/*chapter marking note, start chapter*/
o-o-o-o-o-o
Summary: A destined meeting. What is destiny? No marks, no proof but the events that take place. No more than a well-placed coincidence. Alive!Nice-but-not-necessarily-good!Neah Neah!Centric. No bashing. Series of ficlets format.
Pairings: Gen.
Word Count (excluding ANs): 9, 000-ish
Warnings: OOCness, major canon deviations, abuse of creative liberties, excessive amount of linebreaks.
o-o-o-o-o-o
CHAPTER TWO
o-o-o-o-o-o
Auguste and the Earl were
Clowns that made people laugh or gasp
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Allen's gone, you say?" Mana sobs.
"Yes."
"And Neah, too?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Cross hesitated.
"I'm sorry."
Mana breathes shakily. "It's fine."
"It isn't." Cross insists.
"It isn't?" Mana repeats. "It's going to be fine. It has to."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Death defying tricks were the Earl's game
Fear and an iron glove was what he thought to rule
But family is something he truly treasures.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Mana stares at the audience as a smile is frozen onto his face. He wasn't on his top game today, but no one blamed him. They knew he had lost people he loved.
The performance ended and the applause and cheers he had always craved felt empty. Unmoving. He wondered if the gaping hole that his most precious two had left would be able to heal. He knew they would have wanted him to be happy.
He takes a walk to clear his head and runs into a stray dog rummaging through trash. A dog as white as snow, but had several spots of brown by his eyes and ears.
"Hello little fella." He approaches cautiously.
The dog regards him warily and he replies the suspicion with a soft chuckle.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you." Mana says gently.
The dog seemed to have felt his goodwill and slowly approached him. Then nuzzled in his chest.
"Do you have a name?" Mana's voice cracks. Allen was the one who liked names. Not him. "No? Then I'll call you Allen."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Simplicity and grace was Auguste's aim
Compassion and love was what he thought encompassing
And family was something he truly treasured.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Allen was an old dog. Mana had him ever since he turned thirty. Allen accompanied him in his shows and he felt somewhat lighter with the dog as his companion.
Cosimo didn't like Allen, though.
He felt as though the dog took more of the spotlight than him. Which was true, but Mana was more brilliant than whole circus combined. Mana made sure Cosimo couldn't touch Allen. Even if he was brilliant, he was still just one clown.
Then he met Red. The kid had thought the same.
"What the hell're ya lookin' at, you freakish clown?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
Is the world so cruel as to put something behind an unbreakable glass wall?
The Clowns had found what they wanted to see.
A cube of darkness and a cube of light.
Auguste took the Light.
The Earl took the Darkness.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It didn't matter if it was light or darkness.
Though Auguste had control,
The Earl had ambition.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Red reminded him so much of Neah. Albeit, Red was a lot crasser than Neah had ever been, but the way they kept people at a distance were so achingly familiar. Red had grown up too fast. He was left in the streets to fend for himself and a scaly red arm wasn't ideal for fitting in.
But then Red smiles a small smile.
Mana realizes that he was sorely mistaken. Red reminded him so much more of Allen Walker.
o-o-o-o-o-o
The sweetest sound that one my hear is one's own name
What would you do if you have none to claim?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"I'm not goin' ter jus' take the name 'f a dead dog, ya crazy clown."
"I named the dog after a good friend of mine."
"I bet 'e would 'ave loved that." Red says sarcastically.
"Yes." Mana smiles. "He would have."
Red looks at him incredulously.
o-o-o-o-o-o
The most beautiful word is one's own name.
If spite was its root, is it still the most beautiful?
Wouldn't you accept a name given out of love and care instead?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Mana!" Red—no Allen, Mana correct himself—hollers.
Allen had been very reluctant to be called Allen, but Mana had been stubborn. He knew where the name Red had stemmed from. Mana had taken it up as a responsibility to teach him proper manners. The brat hadn't been receptive of it though, at first; but when he started talking about Neah and all the things that Neah had gone through with no detail spared, the brat had felt something click and he started listening to him.
"What is it, Allen?"
"Can you tell me more about Neah?"
"I thought you didn't believe in magic?"
"I didn't." Allen concedes politely.
Mana laughs. "What changed your mind?"
Allen hesitates. "I think that my arm… may be… Innocence."
Mana freezes. Arm. Innocence. Allen. Allen.
Cross had lied to him.
"I have something better."
"A book? I don't know how to read though."
"Then I'll make sure you learn how to."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Cross leans on a side of the tree, out of sight and looks on with a small smile on his face.
Allen had still somehow met Mana.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Natural magic is innate.
Dark Matter is innate.
Innocence is not, but the ability to wield is.
One cannot exist with the other.
But rules are but mere guidelines, aren't they?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Mana, this says here that Innocence or Dark Matter and Natural magic can't exist together." Allen asks curiously. "Then why can I use magic?"
Mana fell silent and Allen started fidgeting.
"Because of Auguste." Mana finally says.
The first Allen had told him that Auguste was a memory who was as old as the Earl. He had been as powerful. 'Had been' being the keyword. They didn't know how much the Earl had increased in his power. He was the original wielder of the Heart of Innocence, at least Allen had said so.
"Auguste?"
"Your Innocence's memory."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Auguste is more tolerant of Natural Magic than any other Heart-aligned Innocence."
"I thought your Allen's innocence was—"
"You were my Allen. Neah's Allen. Cross's Allen."
"…what?" Allen whispers.
o-o-o-o-o-o
You haven't fully forgotten have you?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Did you know?" Allen asks brokenly.
"No. Not until now."
Allen stills then tears started falling. "I thought that you—only went near me because—because of him."
"No. Of course not." Mana says.
He means it.
"Thank you, Mana."
"Keep walking. That's what we do, right?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
Things just aren't easy.
But you already knew that, didn't you?
You've learned new things,
Yet you're still the same.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"I'm sorry." A nameless doctor told him. "He was hit hard by the carriage he—"
"No…" Allen breaks.
"—died shortly after impact."
His hair turns white as it had been before.
