Disclaimer: I do not own man or any of it's characters/story.
"Innocence you say? Interesting..." A smirk placed on my lips.
"Yes. Sounds like a fun toy to play with. Doesn't it?"
A hint of a laugh escaped me. "It seems so. I would like to play with this, Innocence. Is there a way that I could...obtain one myself?"
A pause came from the fat man. "Taking this into consideration," I thought. Before I could speak my thoughts he cut in, "You could always try to force it to become compatible with you. You do have a chance of dying though. It is Innocence after all."
My golden eyes sparked with curiosity. "So where can I find this Innocence?"
"You have to find it on your own. Try defeating an exorcist or two. You should find one you like."
I giggled with enthusiasm. "Alright. Well I'm off to go find one. If any of the others ask about me, just tell them I'm out for a leisurely stroll."
He looked down at me. "Why keep it a secret?"
Cocking my head to my left I answered, "Well because I don't want any of the others to steal my idea. That's why. I also don't want them to screw this up like all my other plans."
His smile lost an inch, but it was still frozen there. "I'll allow you this secret then, but on one condition; you have to report back to me any new findings." His golden eyes pierced my own.
I caught my own breath. "Yes... Lord Millennium." He laughed and went back to his knitting. "I will never understand why he bothers with such tasks, such as knitting, or petting that annoying cat" I left the hall and vanished. "Being a Noah has it's perks." Once I left the dimension I was in I entered a completely different one. One full of greenery and people, as well as many Akuma, everywhere I turn there was one. "Maybe if I wait around one of them I wont be found. Then an exorcist might come. That would make it all too easy."
I saw my appearance in a nearby glass window. I should probably do something about that... I found myself shifting. My tanned skin was gone and left with pale, soft, human, beautiful skin. I wore a white collar on my neck. Below that, covering my torso was a sleeveless, skin tight top, and covering that was a long, silky white shawl, that was tied at the top with a sewn in black ribbon. The trim was cut in a very jagged way. Even farther down than my torso was a flowing white skirt that reached my knees, and white, short heeled, mid-shin length boots, with long, black socks under them. I went to brush a strand of hair from my eyes and found something interesting in the process. "My hair's blond now? Like Jasdero's. That's different. I wonder..." I lost some distance between the window and I, focusing in on my eyes. "My golden eyes are...red. And the shape of my eyes are less narrow, almost larger. This new look could take some getting used to."
I saw inside the shop and saw that I caught the attention of a customer. I've never come here before so I'm not so sure on how to interact with ordinary humans just yet. "This should be interesting," I thought to myself in a doubtful tone.
I entered the shop and eyes turned towards me. Not all of them, but enough to make me feel uncomfortable. "Maybe acting normal isn't such a great idea." I walked around looking for an empty seat just before a hand motioned for me to come over. I glanced at the person and saw a man with short black hair and blue eyes. He looked just like everyone else here, young and ignorant, nothing special.
Walking towards him I noticed something. Pausing in step I took a second to look at him once more, "An Akuma."
I decided that since I'm a Noah that interaction with an Akuma wouldn't be as much of a hassle as getting along with lowly humans.
Casually I strolled over to the Akuma, acting entirely normal. To my surprise this was a level two Akuma. "Great. Maybe I'll be able to have an actual conversation with this one." I sat in the wooden bench across from him and found myself staring down at a menu. "Huh?" I gave a confused look.
"Well you are going to eat. Aren't you? Or is human food to low class for a Noah like yourself?" I restrained myself from lunging towards his throat.
"How did you-"
I spoke in a harsh whisper and was interrupted by his a calm voice. "You should better hide yourself when transforming like that."
I sighed. "Well at least that means he didn't just detect that I was a Noah," I thought. "Alright. Well, to tell you the truth I'm not too hungry and I have a question. Since this is the first time I've come here, do you think you could tell me a little about this place?" He blankly stared.
"Okay, where should I start? Maybe with how people move about here?" I sat up straight, trying not to look too uneducated. "That would be a good place to begin."
I then got to sit for an hour listening to a level two Akuma ramble on about earth.
Well that was more boring than Road's homework..."Well that's all I need. I'm off. Continue with work." I stood from my seat before walking and said, "And if I catch a scent of you telling anyone that you saw me or that I was here or anything about me, I promise I will personally crush your soul into scraps."
I turned to leave letting my skirt flow behind me. "Wait. Catch." My hand flew to catch a tan bag that seemed to hold something heavy.
"What's this?"
"It's money. You'll need it to survive here. Just don't spend it all in one place, okay?" He winked.
"Sure." I stuffed it into my right boot, lodging it so that it wouldn't fall out. "Unlike the other Akuma, I personally think this one shouldn't be killed by the exorcist's hands." I then left the bakery.
Night fall came and there were no exorcists yet. I had been sitting on a bench all day and nothing-*Grumble* ummmm... I looked down at my stomach. "Maybe I should eat something." I stood, and just as I did, two level one Akuma came out from two human female bodies. They pointed their cannons at me, not realizing who I am. "If I run away and they chase me then maybe an exorcist will come to help me. If not all I have to do is kill the Akuma."
