I own nothing! This is a a story about DGM's fave rabbit and my "dragon". Please enjoy any attempts at humor and the poisonous cacti and the wolves. Can't have a good story with out wolves...and Dusk...you'll find out about that "mutt" latter.
"So, this Innocence is in a mountian?" Asked the white-haired boy, looking at his friends.
"On a mountain, not in it Moyashi." The dark-haired samuri corrected, throwing on the usual insult. He was, to put it nicely, very annoyed. The reasons were pretty simple, and to some, understandable. For one, the train ride was taking forever, and he was stuck on said train with some very irritating people. He didn't know who was worse, but if he had to choose, it would be Bookman's apprentice, Lavi. The red haired teen had braided his ponytail while he was asleep. Again. To make matters worse, he couldn't get it undone. He wondered if it was glued in place.
"Yuu-chan! Do you want me to take that braid out?" Lavi asked, finally deciding to take notice of the other's struggles.
"First off, it's Kanda to you. And second...Get this braid undone now!" Kanda demanded. The other boy began to undo the braid as the others began their discussion.
"Is there anything that can give us a hint to find this Innocence?" This time a girl spoke up, asking the question. From his position a few feet away, Lavi chimed in.
"There is an old story about a magic crystal on the mountain. It's really small, but really powerful. They say the crystal defended the mountian from tresspassers. It turns red as a warning and if it 'chooses' you, it glows. Strange, right? Allen? Lenalee?" He smiled.
"Yeah..." Allen, the white-haired boy, sweatdropped at the vague response. That was not very helpful, but he had to admit it gave them an idea on what to look for. "That was...helpful. At least we can try to find this crystal now."
"Yeah, but I did hear from this one girl I met before getting on the train, that the mountain is full of poisonous plants and the animals that live there hunt down travelers. She also said there used to be a family that lived in the town. The mother turned into a monster after her second husband's death. She killed villagers and was stopped by her daughter, who had also become a monster...then fled to the mountains." Lavi said rather plainly, to busy getting the last of the braid undone.
"...Lavi...That's kind of creepy. Besides, you shouldn't listen to those stories from one girl you met,"The girl, Lenalee, said. Lavi continued on talking as if he hadn't heard her, to excited now to finish saying what he had heard.
"There's also some weird superstitions there! Like...if you've ever done anything wrong, you wear twine braclets and put on beads. One for everything you did wrong. Um...you can't have red wine in your house at night, white lilies are only grown on graves, you can't hurt crows unless they are white and the feathers are stuck in the ground in front of your door, and you can't wear black unless your going into the mountains, that way they don't have to waste time with an outfit for your funeral." Lavi explained, before adding cheerfully,"I guess we're good on that last superstition, huh?" Everyone just gave him a blank, but clear "Wtf" look. Looking at her watch, Lenalee cleared her throat.
"We should be at the station in a few minutes, guys." She stated, looking at all of her friends with a bright smile.
The train pulled into the station, and everyone began to gather their belongings. Everyone exited the train and looked around the station. There was an old wooden sign that said, 'Welcome to Hated City', with a sentence underneath that said 'The city cursed by God'. Lenalee laughed nervously after reading that and the temperature around the group seemed to drop.
"Hey, you Idjts. You from the black order?" A young man with blonde hair and a eyepatch huffed, pointing at the exorcists. A taller man stood next to him.
"That's not very nice." He huffed, tapping the shorter males head.
"AH, SHUDDUP, Ghosty! Now, answer the damn question!"
"Ah...y-yes?" Allen said, extremely confused. A girl walked by and stopped next to the group. She stared straight ahead, but spoke to them.
"He has respect for you. His usual greeting is 'You worthless shits, what the hell are you doin' in this shit hole of a town.' And if you don't answer right away he usually says, 'Answer me dammit or I'll throw your sorry asses in front of the next train'." And then she walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
"Peh. It's true. Though they damned this town themselves, dumbasses. God ain't real and never will be." He huffed, his arms going to rest behind his head.
