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Chapter Two - The Musician

For a moment all Yuki could do was gaze over her shoulder at the man who held her pinned. He was like none other that she had ever beheld, either in the human world or within her own kind, and there was something almost irresistible about him. Something that made you listen to him, despite any reservations that you might have.

And boy did she have reservations.

"Why aren't you going to kill me?" Her voice, that had been so full of fire mere minutes ago was now quiet and utterly defeated.

Which served to give the Noah pause. Quiet honestly this was the last thing that he had expected of her and it took the man a moment to recover from the surprise. He glanced at the young woman for a long moment before chuckling and continuing on with his prepared speech. Voice low, he spoke in a hypnotic and musical tone that more than compelled the female that he held pinned against his body to listen to him. Whether she wanted to or not. "I plan on revolting against the Earl and the other Noah. I've grown rather tired of their repetitive tirade to destroy humanity but the fact remains that I cannot defeat them alone. To that end I have assembled a large group of people already who are willing to fight for my cause. Including a few Exorcists."

Yuki was beyond surprised by his declaration that he had Exorcists on his side. She wasn't even sure of how that was possible and she gasped. "How did the Innocence not reject them?" She had heard tales from the members of the Science Department of the so called 'Fallen Ones' who had betrayed their Innocence and thus ended up with their bodies corrupted. All ended up destroyed by their very own Innocence. So how was that not the case with this man's allies?

A slight grin appeared on the face of the Musician. "There is a loophole; so long as you are following your heart the Innocence tends not to care to which side you belong. Either that or it's because of the fact that I may as well be considered a traitor to my family. If they join the neutral side, 'god' shouldn't really care." The Noah paused at this point, allowing the young woman a few brief moments to allow all of this to sink in before he continued. "So will you join my cause?" When she didn't answer immediately, he thought that she was worried about leaving the Order behind. Seeking to offer her a measure of reassurance he offered a compromise. "You can stay in the Order if you'd like. It would be helpful to have a person on the inside…"

"Why would you go against the Earl and the very being that you are?" The surprise was still evident in her voice, which was still quiet and containing a note of wariness.

So that was what had her wary of him, eh? The 14th was amused, but he knew that beating around the bush would do no good if he wanted this woman to join him.

Only the truth would do. So it was the truth that he would have to give to her. And hope that she believed him because he knew that her powers would prove useful in the upcoming war against the Earl.

"I have a brother that I seek to protect. The Earl can't really think that by killing humanity he'll become a god or something, can he? So I'm taking matters into my own hands. I shall take the Earl's place, but to make the world a better place to exist in." His face grew soft as he thought about his childhood. About the days that he and Mana had spent together, of the time that they had shared. "There are too many bad things that happen to kind, innocent people. They don't deserve that." Then he coughed, trying to cover up his raw emotions. The Musician had always sought to conceal the fact that he even had emotions but for some reason, with this woman, that mask was harder to keep in place. "And I am the 14th member of a family that has always had 13. I am the odd man out, per say."

Yuki thought about his words, finding it decidedly odd that this murderer could have a family. But then she stopped to think about how truly absurd this train of thought was. Of course he'd had a family at some point, he was just like everyone else after all. And, despite the fact that he had been allied with the Earl, the she-wolf couldn't help but think that even he deserved a second chance. Aside from that there was also the fact that he could effortlessly kill her should she decide to decline his offer, lest she inform someone and ruin his plans. Hell, for that matter he could kill her anyway… most likely without even breaking a sweat. Being part wolf she was far from weak and he hadn't even struggled to hold her when she had still been seeking her freedom.

This was one of the few times in her life when she was actually indecisive. Life in the pack had dictated that decisions be made quickly… their lives had depended upon it. This same fact held true for life as an Exorcist and Yuki quickly went over the facts in her head, thinking long and hard about what decision she should make.

Because their would be no going back once a decision had been reached.

For his part the Musician stood there brooding, actually afraid that she may reject his offer. He wanted for the girl in his grasp to agree to join his side but there was a real possibility that she wouldn't. After all it would almost seem like a betrayal to her comrades at the Black Order. Then there was the fact that a part of him, the Noah inside, that was screaming loudly for her death. For the death of all Exorcists and the destruction of the Innocence that they possessed. But he could suppress this desire and, for some unknown reason, the white haired young woman intrigued him on a level that no person ever had before. He couldn't understand why she enticed him so, why there was a part of him that was begging for her agreement.

As it was he awaited her answer with baited breath… yet making every effort to maintain his cool façade.

Yuki's blue eyes held a thoughtful look as she finally reached a decision. One that would have affects that were far reaching. "Very well, I will join your cause."

The very moment that the words left her mouth, the 14th found himself wanting to jump for joy. He had been certain that she would refuse and when she agreed his pulse rate quickened. He managed to restrain himself, refusing to show any outward emotion, and finally released his grip on her arms.

