Les Papillons ont Volés

Author-chan: I know I said I wanted to keep the facts straight. T.T But… I don't know enough! I'm trying to remember what I saw in the anime, but the anime is not enough and I haven't read the this fanfic, normal weapons can kill akumas with the soul intact.

Dang it... I also tried to have a more creative line break, but it is not allowing me to put plus signs or hearts... How can it not allow me to put plus signs? What if I wanted to put an equation into the text? :(

I also have a huge problem with formatting on here... I can't make indentations and I can't skip more than one line... This ended up looking slightly more messy than I intended it to be.

Disclaimer: I do not own Man or anything you may recognize as not mine.

(This is the only chapter that will display this, but it applies throughout the entire story.)

Summary:

Beautiful butterflies' wings bat gently against my skin.

"I love you."

He smiles at me, but do not reply. His arms surround me from behind in a tight embrace.

"I love you," I repeat as his hand slides across my body to my chest where the birth mark lay – to where my heart beats for him. "I love you." He slips in, bringing a chilling cold inside me. It hurt. It hurt to love him.

"Please don't leave me, Tyki," I whisper as I slowly lose consciousness.

"Never."

Les Papillon ont Volés

Ma Famille est Morte

There is not too much that is needed to be known about me. I have a pale face adorn with dark hair and eyes. I am not unusually tall or unusually short. My family is not particularly poor, but we are not particularly rich. I have a maman, papa, two older brothers, and one little sister. There are only two peculiar things about me. One, my papa encouraged me to take up fencing, his own personal passion, after realizing that my oldest brother only cars about his studies and my second brother is always too busy shoplifting from vendors. There is also no way my five-year-old little sister can learn to fence, so it was up to me, age twelve, to live up to his wishes. Two, I have two birth marks that marred my skin: one above my heart and one on my lower back. Both are in the shape of a cross and that about sums up little ol' Ria Tallentyre.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Someone get the bloody door!" Someone has been banging on it for the past minute and papa has finally snapped. He had just come home from a strenuous week at sea, working as a merchant.

"Annabella! Stop crying!" maman's voice can be heard from the kitchen. Annabella must have accidentally caught her hair on the knob of the backdoor again. Maman has time and time again tried to cut her long hair, but she time and time again refused. Of course, the long blonde hair suits her pale heart-shaped face beautifully and bring out the shine in her baby blue eyes.

With everyone busy doing their own things and my second brother, Jacque, wrecking havoc in town again, I am the only one available to take the door, which I do so reluctantly.

Familiar sapphire eyes meet my own as the door swings open. He has a smile on his face as he holds up his arms.

"Jonathon!" I give him a heartfelt embrace. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too."

Jonathon, my eldest brother had gone abroad to study in England three years ago and this is the first time I have seen him since.

"Big brother is back! Big brother is back! Annabella wants to see big brother Jonny!" Annabella's cries can be heard, but was quickly shushed by maman who was still trying to untangle her hair. She does not have a clear memory of Jonathon, but I always tell her about all the times he took care of me and taught me names to flowers and butterflies.

"Jonathon, my boy, come in and give papa a hug!" papa says from behind me. Jonathon makes his way over to him with me still clinging on to him like an octopus.

"Big brother Jonny! Big brother Jonny!" Annabella is finally free from the door and joins me on Jonathon. "Annabella miss Jonny!` Annabella miss Jonny! Does Jonny miss Annabella?"

Jonathon looks down and pats her on the head. "Of course I missed you, Annabella."

"Come! Come! Maman make pie! Maman make pie!"

"Yes! Maman makes the best meringue pies!" We each take one of his hands and tug him into the kitchen where the scent of lemon fills the air.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

For the rest of the night, the family, with the absence of Jack, shares a good laugh with food that warm our stomachs.

"It's time to go to bed, Ria, Annabella," maman states when the clock's hand reaches 12. She allowed us to stay up extra late to spend time with papa and Jonathon.

"Good night, papa!" We kiss him.

"Good night, maman!" We kiss her.

"Good night, Jonny!" We kiss him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

Not long after I close my eyes, I hear a scream and sit up.

"Ria…?" Annabella stirs from beside me.

A second scream fills the air.

"Maman…?" I whisper.

"Maman in trouble, Ria?"

"I… I don't know," I answer her. "Stay here. If anyone comes in, hide under the bed or in the closet and don't make a noise."

I quietly open the door and tiptoe down the stairs.

"What are you doing, Jonathon?" I hear papa roar out.

"Jonathon…" an odd distorted voice replies. "Jonathon is not heeeere~!"

I peek from around the wall and spot an odd bloated… thing floating in the air. It has… cannons everywhere? My twelve-year-old mind is having a difficult trying to comprehend the creature in front of me.

"What have you done to Jonathon, you monster?" papa shouts with a sword in his hand. His stance was perfect, something I strive to achieve. He swings at the monster, dodging enormous… bullets that are being shot from the creature. He is doing well, until…

"Ria…?" My eyes snap to Annabella who is coming down the stairs. "Papa?" I grab her as she tries to run to papa, who is now distracted.

One of the bullets caught him in the chest and he coughs in pain. "Papa!"

"Ta-take your sister out of here…" papa whispers as pentacles begin to spread across his skin. "Remember that… papa and maman… loves you…"

"Papa!" I tug Annabella's crying form out.

"Come on! We have to go, Anna!"