My feet carried me away and the Akuma, as expected, followed. I ran at a certain pace so I wouldn't be too far ahead. "Ahhh! A monster! Someone help me! It's a monster!"I squealed. "Why do I have to sound like such a stupid wimp?" Before I knew it, one Akuma was thrown into the other, and they both exploded.
I fell and looked up at my 'rescuer.' I took it that this man was an exorcist.
He held his hand out to me. Taking it I thanked him. "It's no problem. I hope you're not hurt."
I smirked mentally, "Yes. I'm fine. What was that?"
"An Akuma. I'm an exorcist. Well not officially yet. But it's my job to kill those creatures so I can save you civilians."
I wiped off my skirt and bowed. "Well I thank you, Mr. Exorcist sir. Now before you leave I want to thank you properly."
"No thanks is necessary." I looked back up at him.
"Oh, but really it is. How else would I get my innocence?"
His expression swiftly changed. "What are you...You're an Akuma aren't you?" He pointed his hand towards me.
"No. I"m not." His hand lowered. "Then what are you?"
"A human, same as you, only better," his face showed shock.
"You're a Noah!" His hand rose once more, but not fast enough.
"Thanks for the hand." I smiled. Jumping above him I pointed towards the ground which soon broke beneath him. My shawl flew off and I grabbed the ribbon that was sewn in it. Untying it I let the shawl fall over his shoulders and I yanked on the ribbon. A piece of ground appeared under me as I held onto the ribbon. I tossed the ribbon and he attached to the flat ground.
Jumping from my spot I landed beside him. His hands seemed to be what he was going to attack me with so I took a closer look. There was a metal object holding onto his hand. I slid it off his hand and saw it in more detail. It seemed to round at the wrist and flatten at the back of the hand with another flat part above the thumb. Circles rounded each finger's knuckles, and was connected by a line of metal. So basically, if you use one finger as an example, than from the back flat area there is a circle covering the first knuckle. Then a thin line of metal leads to another piece of metal that wraps around the middle of the finger, then another line leads to another piece of metal that wraps around the finger right below the nail. "I wonder how this thing works... Maybe I should go test it out, but where?" That's when an idea came to mind. I chuckled lightly to myself, "What fun."
I walked past a bus stop. There was a piece of broken glass lying on the ground. I examined the glass much closer, only to see that I was back in my true form. "So if I use my powers then I'll go back to my true form? Well that's inconvenient." I shifted back and took another look. "This could be more troublesome than I thought." Dropping the glass I trailed off into center of the town. "Maybe I should deactivate this thing..." I placed the weapon on the concrete and crushed it beneath my foot. I hunched over to pick it up, slipping it into the bag that contained the money I got from that Akuma.
"I should be grateful that the Exorcist hadn't made his way to the Black Order yet. If so then I wouldn't be able to carry this innocence. It would be called his. Aren't I lucky"? Smirking I continued on down the street.
I passed someone, brushing against their shoulder. "Excuse me." I apologized.
"Nice to see you too." The person spoke. I knitted my eyebrows together as my head turned. It's that same Akuma. We run into each other yet again.
"Hello." I backed up slowly so he wouldn't detect the innocence I carried.
"Now that we meet each other again, there is something I must ask you. What's that?" He asked pointing at my shoes.
"Dammit. Looks like this will go by quicker than I thought." He smiled. Obviously knowing I had innocence. "I think you know what." I laughed nervously holding my hand over my mouth. "Please do follow me."
He led me to a dark alleyway. I leaned against a wall and slipped the bag out of my shoe. "So how did you gain that?"
"I did the simple thing and killed an Exorcist. What else? Now, I'm going to have to test this thing out somewhere. So if you would be so kind as to help me by standing still that would be great." I smiled and held the innocence fragment to my face. "Innocence has a wonderful scent. What a delectable power, even if it does destroy us." I took in the scent before something unpredicted happened.
"An Akuma! Allen!" shouted a female's voice. I must've come across unnoticed, for she ran straight into me, knocking me to the ground with a thud. The innocence made its way down my throat as I unwillingly swallowed. "When I said delectable I didn't mean it literally!"
I began to cough. I squinted through my eyes as my throat burned with that poison. The Akuma transformed and two Exorcists attacked it. I fell farther down on the ground. Clenching my throat in one hand and my stomach in the other I wanted to throw up. This couldn't be any worse. My heart was racing at a mile a minute. I just might die "Me and my stupid plans," I regretted. This pain was so horrible, so horrible that I found myself...dead.
"She's waking up! Oh my God! She's waking up! Guys! Guys!"
"Krory! Don't be so loud! You might wake her up by accident!"
"Guys! Shhh..."
My eyes fluttered open. I saw a group of people standing in front of me. "Ummm...Who are you people?" Strangeā¦
"Good, you can talk. My name's Lenalee Lee. What's yours?"
I glanced over. My eyes widened. "Y-you. It's you! You're that girl that rammed into me! No wonder I recognized your high pitched voice!" She backed up a little, surprised at my outburst.
"Um..yeah. Sorry about that. I really didn't mean to. I didn't notice you standing there," she looked at the ground.