He distantly wonders if he went through a similar experience in his first life.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Are you just going to wallow in your despair?" Cross asks him as Timcanpy hovers above his shoulder.
No. He wasn't; but he needed time to grieve.
He wished he wouldn't remember.
Not yet.
After he grieved, maybe he would.
"Would you like to be my apprentice?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
Is it worth it?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"On one condition."
Cross regards him thoughtfully. "Shoot."
"Take me to Neah."
Cross's face becomes stony.
"He's dead."
"He isn't." Allen states surely. "You thought he was dead once before. He isn't that weak."
"…How did you know?" Cross relents.
"The Ark told me."
"What?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
If I die, can you promise me that the Ark won't be used by anyone?
I promise. Would you grant me that power?
Of course.
Will it only be applicable if you die?
Yes. Although I can choose otherwise.
Will you?
Will I what?
Choose otherwise?
Yes. Maybe. Depends on the situation.
There has to be a catch.
There is.
What is it?
It wouldn't be fun if I told you, now would it?
Then how would I know?
You wouldn't.
You really are a bastard.
Comes with the territory, dear Allen.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"He didn't tell me about that." Cross says exasperatedly then changes the subject not-so-subtly. "So you remember?"
"Not everything."
"Then it's enough. It'll come to you in time."
"Although I do remember what Maria did to you during the—"
Cross flinches. "Don't you dare."
Allen laughs. "It's a little sad that you're outwitted by a ten-year old."
"You aren't ten."
"You're the only one who knows that, though."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"So what happened to Neah?"
"He—He's asleep."
"Where?"
"He didn't say."
o-o-o-o-o-o
The Earl of the Millennium can feel grief.
No one is exempted.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Good Evening~!"
Allen starts and stops himself from snarling, instead looking like the lost boy he was supposed to be. He stares at the rotund clown blankly. He was very thankful that Wisdom hadn't been reborn yet. Neah's stories about the Noahs weren't the best, but he knew that such knowledge would someday be crucial.
"You lost someone you loved, didn't you?" The Earl says gently. Allen felt angry, but he pushed it down. No need to give him leverage over you. Allen knew though, that the Earl could kill him if he so wanted. He was much too weak to even put up any resistance.
"What do you know!?" He growls righteously, knowing that children were prone to outbursts. The Earl needed him alive for making a new akuma after all. "They're never going to come back, anyway."
The Earl's grin widens. "What if I told you that I could make them come back?"
Allen hesitates visibly, fakely. "Really?" Allen sounded hopeful. Neah had told him that the akuma making process could only happen if the soul was already departed; if the person somehow calls out a person who was still alive, that person would feel something jar them, but the soul would stay in that body since the connection of the soul to a human body was greater than anything that could be made by machines. The name didn't have to be specific either. You could call your departed mother by 'Mama' and the correct soul would still be taken, the sentiment of that wasn't lost on Allen; but it did work in his favor. He was still grieving about Mana, too, but he knew better than to call him. He'd only make Mana suffer, after all.
Allen didn't know how Neah figured those out, but at least he knew a lot about it.
"How?" Allen asks, the Earl oblivious to the plans he was making.
"This machine here would be the body of your loved one." The violet tinted skeleton was in a stand and Allen shivers slightly.
"What do I need to do?"
"Just call out his name." The Earl grins.
Inwardly, Allen grins evilly. Wakey wakey sleeping beauty.
Allen takes a deep breath and calls: "Uncle!" The word echoed desolately in the empty area.
Nothing happens. Allen chokes out a silent laugh, which, to those who did not know him, sounded like a sob.
The Earl looks confused for a moment, then his grin went up again.
"It seems your uncle is still alive, young one."
"Is he really?" Allen asks with a big smile, his eyes still somewhat dead.
"Yes." The Earl tried to hide his disappointment, but Allen could feel it behind the rotund man's pasted unnatural smile.
"Thank you, mister. I'll remember this!" He said in childish glee.
The Earl pirouettes and makes a grand bow. "Anytime, young lad."
Allen wonders why The Earl doesn't kill him, but does not question it.
o-o-o-o-o-o
In his piano room, Neah wakes up jarringly and curses.
He just knows Allen had something to do with this.
He also knows he was going to nurse a headache the size of Russia for a while.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Things haven't gone full circle yet, have they?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"He's awake."
Cross shifts. "How?"
"The Earl approached me about Mana. I called him."
Cross frowns in momentary confusion then his eyes clear and he bursts out laughing. "You are evil."
Allen shrugs. "A decade long hibernation is enough for him, I think. It's about time he starts moving again."
Cross calms down a bit, wiping a tear away from the corner of his eye. "Did you know how long he wanted to rest?"
"No." Allen replied. "I do know that he's as lazy as they can get though. Did you know that he uses the Ark to get somewhere in the same town?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
We're just going to have to wait and see, then.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"What!?" Allen asks incredulously. "I am not going to call you Master."
"You're formally my apprentice. People will expect you to."
"Then I'm just going to tell them I don't respect you."
"Brat."
"Gramps."
o-o-o-o-o-o
It was two months before Neah appeared before Allen again. He hadn't aged a day.
"Took you long enough." Allen huffs.
"Well, I'm sorry if I needed to recover." Neah pouts. "I was going to wake up soon anyway. I also did some—ah—errands while I was at it."
"I don't believe you."
"Where's Mana?" Neah asks.
Allen's eyes darken. "Gone."
Neah breathes in sharply, blinking back tears then smiles softly but sadly. "He would love it up there."
Allen blinks. "You've seen heaven?"
Neah nods trying to calm his breathing, but letting his tears fall. "It's a nice place."
"Aren't you going to grieve?"
Neah shook his head. "This isn't a good bye after all. Just…"
o-o-o-o-o-o
Good Night.
A promise that you'll still be able to say
Good Morning.
People say that without knowing the whole implication of what they say.
Good for them, right?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Will you go there when you die?" Allen asks curiously, knowing that Neah wouldn't take offense to the blunt question.
Neah shakes his head. "No."
"Why?"
