards her, but Renalee preferred not to have their chivalry. And during the time she was subjected to their chivalry because of her legs, it only made her want to protect each of them back. Through her incapacitation period, she came to hidden revelations of the boys and herself. It made her thought more about her relationships with each of them. How differently they each treated her and how differently they treated other people besides her. They treated other people different than they did of Renalee.
She would speak them aloud.
Renalee smiled down at her hands. 'It was only because they felt the need to... like I was the most fragile out of everyone,' she thought in her native language. "A sister complex... just like my brother," she whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "And to me... they are like brothers that I must protect."
Miranda smiled warmly as she came to the door. Her brown, doe-looking eyes that were covered in shadows from fretting over others and sometimes herself, looked down at the green-ish haired girl softened. She came into the room with a more graceful gait. Ever since she became an exorcist, her ideal job that she was made by God to do, Miranda was happier and more confident in herself. However, to Renalee, Miranda has alot more work to go before she felt that her friend would feel completely confident in herself.
"Are you alright, Renalee-san?" she asked as she sat down next to Renalee.
Renalee smiled. "I'm okay, but are you?" she asked.
Miranda smiled sadly. "I'm sad I could only put back the time, and I was not able to heal them," she said.
"Miranda..." Renalee whispered as she looked at her. "It's okay, you did your best. Our friends are happy about their sacrifices..." she continued. She looked down. 'Sacrifices...' she thought. 'There will be more pain for Miranda to go through, more pain for the rest of headquarters to go through...'
She felt her blood-made anklets tingle a bit. Her skin felt a little warm from the tingling sensation. It was as if her innocence was consoling her. That was right, her innocence was the heart of the Innocence, in which it was easiest to fall to darkness and was easiest to claim the light. It wanted to be both destroyed and saved. She smiled down at it a she rubbed the anklets. 'I'm sorry for worrying you, Dark Boots...' she continued, thinking.
Miranda blinked. "My innocence thinks that too, Renalee..." she whispered.
Renalee smiled. "I'm sure it does, Miranda. Your innocence fits you well," she replied. "You have the potential to be stronger than you already are. You just have to understand that people, unfortunately, are willing to sacrifice themselves for God. And in some instances, there will be times where you will have to understand, sadly, that the other side makes their own sacrifices too."
Renalee remembered Allen yelling at her about stopping him from saving an Akuma from destroying itself. "Both sides... make sacrifices... death is a natural thing in life..." she whispered.
"It's like that time where I heard Allen yelling at you about stopping him..." Miranda whispered. "Even our enemies go through it too... I guess with that we can understand what Allen really feels for the Akuma..."
Renalee smiled. "Also, what God feels for the Akuma," she said. "But only a bit... their love for them is rather complicated..." she continued. "But their powers are remarkable..." She said looking at the boys whom are sleeping. "They never give up... they go above their limits even when their lives are on the line. I wish I could do that... but I can't... I'm not strong enough yet..."
Miranda hung her head as Renalee noticed tears falling on Miranda's pants. She hugged Miranda to her. "It's okay, Miranda... it's okay... I know that when it all comes down to it... they will survive. I promise," she said. "How is Krory?" she asked.
"He's okay," Miranda said. "Drank some Akuma blood..."
Renalee smiled. "That's good," she said, just noticing Miranda was only sniffling.
--
It was another meeting with the Earl, and although everyone was injured and still healing, the meeting with the Earl was manditory. Tyki looked over at the empty space next to him and on the other side of him. The marks that Allen gave him from his weapon were still there. Only his bezerker mode saved him. His hair was indeed a mess. His appearance was less than satisfactory since the other time he had a meeting with the others of his "family".
Taking out the cigarette, Tyki exhaled the smoke that sort of swirled around his other family members. A hand combed his hair back in a failed attempt to slick back his hair. He glared at the Noah across from him whom was snickering along with his puppet, whom was pointing a golden gun at his neck. The missing chair that sat the sweet tooth of the family remained.
He sighed.
'Sacrifices,' he thought bitterly.
One of the other Noah smiled at him, through snickering eyes. He glared over at Lulubell. "So, have you healed yet? The Earl has your Noah," she said.
"Didn't the sprout exorcise it?"
"Hmmm, the Earl is capable in many things, you're just underestimating him again, aren't you?" she asked.
Tyki smirked. "I guess... but let us not forget... I've awakened..." he said. "So, it is quite possible I still have my Noah..."
"Of course, Nii-san..."
He sighed as he watched Lulubell's lips curved in a creepy smile. He let the smoke swirled about him as he exhaled another gulp of smoke. He looked to the door to see that it opened. All of the surviving, injured Noah stared as a bandaged girl walk next to the Earl.
Lulubell's eyes widened. "That can't be..."
"Noah can survive, didn't you know that Lulu?" asked the smug, loud sounding voice that would belong to none other than Road. "Thank you for avenging me, Tyki... It is so lovely to see you again..."