"What do you mean by that? Are you an Atheist, or something?" Lavi asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I believe in someone, But you ain't 'llowed to know. Now, get yer asses movin' to the inn 'fore I kick them all the way there!" He yelled, making them scramble towards the general direction of the inn.
Along the way, Allen and co. had learned that the two people who'd met them at the station were named Scar and Ghostman. Lavi had started a conversation with Ghostman about the superstitions and the girl that was last off the train. The other's silently followed Scar to the inn on the outskirts of the town.
"So Ghostman, is that girl a citizen here?" Lavi asked, trying to keep up with the taller man. "She was kind of weird, I didn't get a good look at her either. Is she pretty?" Ghostman stared at him before looking away, keeping a close eye on Scar as he held out a huge spider to Lenalee, who screamed and clung to Allen.
"She's a citizen on the mountain. And, sure, she's pretty. I just don't have time for people like her so I don't bother." He repiled, sighing.
"The mountain? Isn't it dangerous? I heard it's got all kinds of dangerous animals and poisonous plants. Why would she live up there?" He asked. He was sure that she was between his age and Allen's, so it seemed weird to him for some one that old to live up there. Then a thought occured to him. "Does she live alone?" Ghostman was silent, looking down at Lavi with his sunken eyes. Groaning in pain, he called out to Scar in a foreign language.
"Tardus descendit, scarus! Opus ad requiem!" Ghostman yelled, dropping to his knees. Scar had come over, sitting down in front of him.
"H-hey! Are you okay?" Lavi asked, trying to help Ghostman stand. Neither noticed the tall figure behind them with the knife, grinning demonically.
"L-lavi!" Allen managed to stutter, pointing behind his friend."G-ghostman..." Scar stood and reached behind him into a huge bag that Lenalee'd noticed, but didn't ask about. Scar pulled out a large flame thrower, his eyes narrowing.
"Innocentiae, eu! Infernus hyacintho starter!" Blue flames erupted from the barrel, going straight towards the figure.
"Hehehehe..." The figure, a young man with shaggy mahogany hair, laughed and lunged forward. He didn't reach his target, though, because of another man with fire red hair and a younger teen with strawberry blonde hair. Both latched onto him and held on tightly.
"D-Dammit! Deactivate! Deactivate, you fatass!" The red haired man yelled, pulling back his fist and punching his face. The man recovered from the hit and bit the other's shoulder. The teen started to cry.
"S-stop it big brother! They'll chase you away like they did with the nice dragon lady!" He cried, before bitting him. Ghostman was standing shakily with Lavi's help before breaking away and shoving him towards the others.
"S-Scar, I-I'll help them with him. Please get them to the inn." Ghostman said, shoving the younger male forward before turning to the three and shakily going to them. Scar looked at him before herding them in the general direction of the Inn.
"Sloth! Get on his back!" The red haired man yelled. The teen, Sloth, did as he was told and held on like his life depended on it. A few more punches to the head knocked the man out. Sloth got up and looked at the red head.
"He'll be okay now. Right Wrath?" He asked. "Gluttony will be fine. Right?"
"He'll be fine. I'm more worried that Greed is gonna die of a heart attack after hearing this. I'd be damned if he was free before the three of us. That bastard doesn't deserve death."
"Your swearing ruins all touching moments, big brother."
"I know." Ghostman stood, towering over them. The young man was from freaking Mongolia, so yeah, he was pretty tall.
"You guys could've gotten us into a lot of trouble with the Mistress. What on Earth were you thinking of doing?" He huffed, brushing some of his stray hair from his thin face.
"We had to stop Gluttony. That stupid Innoccence he swallowed when his girlfriend died took over again! He was after that red-haired kid, and I'm sure that the boy's friends didn't want to see him eaten alive." Wrath said throwing Gluttony over his shoulder and picking up Sloth, who had fallen asleep. "Those Exorcists are probably going to the mountain, the Earl wouldn't be happy to here that. Also, don't forget to let it 'slip' about the curse we have. All of us." And with that he leapt away. Ghostman stood there, silently watching Wrath leave with their brothers. He groaned in pain and sat down again. Huffing, he picked at some of the lint on his white wrap around. He wondered how Scar was doing with the Exorcists.