"An awakened Noah cannot go to either heaven or hell. The human souls are wiped and reincarnated, to atone for their sins. The Noah's memory stays though. That's only the time we can go anywhere, really." Allen let the subject drop. "Where's Cross?"
Allen's face darkened even further. "He's worse than you when it comes to money. That's saying something."
Neah laughs melodiously. "He really is a handful isn't he?"
Allen breathes slowly. "Thanks to him I've been marked as a money cow."
Neah's smile doesn't fade as then he speaks. "I'm taking you from him."
"Wha—I'm not a child, Neah. You can't just adopt me."
"I know." He chirps. "You look like one though and that is going to be a problem."
Allen rolls his eyes. "Well at least you're better than Cross."
Neah offers a hand dramatically with a half-bow while a door of the Ark opens behind him. "Shall we, dear nephew?"
Allen ignores his hand with an indulgent smile and walks past him and straight to the door.
Neah grins mirthfully.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Where are we going?" Allen asks as he politely devours a platter of food.
"You aren't going anywhere. You're going to be learning how to play the piano."
"Then where are you going?"
"Hm. Somewhere in India."
o-o-o-o-o-o
They were in India, somehow.
"So you made a friend your age, Allen?" Neah asked cheerfully as he bit from a piece of naan.
"Neah?"
"Yes?"
"Do shut up."
o-o-o-o-o-o
The side that has the majority's best interests at heart, are they really the side of good?
How about the minority that is despised so much?
The side that hurts and kills, are they really the side of evil?
How much is that purely for fun?
Morality is circumstantial after all.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"The Black Order?" Allen asks. "I thought we weren't going to take sides, Neah."
Neah shook his head. "We aren't. Not in the long run. We're just going to stay with them for a bit. Goodness knows how corrupted they are. The upper-ups I mean. The Pope is just way too enamored by the Heart and what it stands for that it's sickening." Neah wasn't sure where Apocryphos was, but he was pretty sure the creature had the Black Order on its strings. He thought that it was not unlikely for the Soldier to be the Pope himself either.
"Why?"
"My self-appointed responsibilities," He pauses for dramatic effect, Allen rolls his eyes with a smile; he smiles too. ", lie upon balance. The Millennium Earl is gaining too much power and influence at present. The side of 'light' needs a little push." Neah mimicked a pushing gesture.
"When do we leave?"
"How good is your control of your innocence?" Neah counters.
Allen smiles. "Good enough to face a Noah."
Neah doubts it. "Is Auguste awake yet?"
"He is."
"Good. How about your sword?"
"Still haven't figured it out." Allen confesses.
"Well, you should get on it, shouldn't you? You don't know how to properly wield a sword, do you?"
Allen grimaces. "It's not like there's an abundance of swords masters on hand."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Can you recognize Akumas, Allen?"
"Recognize? What do you mean?"
"Were going to join an organization which hunts Akumas for a living. You need to be able to recognize Akumas pre-emptively."
"How?"
"Magic."
"That's very specific."
"Didn't Mana give you a gift?"
Allen looks away guiltily as his scarred left eye throbbed. "He did."
"Why not use it properly?"
Allen hesitates. "It's… gruesome."
o-o-o-o-o-o
I know you want to help.
But I can't if I—
Then this will be the last thing I'll ever give you.
Allen wakes.
His eye throbs.
It wasn't just a dream.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"You're way too nice." Neah tells him exasperatedly.
"There was an Akuma there! I couldn't just let it—"
"You could have left it to the exorcists."
"Then it would have been too late."
"It doesn't have anything to do with the pretty lady, does it?"
"Miss Moore has nothing to do with it. Akumas are souls in pain. I can see them suffering! I just wanted to—"
"I know. I know. You've told me that one too many times."
"Where were you during the whole affair, anyway?"
Neah smiles mysteriously. "Oh, I don't know. Just somewhere."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Did you have Cross send them a letter?" Allen asks, tilting his head.
Neah freezes, he'd forgotten. "Um, not yet actually."
Allen sighs exasperatedly. Neah had always been irresponsible. "Go to him then."
"He has Maria."
Allen curses. "What now?"
"Timcanpy can tell us where he is." As if hearing Neah's call, Timcanpy crawled out of Allen's shirt and he opened his mouth to project a map with a red dot on it.
"Timcanpy couldn't do that before."
"He couldn't." Neah agrees as he told Timcanpy to make it as specific as possible. "Cross isn't the only one capable of tinkering with things."
"When did you add it?"
"Yesterday." Neah replies absently. "Looks like I'll be going to China." He sighs exasperatedly. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"A letter?" Cross asks amusedly as he downs a bottle of alcohol. "Since when did you start needing my permission?"
Neah hits Cross's head lightly, earning a yelp. "This is no joking matter. The balance is tipping again."
"Why don't you just pick a side, Neah?"
"I have my own side with you and Allen right there." Neah states.
"Who said I would join you?"
"I didn't have to ask, did I?"
"Of course not."
"You sure you aren't in love with me?"
Cross turns green.
Neah laughs at him.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Neah opened a door just below the cliff-side of HQ—he'd almost opened a door to the Oceana Branch (he had quite an attachment to that place, what with the First Invasion—where he helped Maria—there and all)— and he was tempted to just fly up under the guise of Timcanpy serving as their wings, now that he thought about it, seemed like a very good idea. (He was actually tempted to open a door right inside HQ, since he'd been there before, but he thought that they would think he was hostile and that would cause more than just a boatload of problems.) Allen looks like he's readying himself to climb up the wall when Neah spoke up.
"Allen? Grab onto Timcanpy's tail. I'm going to fly us up."
"Why do I have to grab Timcanpy?"
Neah smirks. "I wouldn't want them finding about my magic just yet."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Dark matter detected! He's an akuma! An akuma!"
Neah inwardly grimaces, he hadn't expected a scan at all. It was a good thing he hadn't worn his gray skin for a long time even if they didn't explicitly know about Noahs yet, but he was pretty sure that with the war in the future, they would encounter one of the thirteen and he wasn't eager to see how they would react to him being one of the enemy's kind.