Rubbing her sore wrists Yuki slowly turned to face her capture turned ally. "May I ask what your name is?"

The Musician gained a far off expression as she asked this seemingly innocent question, his thoughts going back to a life that seemed like an eternity ago. "You may call me the 14th or the Musician," he whispered in a quiet, and yet still musical tone. "I forgot my true name long ago."

Yuki couldn't help but pick up on the slight note of sadness that his musical voice contained. It was obvious that he was trying to hide it but her keen senses picked up on it none the less. Pausing a moment she held her hand out to him, watching as he stared at it for a few moments before finally grasping it in his own. Shaking his hand she offered him a rather roguish grin. "And my name is Yuki."

The 14th nodded, to show that he had heard, vowing in that moment that hers was the one name that he would never forget. "A very fitting name," he said, tentatively reaching out and touching a strand of her long, white hair.

Slightly surprised by the action the she-wolf didn't know how to react at first. And, by the time that she had recovered somewhat, the Musician had removed his hand and taken a couple of steps away from her. He continued to gaze at her though his expression was impossible to read, even for her.

"What are you…"

But Yuki didn't get the opportunity to complete the question that had been on the tip of her tongue. "Yuki!" a male voice called out, sounding more than a little concerned. A second voice joined in the call, and then a third.

"Appears as though your comrade has found reinforcements," the Musician stated casually, the mask once again in place. Effectively hiding his emotions. "You should go and meet them." "But what about you?" Yuki questioned, not sure about how they were going to progress with their alliance from this point on.

"I'll send word to you," the 14th said, holding out his hand and summoning what looked like a strange portal. Inclining his head ever so slightly to the she-wolf, the Noah stepped through the gateway and was gone.

Staring after him Yuki blinked a couple of times, unsure whether everything that had just happened had been real or else a very vivid dream. "Did I seriously just agree to join forces with one of the Earl's subordinates?" she thought to herself as she waited for the others to join her. She would have made a move to meet them halfway but her feet seemed rooted to the ground.

"Yuki…" Andre wheezed, coming to a stop a few feet from the spot where the young woman was standing. Placing his hands on his knees the Finder took a few minutes to catch his breath before once again lifting his gaze to meet hers. "What happened to that guy?" he questioned as two of her fellow Exorcists arrived to join them.

These two were fairly new to the Black Order and Yuki found it absolutely ludicrous that Andre had managed to beat them to her location. These two pups wouldn't last long if they didn't increase their strength and stamina but Yuki chose not to say anything about it.

"He just left," Yuki said, deciding that it wasn't really a lie. More like a creative way of avoiding the truth. Because essentially the man had just left, though of course it had been on the orders of the 14th. "But I appreciate the fact that you went for help Andre." Having said this she inclined her head to the Finder before turning her attention to the others. "Now that you're here we should concentrate on finding the Innocence so that we can return to headquarters."

The two young males nodded their heads before going off in separate directions.

For her part Yuki continued on the trail that she had been following before the arrival of that large Noah and, within a matter of minutes, had located a large rock that seemed to give off an otherworldly green glow. Being familiar with the telltale signs of Innocence, a grin spread across Yuki's face.

"Found it," she announced needlessly, picking up the medium sized rock. She could more than likely find a way to break it open to get at the Innocence but decided that it wasn't worth either her time nor her effort. She would leave that for the guys in the Science Division. After all they needed something to do lest they become bored and cause trouble.

"Go and round up those other guys," Yuki said, glancing at Andre over her shoulder. "I'll meet you all at the train station… And hurry up because if the train comes I'm not waiting for you."

"Right," Andre said, having grown accustomed to such declarations from the wolf. Turning around he went off in search of the two young Exorcists that had arrived at the two that very day, searching for the same Innocence that Yuki had retrieved. The Finder was fairly certain that they wouldn't be happy that the female had bested them but he was equally certain that they would keep their thoughts on the matter to themselves.

At least if they liked all of their body parts in working order.

Carrying the rock that contained the piece of Innocence prevented Yuki from assuming her wolf form but she shrugged off this annoyance. It would have made the trip to the train station quicker but the she-wolf had more than enough to keep her thoughts occupied during the trek across the destroyed town. "I seriously just joined forces with one of the Earl's subordinates…" The truth of this hit her at this moment and Yuki found herself hoping that she hadn't just made a grave error in judgment. "I really hope that this doesn't come back to haunt me later," she muttered as she sat down on a bench at the train station to await the arrival of the train that would take her back to the headquarters of the Black Order. "But I truly think that I made the right decision."

Only time would tell whether or not she was correct.

A/N - End of chapter two! A portion of this chapter was taken from 'Gray Silence'. Thank you PA, you're wonderful! Hope that you guys enjoyed.