"Hey, Scar, what was the language you and Ghostman were speaking earlier?" Lavi asked, grinning. Scar narrowed his visible green eye at him.
"It's Latin. The dead language." He huffed, muttering "Fucktard" under his breath.
"Hey! Be nice! Don't talk about people under your breath!" A girl in a long blue dress with gold trimming said, smacking Scar with a tray. She then smiled and turned to them," I see your wearing black. Are you planning on going into the mountains? If so, I wish you luck and hope to see you again." Scar rubbed his head muttering upsetly.
"Yes," Allen replied, smiling, "We're going to look for an Innocence."The blonde tilted her head and looked at Scar.
"Isn't that what Wrath said Gluttony swallowed? You know, right after his beloved Conchita died?" She asked.
"No shit. The asshat HAD to swallow Conchita BECAUSE he was scared that someone else would get her." Scar sighed, putting on a helmet to protect himself before slipping into a suit of armor to protect everything else. Ghostman had come in, sniffling with tears falling from his leaf green eyes.
"Ghostman! What happened?" The blonde girl said, directing her attention to him. Another girl with green hair shoved the blonde aside.
"Move over Pride! What happened? Did some one hurt you?"
"Hey! Envy! The heck is wrong with you! I asked first!" The two girls started pushing each other and pulling at each other's hair. Ghostman watched with teary eyes before throwing himself onto Scar.
"B-Big brother... I-It was scary! O-On my way back I-I was a-a-attacked by some strange man! It was horrible! He had grayish skin a-and.." He then burst into another fit of tears. Everyone else but Lavi was shocked at the description.
"Wait, SCAR is the OLDER brother?" Lavi said, stuck in shock and awe. Everyone just stared at him like he was an idiot or something."What?"
"Ghostman, did you get a name?" Asked another girl, who walked down a flight of stairs in the old inn.
"Hey Lust!" Envy said. The tall male didn't answer immediately, actually having to think about it. He let himself fall bcakwards onto the floor so his body bent in a impossible way for someone like him. He looked at Lust with his dewy eyes.
"Mikk." he said, furrowing his eybrows as he slid his legs from beneath his body andplaced his feet next to his head. Pulling himself in a full circle, he stood up and pulled his wrap around closer to his shoulders.
"You should get some rest, okay? You guys too. The mountain's a dangerous place, not to mention the town's curse." Lust said.
"Oh! Who here knows about the town's superstitions?" Pride asked. Everyone pointed to Lavi. "Okay, can you take this outside and put it at the roadside in front of the house?" She handed him a basket of red wine. Lavi nodded and walked out the door.
"Wait!" Envy exclaimed. "If you hear a crow call as you reach the door, step in right foot first! Otherwise something bad will happen to you in the next couple of days." Lavi nodded and was about to head out when he was ambushed by Ghostman wrapping his wrap around his shoulders and head.
"White is a good color to wear at night here. It keeps the spirits of those who were deceased recently from you." He said, patting Lavi's head.
"This town has alot of pointless superstitions. Your not really gonna listen to them are you?" Kanda asked. Lavi just nodded.
"Also, take this." Pride handed him a bowl of something.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Hot sauce and sugar. There is a vampire nearby who loves sweet and spicy things. If you see him, put the bowl down and back away slowly." Lust explained. Lavi made a face at the combination and nodded. Ghostman pursed his lips like a mother (he looked even more so like a mother since his eyes were wide and dewy from crying earlier) and simply spun Lavi in a circle three times before giggling.
"That was to make sure you can stand your ground in case you get attacked. Now, off with you!" he said, pushing the red head towards the door.
Lavi walked out slowly, avoiding the white feathers in the ground and went to the road side. He set the wine down and turned around, coming face to face with a towering figure with red eyes. He gasped, but he still heard one of the girls say to put the bowl down. He did and slowly moved around the man, who had picked up the bowl. He backed away slowly from the large figure, the white hood almost slipping from his head. Reaching up slowly, he tightened it around his head and slowly went back to the inn, eyes never leaving the large figure's back. Once he was near the door to at the front of the inn, he raced inside, slamming the door shut and sinking to the floor.