Neah sighs outwardly with Allen giving him an amused look.
"Oh, you need to shut up, stone-face, keeper-man, whatever. I'm not an akuma. Do you see any reverse pentacles anywhere?"
"No! Go away! You're going to hurt us!"
"Damn it. Shut up!" Neah shouts back at it.
The door sounded really pathetic and Neah was seeming more and more like a bully with every minute that passed.
It was a slight shock to him. Neah was more in control of himself before this. He had to admit though, the door-face could get on anybody's nerves.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Chief! There are two people by the gate guard! One seems to have been branded an akuma."
"Who's on standby?"
"Kanda."
"Send him out. We can't have them marching into our doorstep."
Lenalee glared at her brother. "Aren't we jumping to conclusions?"
"What about that golem? Isn't it Marshall Cross's?"
Ignoring the researcher, Komui pulled out a microphone from somewhere. "State your intentions."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Allen had tuned out the argument of the door with a face and Neah—he hated to be compared to Akuma because according to him, Akuma were vile creatures— when he heard a voice from one of the black golems floating around them like bats.
A dark haired person sprung from the roof and descended with his glowing sword. Neah heard the song of the Innocence and then he stopped the urge to flinch. Innocence and dark matter did not mix well and he was thankful that his white skin muted the influence of the Dark matter in his body. He leapt back and raised his hands in a disarming manner, easily weaving through the swordsman's strikes
"State your intentions."
"We're here to become exorcists. Master—" Allen grimaces at the word. "—Cross had sent a letter?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
"A letter?" Reever looks at Komui accusingly.
"Ah… There may have been a letter…? Hrm." Komui says slowly then instantly says another. "Would someone please find the letter in my office?"
"I'll do it." One of the scientists sighs dejectedly, ignoring the pitying looks everyone sent him.
"I'll help."
"Me too."
Everyone knew how hard it was to find something in Komui's office.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Whoa, I'm not here to fight. Honestly." Neah repeats for the nth time and his patience was wearing thin and going by the look on the other's face, so was he. Neah had to admit that he knew how to read through attacks and he was surprisingly nimble and agile due to his existence as a Noah. The boy was good.
Neah twitches as he felt his lower arm throb. He'd managed a small gash, not enough to be a cause for threat, but as long as Neah concentrated enough...
Okay, so more than good. He had been responsible for destroying hopeful swordsmen's dreams of being the best. He wasn't bragging. It was pure fact.
He weaves through several more assaults before a back golem floated nearer to Kanda and a voice was heard.
"Stop fighting! They're for real, Kanda! Withdraw!"
'Kanda' blinks as he pauses in the middle of a technique then tsks. He sheathes his sword then stalks away.
Neah breathes in relief. He had brought an extra copy of the letter with him in his pocket in case they hadn't received the copy and be attacked unreasonably.
Like what happened now.
Really, was their policy really ask questions while stabbing?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"So I hear you were Cross's disciples?" Komui asks curiously as he opens the door to his laboratory. "He doesn't seem like a man who take apprentices."
Neah snorts quietly. "Like hell we're his apprentices."
Komui's eyebrows climbs his forehead.
"We're more of money cows to him, actually." Allen clarifies, telling a half-lie.
Komui's face lights up in realization then in slight pity. "Ah. He's… very notorious."
"Notorious is a very mild word for him." Allen grumbles.
"So where are your Innocence?" Komui asks. He hadn't seen the two of them use anything.
Allen pulls off his glove and his black scaly hand came into view. On the back of his hand was a dimly glowing cross-shaped Innocence. The Innocence had fully incorporated itself on Allen's arm, only leaving inky black skin by the shoulders instead of roughly textured ones.
"Could you please activate it, Allen-kun?" Komui requested with a disturbing glint to his eyes.
Allen felt like a specimen under a microscope. Which probably was a very apt analogy.
He closed his eyes for a bit and nudged Auguste awake. A soft light engulfed Allen then a mask settles upon his eyes, which he immediately took off. It was too noticeable.
Komui stared in a thoughtful manner. "That's very… flashy."
Allen sighed. "I know."
"It seems like a full body armor. Is this whole thing Innocence?"
Allen nods.
"How about yours? Neah, was it?"
Neah nodded boredly, inspecting his nails. "I don't have one."
"But the letter said—"
"I'm not compatible with Innocence. At all."
"How does that… Are you going to become a finder then?"
Neah scoffs. "I am much too valuable to be a finder."
Komui looked like he was very confused. Allen doesn't blame him. Neah liked theatrics.
Neah pulls out a window of the Ark and Maria's Grave appears. "Miss Maria sends her regards."
Komui blinks but hums thoughtfully. "I thought that Marshall Cross was the only one who could invocate Miss Maria's Innocence?"
Neah snorts, louder this time. "Well, you thought wrongly. Marian just uses Maria's Grave to hide from his debts and not much else." Then a thought hit him. "Have you learned about battle in Oceana? You people started calling it the First Invasion, haven't you?"
Komui looks put off with the non-sequitur but says nothing. "Yes. It was one of the most inspiring battles in the history of the Black Order. Everyone knows about Miss Maria's involvement. She was breathtaking." But of course, she's only second to Lenalee.
Neah looked very pleased with himself. "I accompanied that song."
Komui does not understand, but he knows that Neah wouldn't say anything more than that. He knew that Neah was more than what he seemed.
"Well!" He then claps his hands together cheerfully. "Allen-kun? We're going to see how that arm of yours works."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Allen stumbles through his assigned dorm room when he saw Neah propped on the bed with a violin in his hands. It seemed like he was about to play a song.
"What are you doing in here?" Allen asks tiredly.
Neah pouts. "Is there anything wrong about siblings visiting each other?" He pauses for a bit. "How did the examination go?"
Allen shudders. He never ever wanted to go through that craziness ever again. Komui didn't look as harmless after that bout of insanity. He looked so gleeful while drilling his hand—he said that it was damaged. It wasn't. Allen hadn't mustered up the courage to point out the lie.
"I'll take that as a 'not so well', then." Neah notes amusedly.