"Wait. Where am I?" I asked in a softer tone.
"You're at the hospital. We brought you here. You were coughing horribly when we found you, and you were alone. There was an Akuma when we found you. After defeating it we took the liberty of bringing you here without waiting for you to wake up."
I sat up and my head started to spin. I groaned. "Ugh...Why does my head hurt so badly?"
"We still don't know, but we asked Bookman to come here and help." I then remembered, Weren't there only two exorcists before?
"Who are you?" I pointed to a man with short black hair and a white bang hovering above his eye.
"I'm Arystar Krory the Third. It's a pleasure to meet you. I do hope you feel better." He slightly bowed.
"Thank you. I hope so too." I said glaring at Lenalee. She just avoided my eyes.
"And I'm Allen Walker. What's your name?" I saw the boy with white hair and scar over his left eye.
"It's Rosio. Rosio..." I trailed off.
"Rosio what?" I sat for a minute.
"I don't know. I never thought of a last name." I just gained some blank stairs.
"Alright then," Allen said in a confused tone. "I hope Bookman get's here soon." I looked at him blankly.
"Oh, I forget you don't know any of us well yet. Bookman is coming to heal you using acupuncture. It really helped me back when my eye got hurt."
"I'm surprised your eye isn't the reason I came here, it happens so many times. You should really take care of it better." My eyes turned to the doorway where a small elderly man stood. He looks like a...what is it? A...Panda? He began to shuffle towards us.
"It doesn't happen all the time," Walker grumbled.
"Bookman! You old panda, don't leave me back there!" A boy with spiky red hair held up by a green headband, and wearing a long orange scarf and an Exorcist uniform, entered the room. He panted for breath as he held on to the door frame for balance. His emerald eyes glanced up. Those eyes are brilliant indeed, but they gave me a bad feeling. Like I've seen them somewhere before. Allen and Krory went to help him stand. Shrugging them off politely, he stomped towards the panda-man. "What were you thinking you old coot! I could've gotten lost back there! What would you've done then-"
He went flying and landed in a wall with a loud crash. The old man in question, jumped over to him. "I thought you could actually run with those young bones of yours! And stop calling me old!" He retorted. He soon sat down next to me and lay out a set of needles.
"Uh... what are you going to do with those?" I asked worriedly.
"I'm going to use a Chinese therapy known as Acupuncture, to help heal your wounds and relax them." I gulped.
"Is this going to hurt?" I was almost inaudible.
"A first, if you squirm or tense up." A sweat trailed down my face. In other words, yes. I lay back down and waited for the needles.
It felt like a few minutes past so I opened my eyes. Looking down I saw Bookman putting away the sharp tools. "You should be fine now." I didn't feel a thing. That's some nice work. He stood, which did nothing for his height, and went to whisper something to the red headed boy. He nodded and came to me as Bookman went to speak to the others.
"My name's Lavi, but I'm also known as Bookman Junior. What's your name?" I noticed something.
"Do you not have a last name?" He stopped. Did I say something wrong? His face was blank. Why do I feel like I should be scared? Krory and Allen grabbed his shoulders.
"Don't-" They spoke in unison just before he broke it. "She's so cute!" I slouched in confusion.
"What?" he hugged me.
"Your voice is so adorable! You're not too bad looking either!"
"Injured...can't...BREATH!" He let go as I gasped for air. My shoulders slumped as I relaxed again. "So, why don't you have a last name again?"
He just smiled sweetly. "I threw that away years ago. So your name?" I smiled a little. Calm once again. Phew. Thank goodness.
"It's Rosio. I don't really have a nickname. So yeah." I looked down at my blanket which I gripped tightly. "I guess I'm like you. I don't have a last name either. I didn't throw it away or anything. I just don't have one. I do have a nice family though. They can be really annoying at most times."
He just continued to smile. "That's nice. The old panda is my family." It was silent for a moment. I noticed that everyone else had gone outside.
"Hey." I looked back at Lavi. "You want to come with us? You may not know it, but Bookman told me to tell you that you're what's called an Innocence Accommodator." I wasn't surprised. I guess the plans working... "That means you're an Exorcist like us. We all work at the Black Order, without pay of course." I just nodded, "Alright, I'll come work for the Black Order as an Exorcist."
He was surprised by this. "No question's about Innocence or anything like that?"
I shook my head, "No. I just wish to become an Exorcist."
He scratched at the back of his head. "Well okay then. This was a lot easier than I thought it would be." He stood and held out his hand to me. I just stared at it. "Well come on. We can't keep everyone waiting all day." I'm not used to this kindness from anyone since my life lived as a Noah. I took it lightly and stood.
"Let's go." He smiled as he led me out the door.
Author's note: I want to thank BlueicefireNINJA4 for being the Beta for my story. I really appreciate it. Anyways, well now you've met Rosio, but she seems to be acting a little off. Don't you think? What's wrong? Why didn't she die? Can she get past the gate? Will these questions ever end? Will I ever find my left shoe? Find some of these answers in the next chapter of, "Rusty Innocence, Corroded Friendship."
Please Review! Love your author,
Akiho13!