"T-that was creepy..." Lavi said, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Allen approached the man called Scar.
"Are you sure that man wasn't an exorcist? Krory was mistaken for a vampire even though he's an exorcist." Allen said. Scar's only visible cold eye glared at Allen.
"That's none of my concern on how your friend was seen. But he is truly a mix of true vampiric blood. The other is actually known to me and my dear younger brother." He said, looking to Ghostman when he'd mentioned him. The tall mongolian was curled up on the floor, sleeping with his long black hair splayed about him. His long sleeved dress-like shirt also splayed about him, revealing the taut, form fitting pants he wore. He looked strange without his white wrap around tucked between his arms, giving him a girlish appearance. Kanda che'd t the sight of the male sleeping on the floor.
"How normal is that?" He muttered, glaring pointedly at the sleeping mongol. Scar raised an eyebrow.
"For your information, he's rather weak and gets stressed easily, resulting in him sleeping at random. It's not narcolepsy because he has to be sitting down first." He huffed. Lenalee tilted her head.
"You know, this is one strange town." Lenalee stated."Even the people are strange. There's strange superstitoins and...wait what do you mean about 'a mix of true vampiric blood'?"
"It means he's a half breed sweetie." A woman said appearing from a closed door. "And before you ask, I'm Banika Conchita."
"Half breed?" Everyone asked, confused.
"Mix of two seperate breeds." Came the sleepy mumble from Ghostman, who'd woken up and was sitting up slightly. "Good evening, Conchita-chan."
"Ghosty-kun! Have you seen my dear boyfriend? I haven't seen him in a while, I hope he's okay. I hope Ban didn't send him on a rampage again..." Conchita said, covering her mouth with her hand at the thought. She was a very pretty woman, long red hair and dark, almost black eyes. She even wore a fancy looking dress, also red, with gold trimming and emeralds sewn onto the front.
"Nn... wen' bi' crazy... Tri' keel... usa usa- hentai..." Ghostman mumbled, falling backwards with a loud THUNK and falling asleep again.
"Hmm...mother's cursed gift to me, the first and last...Poor Gluttony...I still remember his real name..."She said, biting her nails."Oh! Wrath and sloth probably got him! He's probably upstairs sleeping! And since I've gotta go check on him, I'll show you your rooms! C'mon kids!" With that she went up the stairs, pausing at the top and looking down at them with a smile. Scar ushered them all upstairs before turning to his borther and picking him up, sighing in annoyance. Why did he have to be so tall!
Lavi was watching Conchita. He'd heard that name before, but he didn't know where. It was really annoying him that he couldn't remember. Sitting up he looked around the room he was given. It was pretty nice, not what you would expect by looking at the outside of it. The walls were white, which he noticed a lot of things were, along with the table, the bed sheets, and the curtains. The rest was more of a cream color.
As much as he wished to fall asleep, there was too much on his mind. One was definately Conchita, then there was that girl at the trian station, the names of the people working at the inn, and especially the vampire. If he really was a vampire, then they could all be in trouble. That and he just got an overall bad feeling from being in the town. he then started to wonder why Scar and his friends seemed to avoid questions involving the town, or the mountain, or themselves. It was all too strange.
Realizing he wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon, Lavi decided to explore the inn a little. Walking down a dark hallway, he heard voices. A door was open a crack and the voices resonated from within it. Peeking through the slit, he could make the form of Ghostman out. He was talking into a red substance that looked suspiciously like blood. Upon closer inspection, there was a face in the red liquid.
"They arrived in town today?" It asked in a cracking, gravely, but feminine voice.
"Yes. I-I don't want them to get hurt though... I-I would like to leave early so to not be part of this..." Ghostman whimpered, obviously uncomfortable. There was an annoyed sigh.