"I—also met Hevlaska."
"She knows, then?"
Allen shakes his head. "Auguste was asleep during it, but she's suspicious."
"What percentage did you get?"
"Eighty-eight."
"That's good?"
"I think so."
"And what else?"
"She… told me that I was the 'Destroyer of Time'."
Neah bursts into laughter. "Well you did destroy your own time. You're the first one, I think."
"This isn't funny! People are starting to talk that the 'Time' refers to the Millennium in the Millennium Earl!"
"That has a good chance of happening, actually."
Allen stills. "You're serious."
"Perfectly. Your sword is a complete opposite of the Earl's, after all."
"This isn't going to bode well if I manage to draw it."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Allen likes the chef. He was a good cook even if he was odd. At least he didn't have to earn his own meals anymore.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"—and finders are dispensable unlike exorcists." Kanda finishes his rant about finders and what exactly he thought of them.
Neah didn't hear the whole tirade—having just arrived—but Allen had and he was angry. Finders were humans too! They aren't just tools to just throw away when they aren't useful anymore!
Allen stood up to give Kanda a piece of his mind and ultimately gains the respect of the finders in the room.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Unusual sightings?" Komui asks. "Where?"
"It seems like it's coming from somewhere in France." Reever replies.
"Looks like it's a job for an exorcist." Komui says as he looks up from the report.
"Who are you going to send?"
"Maybe that grumpy samurai would like some work."
"Why don't you send the newbies with him?"
"Now that you mention it, that sounds like a good idea. Put it on the list. I'll meet them later. For now… Lenaleeeee!"
"Brother! You still have work to do!"
o-o-o-o-o-o
"I'm not a fighter, Komui. I'm more of a dodge and run type of person." Neah admits lightly, his face was chagrined and if Allen didn't know better, he would have believed him. Allen applauds his skills in lying. "I don't really want to be separated from Allen while on missions. He's the only family I have left."
Allen sighs at his insistence. After Mana died, Neah had been more and more reluctant to part with him. Like a paid babysitter.
He could take care of himself thank you very much.
Komui nods in understanding. He was a brother too.
"I'll see what I can do."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"The Akuma are an extension of the Earl's sight, aren't they? Wouldn't you be recognized?"
"That's what Maria is for, you idiot."
"You can do it yourself, can't you?"
"It's much more tiring that way and Maria doesn't really get tired."
"Why are you the 'tipper' if you're so lazy?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
The walls have ears
The trees have eyes
Paranoia isn't unneeded
When it is not unfounded
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Martel?" Neah grins languidly. "I've been there before."
"Why, pray tell, did you go to a deserted city?"
"Because it's deserted. I had to find somewhere to lock the ark in. It's not there anymore, though."
Allen sighs. "We can't just use the Ark to go everywhere."
"Then why does it even exist?"
Allen falls silent.
Neah's grin widens.
"We're still not taking the Ark."
"Wet blanket."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Allen and Kanda find Three Akumas and dead finders at the scene in Martel.
"It's almost a level two." Neah says absently. "I'd recognize that twisted refrain anywhere."
"Do you know what its abilities are?" Allen asks.
Neah shakes his head. "I can't hear it. It's a bit too far away."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Symmetry is not always for always.
Mirrors are not always right for right.
Some people don't like to play,
Dolls are not always there for childish games.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Lala." Neah says gently. "We aren't here to take you from Guzol."
"That's what they all say." Lala says distrustfully. "Guzol was the only person who treated me like I wasn't just a doll. You're not taking me away from him!"
Neah becomes thoughtful. Kanda was incapacitated at the moment and Allen was already tired. Allen really blamed it on the fact that he hadn't been very active recently. Neah hadn't even lifted a finger to help.
"Then we can bring Guzol with us."
"What?" Lala and Kanda says with hope and outrage respectively.
"You can't just decide that by yourself!" Kanda growls out.
"Guzol doesn't have much time left, does he?" Neah ignores the samurai as he plows on.
Lala nods with tears in her eyes.
"We can wait for him." Neah says gently. "Is that what you want?"
"What would happen after that?"
"You're going to come with us."
Lala looked confused. "I thought you were going to take my heart?"
Neah shakes his head. "Do you want to live?"
Lala hesitates but she knew what she wanted. "Yes."
"Then I'll teach you how to sing."
o-o-o-o-o-o
The song that manifested in the lifeless doll
Is the memory of the Innocence,
A champion of the Heart that failed in its duty
A person of great kindness.
The Heart had never been a great judge of character.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"How did you know?" Kanda asks sullenly as they waited for Guzol to pass. Lala was singing her song in the background.
"How did I know what?" Neah regards him with a light demeanor.
"Those things you said."
"You need to be a bit more specific."
"The level two, the doll, the Innocence…" Kanda trails off.
Neah smiles cryptically. "I can hear their melodies. Would you like to learn? Allen already knows how."
"The beansprout? Hell no." Kanda grit out.
"The offer still stands, Samurai-san. Your song is surprisingly very warm to hear. It's been a while since I heard something so protective."
Kanda flushed in either anger or embarrassment, Neah wasn't quite sure. "You know nothing." He snarled.
"I think you'll find that statement a bit misguided."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Was he like Marie? Who is able to hear what normal people don't hear?
He said he could teach it.
…what the hell did he mean by warm!?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Will you really?" Lala asks as she and Allen prays before the kind man's grave.
"Of course."
"What would I be able to do?"
"It depends. What do you want to be able to do?"
"I want to learn how to heal people." Lala says determinedly.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Hard on the outside, soft on the inside.
Like a prickly hedgehog who knows nothing but pushing others away.
Well, they just need someone who could ignore those barbs
And hug them without paying attention to the pain they receive.
They'll turn into marshmallows after that.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"You're just going to leave?" Neah steps beside Kanda as he walks out of the City of Martel.
Kanda grunts out an affirmative.
"You're still injured and your clothes are a mess. You can't go back into doing missions with the way you are."
Kanda ignores him.
"Do you want to hear a song?"