Tyki smiled. "That's what family is for..." he said. His eyes widened to see Skin coming in. "Skin?"
"Survived somehow, though I had to revive him, shame on him to lose to one of the exorcists, right?" came the overly energetic, overly polite Earl. "Though, let us all respect that exorcist, shall we with a small, quivering silence?"
"Yours was most shameful, not at all what I would expect from the Earl's favourite, hmmm?" Lulubell asked.
"Shameful, shameful!" came Devitt's agreement.
Road looked at the twins. "So you're alive as well? Must be by luck," she said dismissing them already.
"Hey, is that how you greet us, Road?" asked the most normal of the twins. He snickered at her, as Road flushed a pink. "You made a full out of the boy you like too..."
Road flushed red. "Shut up!" she shouted at him, but felt pain as she sat down. "Tyki... throw something at him, please?"
"Why do you do that yourself, Road? I stopped talking to those two awhile ago," Tyki said.
Road pouted.
Tyki sighed. "Is there anything you would like to talk to us about, Earl?" he asked.
The Millenium Earl smiled sweetly. "Yes, children. There is indeed something I would like to say. We might have a few more members joining our family... not to mention, we might even have some news on the heart..."
Tyki blinked.
"That information is that one of the Akuma heard what the exorcists were saying and sent the information to myself before it was found out and sought for destruction. I am so glad that it did that. It is another step in the direction for victory against this World," said the Earl. "Isn't that lovely, my children?"
Tyki sweatdropped. "Yes," answered the Noah around the Earl.
"The very Heart of all the innocence is somewhere in this town...specifically the exorcists here at this HQ," the Earl said. "It screams for its destruction... and its strength shall ring like this..."
With that the Noah around the Earl held their ears as the Earl hit a bell, its noise soft but still heard and annoying through the Noah's ears around him. He grinned as the others started screaming to make it stop. Being merciful to his underlings, the Earl stopped the bell and placed it on the floor.
"I lost my appetite..." Skin complained.
"I did as well," Jasdevi spoke up as his seemingly, mentally slow sibling grunted in agreement with him.
"Aye, aye," was all Road said.
"I'm sorry, but it was only for your sake," said the Earl as he grinned in sympathy.
"I-It's okay," Tyki said, a bit frazzled from the timbre of the bell. "I'm gonna go outside in the town..."
The Earl grinned at Tyki. "Okay, make sure to bring your coat with you," he said.
Tyki smiled. "Alright, Earl-san..." as he left the room.
--
It was not long after Tyki left the Earl's hideout to hear the shrieking sounds that were of the same timbre as the bell he heard. His stomach knotted up just feeling it, even if the calling was faded in the crowds of the town or village. He could see the headquarters coming up, the timbre gradually getting louder and louder until it made him jump up through the floors of a building and onto the rooftop.
He looked to see that of a short-haired girl unconcious, the shadows under her looked red in the sun as if the girl was murdered.
His White Tyki overpowered him in this moment as he moved forward. He was very weak when it came to girl's getting hurt. Unfortunately, it was different when he transformed into his true self, a Noah. Though this time, his White side won and out of small concern for the unconcious girl he walked over to her.
The shadows faded to a normal black as he hovered over her, asleep, groaning from displeasure, beads of sweat rolling down her cheeks and forming on her forehead. Her teeth clenched as tears fell between the small openings in her closed eyelids.
His eyes trailed from the beautiful face of the girl with dark-green hair to the curvaeous body her face matched with. His eyes narrowed when he saw the cross on the left breast of her outfit.
He could hear two men shout for her inside of his head, remembering what happened just before the crumbling of the arc. Shouting for her to reassure her that they were coming to protect her. He could see the determination in Allen's eyes as he looked at the Earl and the Noah past the Earl, recognizing Tyki as Tyki. Hatred was seen in the boys' eyes as well as love for the girl that was in Allen's arms.
Was this Allen's closest female friend?
Like everyone else it seemed, including his "sister" Road, he too felt the sudden urge to come to her and feel her arms around him in a reassuring hug.
Did this girl breathe such pheromones at such a young age? She was not even the age to be a mother yet.
He actually smiled down at the exorcist, but was it because the girl was trying to say his name?
"Tyki...?!" she finally exclaimed in a feminine voice as soft as a whisper.
His smile broadened.
"Earl-san... Is there someway we can convert her without killing her?" he asked, remembering why he was sent to kill the excorcists.
--
Renalee sighed as she sat on a rooftop just below the exorcist headquarters. She was warned many times by Komui about looking after herself and making sure she would be home by nightfall. Renalee just imagined what would come after her. She sure she was hidden from the sight of any particular Akuma, including hiding from the people below. She sighed as she looked at the sky that was the only thing visible to her.
