Page of 5

Word count : 2194

Date : 16-Jan, 2011

Note: DGrayman is a Japanese manga (& anime) written and drawn by Katsura Hoshino. If you haven't read it, go read it! It's one of the few manga that still got me addicted.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, never did and never will, no matter how much I like them. This is just a fan work, it is not for commercial use and is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.

Forewords: Tonight I had a sudden compulsion to write about them. A story between two brothers. Neah Walker and Mana Walker.

Feedbacks are always welcomed and appreciated!

Brothers

by Sceaduw

Part One. 3 years ago.

Mana was asleep now. He was still shivering from the cold. I took off my black cape and covered his curled up body. This shabby little hut was leaking in wind from all sides, but it was better than staying out in the rain. Consider this hut in the woods a gift from God.

We couldn't risk getting caught by the other Noahs. Mana would be killed and I would suffer something worse than death. The Earl knew it and the other Noahs knew it. To destroy me, they would only need to kill my only brother. Afterall, I left all of them for my dear brother.

I laid down beside Mana and watched as he slept. He looked so peaceful, not a care in the world. How could he be so calm when we were being hunted down? He was not a Noah and he had no powers. He was just a mortal. He should be petrified. Unlike me, I didn't need to eat and drink as often and still filled with energy. Come to think of it, we had been moving in-between cities and hadn't even eaten anything for two days. It must be tough for him, considering we used to be little masters of the Walker household. But that was all history now.

Stealing food was without troubles. The problem was, Mana refused to eat stolen food. He even scolded me for being a petty thief. He was a strict and stubborn big brother as always. Even when he knew so clearly that I was not the little brother he had before. I was one of the Noahs. So eventually, we ended up sometimes performing on the streets for a few dollars. He would play his harmonica and I would sing. We were not good at it but we survived.

I rubbed my eyes. Today had been a long day, running and dodging. Tomorrow would be different, I wished. I touched Mana on his cheek softly. Tomorrow, Mana would be one day older. And I would still be what I was three years ago. That day when my soul awakened to be a Noah. If we survived the hunt, I would still need to face the fact that Mana would die of old age someday.

But I guessed that would be the most wonderful thing I could have, to be able to witness Mana till the end. If we survived that was.

Mana mumbled in his sleep. He curled up tighter. I huddled closer to him, hoping I could warm him up somehow. The wind howled outside and some rain pelleted into the hut through the broken windows and leaky roof. I listened to the rain drops on the trees outside. They made a rattle on the roof but Mana was sound asleep. Closing my eyes, I listened to Mana's beating heart.

Then there was something else out there, I could feel it coming.

"Neah... ?" groaned Mana as I pushed him gently. He reluctantly sat up. I tied the cape onto him by the collar and covered his head with the hood.

"We have to go," I spoke quietly while pulling him off the wooden floorboards, "they're here."

Mana jumped to his feet. "Then we must go!" he exclaimed, "What are you doing? Why are you putting this on me?" Mana untied the cape and shoved it back onto me. "It's raining outside, put this on, Neah! Look at you! You will catch a cold out there!" he said as he draped the garment over me. I could never say no to Mana. If I told him I didn't need it because I was no longer a human, he would be upset. I looked sadly at the water still dripping from his hair and clothes. He was slightly trembling from the cold while he draped the cape onto me. He smiled, "don't worry, Neah. Things will be alright!" He took my hand and walked towards the door.

What did he mean by alright? The bags beneath his eyes told me he was at his limit. Yet his hand was so strong and warm. We ran out into the rain together.

We ran and ran, until Mana finally tripped and fell, dragging me along with him onto the muddy ground. He had sprained his ankle. I knelt down to examine his wound immediately. The joint had swelled up to the size of a boiled egg.

"Damn it!" I cursed between gritted teeth. Mana pushed me away, he hissed with pain, "go! Don't worry about me! Go now!"

"No!" I cried and pulled him up despite his gasps of pain. I hauled his arm over my shoulder and tried to lift him up. His body was larger than mine now but I was strong.

"Quit running already, I'm bloody soaking wet!" a voice scowled behind us. I swirled around. It was Dezaiasu. I could tell he was extremely displeased with the state of his clothes in this heavy rain. "Neah, why don't you understand what Earl was trying to do for you? You broke his heart!" said Dezaiasu as he walked closer to us, "now please will you come back to us, or you will share a grave with your mortal brother?"

We instinctively backed off step by step as he advanced forward. I tightened my grip onto Mana's body and yelled, "you tell the Earl that I will never return to him! Let us go if the Earl really loved me!"

"That's too bad, Neah. Earl loves his children too dearly to let them go!" Dezaiasu laughed and looked at Mana, "and he won't forgive those who takes from him!" I immediately flung Mana onto the ground behind me, blocking in-between him and the Noah in front. Dezaiasu was skilled in controlling people's movement. He could snap Mana in half by a mere look.