Kanda walks faster. Neah follows him obstinately.
"Was this because of what I said? About your song?"
Kanda falters slightly. Neah hides a triumphant grin.
"It is isn't it?"
"Shut up!" Kanda replies viciously.
"You're like a turtle like that, aren't you?" Neah teases lightly. Cross was much pricklier when he was younger.
Kanda decided that Neah wasn't normal and studiously ignored him.
His frown had already left his face.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Though, some hedgehogs are much less softer marshmallows.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Miss Lala, we're going to have to go straight back to HQ, okay?" Neah informs her. Allen was out somewhere else while Neah was in charge of teaching Lala the basics of Magic but drawing from the Innocence instead of her body. She was just a doll and had no real body after all.
"What should I do? My right eye isn't—"
"Let me be the judge of that." Neah puts his hand over Lala's head as he sang a song in his head. The antennas became ribbons and her right eye became more similar to a human's. When the song ended, Lala looked like a thirteen year old girl. A normal thirteen year old girl. Neah hands her a mirror and her breaths became shaky.
"Thank you." She whispers. "Thank you."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"I heard something about Akuma. I'll be back in a bit." Allen excuses himself and separates himself from Neah and Lala.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Best friends torn apart by death
One is neglected, but loved
The other is smothered but not loved
An offer of return digs two graves
A hollow laugh hangs in the air
A friend who helps
A friend who cares
That's enough isn't it?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"You've been busy." Neah says just after Allen opened the door to his dorm room. He was sitting on the desk with his feet propped on the chair.
"Yes." Allen replies tiredly. He falls on his bed.
"You met Creation, then?"
"Unfortunately."
"What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
o-o-o-o-o-o
I want to help the Order when I grow up!
What do you want to be?
An inventor! Just like my father!
o-o-o-o-o-o
Neah was composing a song in his room when a knock on the door was heard. The knock was soft but demanding and Neah could hear the music of Lenalee Lee on the other side of the door.
"It's open!" He calls.
"Good evening, Mr. Neah. Um, I'd like to take you guys somewhere." Lenalee had a smile on her face.
"You sound like a hotel maid, Lenalee-san." He teased lightly. "Will we be taking Lala and Allen as well?"
Lenalee nods.
Neah stands up and stretches slightly.
"Shall we?"
Neah could hear the music that said that he was going to be a receiver of a surprise. He didn't say anything though.
o-o-o-o-o-o
The kitchens came into view and there were a lot of people there.
There were three banners above the feast.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Welcome home Allen Walker
Welcome home Neah Walker
Welcome home Lala
o-o-o-o-o-o
They both hid a grimace.
This wasn't home for them.
Not yet.
The festivities were nice though.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Can we… stay?
I thought you already knew the answer to that, dear nephew.
A hesitant nod.
You can leave me and stay you know. You're free to choose.
A vehement refusal.
A chuckle.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"So where are we going?" Neah asks.
"Something the finders dubbed the 'Rewinding Town' in Germany."
"Do you speak German?"
Allen nods. "I know enough. Just don't make me talk about things not meant for exorcists and Innocence and I'm fine."
"Is anybody going with us?"
"Lenalee is, I think."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Can I tell you something?
What?
Will you promise to keep it a secret?
Of course. You kept your promise and let me stay with Guzol.
I'm a Noah. The Fourteenth Noah.
What is a Noah?
We aren't very nice people.
You aren't evil.
I don't seem like it?
You aren't.
Then if I tell you that the Order isn't very nice either, won't you believe me?
She stills.
The Order seems like a nice home, doesn't it?
Yes.
We can't stay for too long. Allen and I.
I'll come with you. Will you allow me to?
Of course.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Lala?"
"Yes?"
"We're going on a mission. Have you figured out how to use Innocence in healing? You've only been at it for three months after all."
"Yes."
"How far can it go?"
"I still can't recreate organs, regrow amputated limbs, second degree impalement up, do surgery and heal head wounds. I can reattach limbs though. It's very tiring. I wouldn't be able to move or heal another until after I've rested."
"Can you stay here and help the doctors with their patients?"
"Of course. Will you teach me more?"
"What do you want to learn next?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
"This town looks deserted." Neah notes quietly. "But my ears tell me differently."
"When we try to enter," The finder starts. ", we just pass through and go back the way we came."
He demonstrates and what happened was exactly as he'd described it.
Lenalee moves to touch the barrier and her hand just passes through as if touching water.
She then steps past it with Allen following her. Neah didn't dare.
They both pass through with no problem. Neah had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to do the same and come out unscathed. He tentatively touched the barrier of the archway and his finger burst in pain. He flinches and automatically hides it in his pocket.
Lenalee's head pops out of the archway and addresses Neah. "Are you coming?"
Neah shakes his head as he hides his burnt finger. "You go on ahead."
Lenalee nods. "Take care!"
Neah gives her a two-fingered salute with his other hand and when she disappeared, he says a quick farewell to the finder and jumps up to the top of the wall.
He took a deep breath and says. "Here goes nothing."
He casts a protective shield around himself and disrupts the barrier for a moment.
He came out a bit singed. Which healed almost immediately.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Dreams was here, he could hear her.
"Maria? Can you up the presence concealment?"
"Of course, Dear."
o-o-o-o-o-o
He could hear the Innocence somewhere already. Hm. Let's see. He walked without a care in the world, weaving through people and saw Lenalee and Allen somewhere near a tavern talking to someone.
He saw an Akuma attack a gloomy looking lady.
Her melody had faint traces of melodies uniquely heard from Innocence.
Well, that was lucky.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Hickory-dickory dock
The mouse ran up the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse fell down
Hickory-dickory dock.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Why did you save me?" Miranda asks him pathetically. "This—this is my fault!"
"Your fault?" Neah asks her amusedly but his eyes had a hard edge—it was only there because he wanted Miranda to realize something. "Are you so arrogant to believe that the whole world will pay attention to everything you do?"
Miranda was speechless. She hadn't expected that, Neah guesses. Which was good. He didn't like being predictable.