We run out the house, but stop at the sight in front of us. They are everywhere! People are running out of their houses and getting caught by the many bullets that shower down at them. "Ria… Annabella is scared… Annabella wants maman and papa…" When I remain silent, she repeats herself. "Annabella wants maman and papa! Annabella wants maman and papa!" I quickly cover her mouth and move us to the side of the house, behind a tree. The creature from within the house floats by, looking around before being attracted to other villagers.

"Annabella," I whisper. "You have to stay quiet, okay? We're going back into the house, but don't make a sound." A whimper escapes her lips, but she nods. "Good girl. Annabella is a good girl."

We slip back into the house and I grab the sword papa used to fight the creature. There is nothing left of their bodies, but dust. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my beating heart, afraid it will be heard by the monsters outside. We'll be okay… We'll be okay… Jacque, where are you…?

"I see youuu~!" That horrid sound brings a shiver down my spine.

"I'm not letting you take her!" I shout, turning around and swinging my sword at it. It dodges. "Annabella, hide! Don't let them get you!" She scurries off to hide behind papa's armchair, her back to the wall. I swing my sword at it again, but he dodges, giving a maniacal laugh. I am relentless, but the bullets that are being shot toward me make it difficult to remain in the offensive.

Suddenly, I misread one of its movements and the bullet hits me straight in the chest. I gasp for breath, hitting the wall behind me.

"Ria!" Annabella screams as I land beside her.

I cough, a bit of blood spray across the white carpet, slowly staining and drying up. Am I going to die like papa and maman? I cough again before pain rack my entire body, leaving me screaming. I fall to my side, writhing in agony. My vision flickers on and off.

The creature, seeing my pain, focuses its attention on the other human. It is not until I hear a delicate scream and the tear of fabric do I come back to my senses. I cough again, blood dripping from the corner of my mouth. "Annabella… Annabella…"

"Ria… Annabella… Will Annabella see papa and maman…?"

I cannot see her, but I know what happened. My beautiful, innocent sister…

One more cough escapes my lips before I find myself fuel by the anger from within me. I jump to my feet, but nearly topple over from the unfamiliar weight on my back. White feathers flutter around me. Wings…? I flap them, testing out the feathery appendages before charging at the monster.

It explodes when I finally manage strike it through the core. I flew away out of the house when smoke fills the air.

XxXxXxXxXxXxX

I look around me. It has taken me until morning, but they are all gone. Not a lot of the villagers are left, either, perhaps a handful. They cried for the lost of their families and friends as I also wish to do, but I cannot cry now… Not after everything that has happened. I cannot allow myself to break and let my guard down. Who knows how many more are lurking about, waiting to strike.

I sit on the porch, waiting for something. The wings have long since disappeared after all the creatures were destroyed. I am left with an empty feeling of lost and unease.

"Oh? So the carrier is a girl this time?" a man muses in front of me. "If only you are older…"

I look up and see a mass of red, black, and gold. His hair is the reddest I have ever seen and his black hat and white mask makes him look incredibly out of place in this village.

"Who are you?" I inquire after analyzing him.

He has a lecherous grin on his face as he takes a seat beside me. "The Akuma sure did their job here. Nearly wiped it out. You don't happen to know where they went, do you ?"

I tilt my head. "They? Akuma? The things that attacked the village?"

"Yes, the Akuma. Big spheres that shoot bullets out."

"I destroyed them."

He does not have the look of surprise, like I expected. "And how did a little girl like you destroy them?" I flash him the sword that is still by my side. He scrutinizes it with his gaze and frowns. "That's not where the Innocence is…" he mutters. "Anything else special on you, girl?"

"Wings." He lifts up an eyebrow. "I had wings when I fought them." The man moves behind me and lifts up my filth-ridden shirt. I let out a scream in shock and try to move away, but he holds steady. "Pervert!" I shout when I felt his hand on my birth mark.

"Innocence… A parasitism type, hmm?" He drops my shirt and settles back beside me. "I guess you should come with me, apprentice."

"What? What are you talking about? I'm not your apprentice!" I am beyond confused by now. Who is this strange man?

"Since I really don't feel like going back there, I'll just take you along with me instead," he says, grinning. "But of course, you'll need to pay me back, so don't be surprised when I give you odd jobs to do."

"Odd jobs?" This man is mad! "I'm not going or doing anything for you!"

"Come on, girl. Time to train you." He is not listening! "I'm Marian Cross, but you can call me Master."

This is the first time I've written first person present tense. If it bothers you, please tell me and I will change this chapter and start writing in past tense again.

Hopefully, I will be able to get the next chapter up soon. I know I have started quite a few stories, not finish them or end in a cliffhanger, but I will try to give this a proper ending... eventually... hopefully...

I think the family name, Tallentyre, might be German. I'm not quite sure, but this chapter is set in France. This location is not really significant in any way to the plot (at the moment), it is just for my own complete image of the story.

However, the titles are in French.

Les Papillons ont Volés means "The Butterflies Flew". Volés can also mean "stolen" or "robbed."

Ma Famille est Morte is translated to "My Family is Dead."

Maman I believe is the French version of "Mommy" (a less formal way to address mother), opposed to ma mère.

Papa is just "Papa" in English and French.

I apologize if the French will cause a bit of trouble for understand, but I do not plan to use it too often, mainly ones that are easily understood. The titles, however, will most likely be in French for my own amusement and for my lack of imagination for a better name.

I also apologize if my grammar in French and English is incorrect. I only have high school French (which really isn't a lot) and my English grammar just… slips from me quite often.