"Just go Neah! Save yourself!" cried Mana. I never understood why Mana cared for me this much! He should know I, as a Noah, was more capable of saving myself. He didn't seem to realize I was trying to save him from the Earl!

"Be quiet, bro! I'm not leaving you!" I yelled. Before I knew it, I actually told my brother to shut up. It was my first time. I felt a shiver down my spine. I used to think it would feel great to tell my over-protective sibling off. Instead, it felt really depressing. I wanted to cry.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Dezaiasu distastefully as a few stones flew feebly at his body. The stones left some mud onto his clothes as they impacted. I looked down and saw Mana picking up small stones from the muddy ground. He threw another two stones at the Noah.

"Go away you demon!" Mana cried shakily, "I will not let you lay a finger on my brother!" He was sitting on the ground and throwing stones inefficiently. What was that supposed to achieve? That would only infuriate the Noah.

"Humans. So weak," Dezaiasu stopped at where he was and dodged the next few stones as he spoke, "so helpless." I knelt down and wrapped Mana tightly in my arms, stopping him from throwing anything anymore. If he must kill Mana, then he would have to kill me too.

"I'm sorry Neah, I failed to protect you," whispered Mana. He held onto me and I thought I heard him sobbing. The rain had stopped and I closed my eyes. I hugged Mana close and began to hum a familiar tune.

The ark was our only chance out.

"Don't try to use the ark Neah, you don't care if the human is torn to pieces?" Dezaiasu said while patting some of the dirt off his jacket. I snapped open my eyes and glared at him. "He doesn't have any powers or Innocence to protect him. He will either get shredded up during the transport or die upon arrival inside the ark."

"Just leave and save yourself, Neah." said Mana weakly. He looked so fragile. I turned to face Dezaiasu silently, locking my eyes deep into his.

"Come on, don't look at me like that. Anyway, I only come to deliver a message from the Earl. It seems you have already given me your answer," Dezaiasu said as he squeezed some water from his long hair, "what? If I am going to kill your brother, he would be dead at the beginning already." He eyed Mana coldly but he grinned at me.

"What message you brought from the Earl?" I asked, doubting whether to trust him or not. I still stood firmly between him and my brother.

"If you don't return to him, he will personally come to hunt you down," said Dezaiasu as he wiped the water droplets off his monocle with his sleeve.

I narrowed my eyes but found myself smiling, "then I shall wait for him to come find me." Dezaiasu returned a similar smile before he disappeared into the mist. The temperature dropped significantly after the shower. I quickly helped Mana up and we walked out of the woods. Soon, snow began to drift down from above. We held onto each other for warmth and support, and didn't exchange any conversations. The only thing that came out of our mouths were white puffs of air. It was just when we reached the next village, Mana broke the silence.

"Neah... promise me you will not be one of those demons," he said, "even when I am no longer around. Please, don't be like them." He was looking at the ground all the time as I carried him to the nearest inn in the village.

"What are you talking about? We're alright, aren't we?" I laughed, trying to cheer him up, "You protected me bravely with those little stones, didn't you?" Thinking back on his rash actions, I couldn't help but feeling loved.

Mana smiled. He still looked worried. Worried for me.

We went into the inn and asked to stay for a night or two. We had no money but in exchange we provided some music for the inn. We earned ourselves a stay at the stable with some dry hay and a horse to keep us warm. The inn keeper gave us a single loaf of bread to keep us alive. That generous bastard. No wonder the Earl wanted to wipe out mankind.

We tied the horse to the far end of the narrow box stall and sat onto the pile of hay stack. Mana broke the bread into two and gave the larger portion to me. I tried to protest but he insisted. "You'll need strength Neah! Eat up! You'll shrink to a child's size if you don't eat more!" he said as he stuffed the remaining smaller fraction into his mouth, "Look at you, I am bigger than you now! And we used to be able to share clothes! I really need to find more to feed you tomorrow!"

I didn't have a chance to argue with big brother. I looked down at the piece of bread and ate slowly. I was not hungry nor shrinking in size. Mana quickly finished his meal and flopped down onto the hay stack. Sleep fell upon him instantly. Again, he slept so peacefully, no matter where we were, not a care in the world. I took off my cape again. It had been dried by the fire inside the inn during our very talented performance. I draped it over my brother's body gently, careful not to wake him.

"Neah... I'll be with you..." muttered Mana in his sleep, "I'll... protect you..." That was what he told me before too, on the night of my awakening, when he found our parents were murdered. My big brother would protect me and never leave me alone. I wondered if he would still loved me if he found out it was me who did the killings. Mana curled himself up, unconsciously trying to get the most warmth between the hay and the cape. I laid myself down beside him as usual.

The bread tasted too sweet for me. I chewed on, listening to Mana's soft breathing.

-to be continued-