"Enough of this, Ghostman, or should I say Johnathan Twist?" Lavi's eyes widened a fraction. The exorcist that had been killed by all those akuma? It couldn't be. He was going to figure this out, so he stayed put and listened. He heard Ghostman gasp at the name and shiver.
"P-Please don't call me that... bad memories... bad, bad memories." He muttered. The voice laughed cruely.
"Then be Ghostman, after all, Johnathan Twist is dead. Right? Or has these so called friends of yours, Master Drake and Ace, is it? Have they been filling your head with lies? That you CAN go back? That they WILL except you again? You should know that's a lie. It's as much of a lie as saying General Dusk is a murderous vampire, or that Renita didn't start the invasion that wiped out half the town and cost her two husbands, her life, and a daughter! All lies! You belong here with us." The voice said in what lavi believed was supposed to be a comforting tone.
Lavi decided he heard enough and backed away as quietly as he could. He couldn't think straight, was Ghostman really Jonathan Twist? All he knew about Twist was that he was a powerful Mongolian Exorcist that was killed by an Akuma swarm. Defending a town. In this very country. He'd heard about Twist being a very kind person who'd die for even the lowest of people, but at the same time being cruel towards those who were his enemies. He managed to find Allen's room and entered. Shaking Allen slightly, he heard the white haired boy groan.
"A-A-Allen...Allen..." Lavi said, sighing when he woke up.
"Lavi...? Wha...what is it? It's late..."
"Jonathan Twist..." Lavi managed. He was shaking so badly, he was sure Allen could feel it. "He...he's here...he's Ghostman...Allen, we have to get out of here..." Allen sat up, confused.
"But... he died, Lavi. In front of a whole town. How could he be alive?" Allen asked confused. Lavi shook his head, putting it in his hands.
"He was t-t-talking to someone... t-they called him Johnathan Twist... i-it's true.. the way he reacted... It's him." Lavi said, looking Allen straight in the eyes. "H-he acts the same way, Talks the same way, H-He looks the same way... He was also said to have recently recovered from narcolepsy..."
"That's Ghostman through and through." Conchita said, walking through the door with three men behind her. The two teens jumped and turned to look at her. Lavi paled and gulped, an ominous feeling tugging at him.
"B-Banika C-Conchita... T-The woman that can eat anything..." He whispered, staring fearfully at her. Conchita stared at them and sat on the bed between them, grinning.
"Well yes and no, I'm Conchita the second. My mother was first known as that, I carry on her legacy. I will admit I enjoy hearing my victims scream and cry and beg for mercy, but I am not entirely cold hearted. Tell me, since you are a Bookman, how my mother died?" She said, adressing Lavi.
Lavi gulped, looking at Allen. Allen was both scared and confused.
"S-She ate herself because she was still searching for the most gruesome food in the world..." He stated. Allen made a gagging sound, and muttered something along the lines of 'No matter how hungry I was, I'd never do that'. Lavi shivered as a thought occured to him. "Y-you...your going to...t-to eat us, aren't you."
"Of course not silly, although I am a cannibal that's only some of the time! And as much as I want to know what the flesh of an exorcist tastes like, I can't kill the people who're supposed to help Ghosty!" She said, a little to happily and trying to cover her mouth.
"H-help Ghostman?" Allen said, confused.
"I have a question. Who was he talking to in that wierd liquid and what was that liquid?" Lavi asked, kind of afraid to know the answer.
"Ahhhhhh...I dunno, we never got to talk to her and we don't think sloth should know what that liquid is, whatever it my be."
"Tomorrow, I'll wake you all up early. Get to the mountain and don't tell the others about this talk. The vampire named Dusk will lead you until the sun rises all the way up over the horizon. The mountain is a puzzle, you have to solve it. At the top, you will find a cottage, what you seek is there." The tall red haired man instructed, holding a young boy who had fallen asleep where he was standing.
Tardus descendit, scarus! Opus ad requiem!: Slow down, Scar! I need to rest! Latin.
Innocentiae, eu! Infernus hyacintho starter!: Innocence, activate! Hellfire blue starter! Latin