Magdala Curtain had masked them both from Dreams and the Black Order so he could stay as long as he wanted.
"You might think that this is your fault," Neah starts. ", because it is."
"….what?" Miranda was confused.
"What do you know about Innocence?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
Innocence? Why was that its name, do you think?
Innocence is…umm… youth?
No. It means purity; or at least to the people who named it.
Purity?
Cleansing.
I still don't understand.
You just have to prevent people from dying. That's the best thing to do isn't it?
Can I really?
Yes.
How?
You'll just have to figure it out yourself, don't you?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"So… you're saying I'm an Accommodator?"
Neah nods. "You can help people with your Innocence. Time is a very valuable ally, after all."
"H-how do I stop it? The loop?"
"You're just going to have to ask your Innocence."
"How do I do that?"
"How about start asking them their name?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
Um, hello? What's your name?
That's a very lovely name.
Can you please stop the loop?
I want to see tomorrow! I do!
I have found a purpose.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"I only have one thing to ask though. Don't tell anyone my name. Or my involvement in all this, okay?"
Miranda nods. "Thank you."
Neah smiles. "You're welcome."
o-o-o-o-o-o
A battle.
Pointed candles lit on fire.
Impalement and dream-worlds.
Allen really shouldn't have kept Auguste asleep.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Where have you been?" Allen asks. "No, never mind. Don't answer. Can you heal us?"
"You can let go of them now, Ms. Miranda."
Miranda shakes her head. "No! They'll get hurt and—and—they're going to die!"
"No, they aren't." Neah replies. "Not on my watch."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"My name's Lavi Bookman." The redhead introduces cheerfully as Neah gazes at the sleeping forms of Allen and Lenalee. Bookmen. Impartial scribes of history.
"Neah." He smiles disarmingly, knowing that his mere name would set off alarm bells in the Bookman Jr's head. "Neah Walker."
Lavi's eye widens. "You are—"
"You have your history straightened out, don't you?" Neah notes, slightly impressed. Nobody else had pieced it together that fast.
"Your help during the First Invasion was marked down in history books as more than just a footnote."
Neah grins. "I know."
"I'll tell the old panda about this, you know."
Neah hummed. "I'd like it if it was kept between you Bookmen. We can't have the Church hunting me down on sight. How much do you know about us?"
Lavi merely blinks at him. Neah should have known.
"Do you know what Noah's Ark is?"
"Only biblical records."
"Not that."
"Then no."
"Ask your grandpa. Hm. No. Tell him… The 14th apologizes for the mess he had caused thirty–five years ago."
Lavi boggled then said weakly. "You're… The 14th?"
"Am I?"
"If I told him you told me..?"
"You won't."
"How do you know for sure?"
"You're a bookman." Neah stated as if that answered the question. Which it kind of did. Bookmen were keeper of secrets after all.
o-o-o-o-o-o
How many names have you had?
How many lies have you said?
How many masks have you donned?
Would you still take another name if it meant your life here will end?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"You still haven't learned how to use a sword." Neah notes offhandedly.
"You just swing the pointy end the enemy, right?"
"If it was that easy, then I fear for the world."
"Who do you suggest? That idiot Kanda?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact."
"No way in hell."
"Then spar with him."
"That could work."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"So where to next?"
"Komui says we should go and find Cross."
"Why?"
"Something about the Marshalls being their targets because they're looking for the Heart."
"So where is he?"
"Timcanpy…? Oh, thank you." Neah pauses. "He's in Edo."
"Edo?"
"I have never been on the land there before." Neah laments. "So we can't take the Ark." He sighs. Allen gives him an amused smile.
"Komui told us to go a village that Cross apparently visited before. It was a Castle Town before, I think. I'm not sure of the name."
"Wait—"
"What?"
"Edo's where the Ark is right now."
"How did Cross know?"
"I told him."
"I thought you haven't been there before?"
"I haven't." Neah states. "I only made the Ark fly there then I got off in France."
"France?" Allen's expression darkens.
"What?" Neah asks earnestly. "Their pastries are to die for!"
o-o-o-o-o-o
"History says you know magic." Lavi starts once Lenalee was out of hearing range.
"It does?" Neah asks beguilingly.
Lavi shrugs. "It can be wholly inaccurate though."
"You're right."
"Can you teach me?"
"Why not?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Are you a priest?" A villager approaches Allen. "You wear a cross on your coat."
"Erm, no I'm not really a priest." Allen corrects. "I'm an exorcist."
"We need your help!" The villager insists. "A vampire had been terrorizing our village and we need someone to get rid of it."
"A vampire?" Neah asks curiously. "Can you describe the vampire for me?"
o-o-o-o-o-o
A tattered coat, sharp teeth
Pale skin and reddish eyes
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Hm. You don't sound like you're lying." Neah muses.
The villager looked indignant that someone had accused him of lying. Well, better safe than sorry, after all.
"Shall we investigate, dear nephew?"
"Shut it, Neah."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Identity concealment?
How?
Maria.
Why?
Akumas are the Earl's eyes after all.
When he sees me, he'll see me as just another fly on the wall.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"I'll be going on ahead, okay? Allen, comb the town for Akuma. They're swarming this place." Neah orders.
Lavi looks thoughtful. "How do you sense Akuma?"
"I can hear the music, Lavi."
"Music? I can hear music, too."
"I doubt that." His lips curl sardonically then he went to explaining. Lavi was going to be his student. "Everything in this world has a melody. The leaves, the plants, humans, Akuma, Noahs. All of them are very distinguished. Especially to me."
"What makes you so special, Neah?" Lenalee asks.
"Oh, just natural talent I guess." He says modestly.
Lavi and Allen roll their eyes.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Good morning Sir Baron." Neah greets amiably as he steps out of the shadows. He'd left the group for recon, but decided to act pre-emptively.
"What do you want?" Arystar Krory bares his fangs. The Noah was not the least bit intimidated. He'd faced much, much worse.
"I merely want to talk. You can bring your lady friend with you as well."
"I will not allow you to harm me or Eliade!" Krory threatens.
Neah raises both his hands in disarmament. "I will reiterate. I merely want to talk."