After Miranda went off with Krory to be consoled and comforted further with coffee, Renalee had decided she wanted to be alone. The only way she could truly be alone was to go down the village below the headquarters. Well, here she was thinking about the battle and the nightmares she had after the level four Akuma was destroyed.
She could feel the innocence she reunited with tingle warmly hovering around her ankles as if telling her everything will be okay. She smiled warmly at them and gave them a warm rub along the scarlet rings. She was now able to walk better, but after losing the controll of her innocence once, Renalee was still unable to walk very long distances. The only way she could still be her agile, graceful self was if she invoke her innocence. All of her thoughts were seemingly understood by her innocence.
Just like that of a parasitic type Akuma.
Now back to the nightmares she had of the apocolypse. They scared her. However, every since she saw another of the Noah for the first time, a male and a gorgeous one in fact, her dreams took on a more disturbing scene.
Her eyes closed.
She was sitting in the setting sun with the ruins around her, sobbing over the lost fragments of her world--her friends, when all of the sudden the Earl came over to her to kill her. Grief-strickened already over the fallen bodies of her peers, Renalee felt as though she did not want to live anymore.
If her friends were dead, then she should follow them as well. She did not want to be alone. However, life was also important, just as much as friendship was.
When she thought she was good as dead from the Earl's large sword, she felt blood splattering onto her face.
The black blood burnt her flesh as an accomodator of the innocence, but she remained strong against the blood. She had to, in order to avenge her friends. Her indigo eyes widened when she saw the idenity of the person whom protected her. Her very enemy, a Noah.
The gorgeous one that took her by surprise when she was trying to decide to get Miranda to safety. However, that time, Renalee forgot she did not have the Dark Boots' abilities.
Tyki Mikk caught her by surprise, as the blade cut into his waist and stopped instantly. Black blood splattered into the water, as golden eyes looked over at the crying Renalee sitting on the cement ruins.
"I did lose a card game with the boy once," was all he said, coughing up blood. His eyes turned to the Earl. The Earl's eyes widened as he took the blade from Tyki, black blood flew in the air as Tyki looked at his leader. "Is there someway we can convert her without killing her?"
The dream ended.
"Is there someway we can convert her without killing her?" asked a voice as Renalee's eyes opened to find Tyki hovering over her. She could smell the light smell of ashes as Tyki flicked at the cigarette in his hands away from her sleepy form.
When she recognized the man in the top hat, her eyes widened.
"You must be the female friend of the boy shar--" he started as he watched Renalee muttered something under her breath. He flicked the cigarette butt away when he felt like a bunch of bricks were thrown at his face. Not to mention he felt that Hell's fires were burning his skin as he backed away to see Renalee preparing for another assault. He smirked from the shadows of the rim of his top hat, catching her knee. Renalee's eyes widened as she saw burnt flesh falling to the ground. "That was not very ladylike. Do you happen to greet your gentlemanly friends this way?"
Renalee's face paled as she saw Tyki's face. The skin was burnt away, as well as some of the muscle tissue. She could see a sliver of his brains in his eye sockets. She jerked away from him fast almost falling over to see a gloved hand wrapping around her waist.
Tyki's newly regenerated face moved closer to her own, her indigo eyes widened. She tried to push the Noah away, but the Noah was too strong. "Calm down, I'm only here to take a walk. Nothing more than that," he whispered looking at Renalee, his smooth voice making Renalee's shoulders relax. He smiled down at her. "I won't kill you yet, we are both off duty..."
Renalee hesitated but canceled her invocation, her legs stumbling a bit as she pushed against Tyki to get away from him--but failed when her eyes widened when he whispered in her ear;
"Easy there, girl, do you want to die?" he asked, huskily against ear.
Her eyes widened as she looked down. With that he pulled the girl against him, and through him. He turned to see her stumbling from his little shove from the edge of the roof. He could tell she was startled. After all, the girl new Allen, right? The card shark could have told her about him.
He caught the girl in his arms again. He gently sat the girl down on the cement as he sat down next to her. She was looking at him with a shocked look.
He sighed as he fumbled for another of his cigarettes, and felt he was still getting stared at by the dark haired, Chinese girl. He blinked as he looked over at the girl. "Something wrong?" he asked.
The cute female blinked and shook her head.
However, now was not the time to make the girl feel uncomfortable, especially when he was trusting the girl not to get them discovered by the public below. And he...
He was protecting her... but from what?
--
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 2...
I'm sorry for my crack... I am going to be shot by yaoi/shounen-ai fangirls aren't I? There are indeed some odd sentences here in chapter 1... if you can locate them, I'll give you a cookie... through internet of course...
Disclaimer: Hoshino owns Renalee-cuteness and Tyki's gorgeous, sexy bod. What wonders one can do with these two characters if they ever owned them if beyond me... except... just don't kill them both off... I will be mad... And I will be happily teaming up with Road (or Rhode) to beat you up... Birthday styled... of course (sweatdrop).