"Then speak." Krory demands.
"I want to talk to you about your condition as a… vampire. I think I know what caused it."
Krory was still wary. "I do not believe you."
"I am not here to convince you." Neah says distractedly. He could hear the lady akuma's music from the other side of the door. He was about to say 'You have a very helpful power for the battles against Akuma.' but changed tactics. "I am merely here to inform and give an offer."
Krory frowns. "An offer of what?"
Neah didn't pause. "Sanctuary."
"We have a sanctuary right here."
"No. Sanctuary is a term which pertains to safety and not causing undue problems for anyone not inside." Well it wasn't but Neah hoped it sounded genuine enough. "Do you know that the people in town are living in fear because of your presence?"
"F-fear?" The Baron looked uncertain now.
"Yes. Every day, the populace wear necklaces of garlic and carry around stakes because of you." Neah wasn't actually sure if it was true, but they might as well have done that. Lavi had done it and he knew how to fight. What were the defenseless villagers to do?
"You said you can tell me what caused it." He sounded pained.
"I did."
"Then?"
"It's Innocence."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Truly? I'm not a creature that kills humans for sustenance?
Am I truly not an abomination?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"I do not believe you."
"As I've told you. I'm not here to convince you."
"He's lying."
"Eliade!"
"Am I really?" Neah asks simply.
Eliade's face twists into a scowl. "Of course you are."
"I will not believe you!" Krory states boldly. "Eliade has never lied to me before."
"Has she."
"Of course not!"
Neah could her hear song wrenching in gut twisting guilt.
o-o-o-o-o-o
A tragic story of two lovers
Both have touches with the promise of death,
Then they find each other
Both surprisingly immune to the other's distortion.
They fell in love.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Moments after he shut the door, a violet blade is poised by his neck, touching his skin ever so slightly.
"I don't doubt the sharpness of your blade, but are you perhaps waiting for me to burst into pentacles then into dust?" Neah's smile never left his face.
"What are you?"
"What do you think?"
"I don't know."
"Then I'm not telling."
"What do you want with Arystar?"
"His aid."
"For?"
"The war."
"Whose side are you on?"
"Now that would be telling."
"Leave us alone."
"This is rare." Neah says abruptly.
"What is?"
"You've fallen in love with him, haven't you?"
"Of course not." She was a bit too quick to answer.
"The why don't you tell him the truth? If you really don't love him?"
"Then I'll do just that."
o-o-o-o-o-o
It's tragic.
No.
They'll meet again, wouldn't they?
o-o-o-o-o-o
"Good night, Eliade."
o-o-o-o-o-o
"I can't believe you left us with those carnivorous flowers, you bastard."
"What? It wasn't that terrifying."
"You weren't there." Allen answered flatly, shuddering as he recalled the multiple 'I love you's he threw out.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"So, can you teach me?" Lavi pesters as they seat themselves on the red cushions of the chairs.
Neah sighs annoyedly. "You have to find your medium first."
"Medium?"
"Like mine is music, Lala's is her voice. Some Crows use talismans."
Lavi narrows his eye at the emphasis, but decided it wasn't worth much. Cross had been a friend of the 14th and he had a quite high clearance level. "I'll get right on it!"
o-o-o-o-o-o
"There's a Noah on the train." Neah says with a yawn.
Allen shoots up from his seat. "Where!?"
"Calm down. I don't think he means any harm."
"Where?" Allen repeats.
"Last compartment. I think he's playing cards with Krory."
"Cards?" Allen says faintly.
"Will you go?"
"I might as well."
"I'll come with you."
"Wouldn't you be recognized?"
Neah shakes his head. "He's one of the younger Noahs. He's just been incarnated too. He's the new Pleasure, I think."
"Pleasure?" Allen shudders. "Isn't that the one who took—"
"Yes." Neah interrupts. They both knew what story Allen was referring to.
"Hey, do you know where Krory went to?" Lavi asks as he peered into the compartment.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"I'm sorry." Krory sniffles out. He was wearing nothing but his underpants and Neah was hard-pressed not to laugh.
"How did you lose your clothes?" Lavi asks, obviously trying to reign in his own laughter.
"I was challenged to a game of cards—"
"'Bullied into' was more like it." Allen mumbles.
"—and I lost my coat and that was from Eliade so I demanded another round and I just kept on losing…"
"Where are they?"
"The last compartment." Krory sneezes and shivers.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"May I talk to you?" Neah addresses the hobo-ish man with spiral glasses.
"Why should I?" He drawls out.
"Oh, I'm not sure, Mr. Pleasure?"
The hobo man stills.
Allen felt a chill descend the room. The hobo-man's companions didn't seem to notice anything.
The man smiles.
"Out the hallway?"
"Of course." Neah says pleasantly.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Darkness makes the Light seem bright
Light makes the Darkness sublime
What's the answer to the question of balance?
A chuckle.
A never ending cycle
Forth and back.
Back and forth.
o-o-o-o-o-o
"How did you know?" Tyki regards him suspiciously, but still somewhat laxly.
"I heard you."
"I was careful. I know I didn't say anything."
"I never said you did."
"Then what did you mean?"
"I heard your melody."
Tyki laughs a long laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"You approached me."
"And?"
"I know who you are already."
"I made that very clear, yes."
"You're not scared? That I might tell the Earl you've already been incarnated?"
"I am." Neah admits.
"Then why did you?"
"I knew Pleasure before."
Tyki raised an eyebrow.
"He wasn't the fondest of his family."
Tyki freezes.
"Of course, if I'm wrong feel free to tell the Earl about everything."
"You're interesting."
"As are you."
"What do you plan to do?"
"Now that would be telling."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Road?
Yes, Tyki?
Did you ever see The Fourteenth when you look at me?
Road smiles sadly.
Why do you ask?
I saw a picture of him.
How did you know it was him?
He was in front of a piano.
Whose stories have you been listening to?
The Earl's.
He does like to talk about him, doesn't he?
Quite.
o-o-o-o-o-o
/*chapter marking note, end chapter*/
