Ch. 2 – What you see

Bookman was sitting unnoticed at the edge of a market square in some unnamed, small, Portuguese town. He was listening to the conversations around him and fishing out any useful information. Most of his time he spent like this since he was let out of Kamelot mansion. He snorted at the memory, Tyki's words fresh in his mind. As a token of the past alliance from 35 years ago between Noah and your Clan we want to make a deal. For the freedom of your record you will report to us everything you hear about the Order's movements. I will keep in touch with you.

They also promised to provide their own memories from the dramatic fight, the last one in which Lavi took part. That was still to happen but Bookman was sure Noah never wasted words. After all, they had him cornered anyway.

Green eye skimmed through the distant crowd as he felt the surroundings change strangely. In a split second he got up and turned around, the dagger in his hand resting against a throat of a person standing behind him.

'Not the nicest way to say hello, is it?' asked Tyki with a wide grin. He didn't look scared at all, only a bit amused. Bookman put his hand down and put the blade away safely.

'Not the wisest thing to sneak up at someone,' he retorted flatly, sitting back. The Noah joined him, sniggering.

'So what news from the Order?' the Portuguese asked taking out his cigarettes. He offered one to the Bookman and, after a moment of hesitation, he took it and Tyki lit them both, a strange sparkle in his eyes. The redhead considered it for a short moment but then turned back to look at the market square. For a few drags of toxic fumes silence fell between them.

'They still use the Ark, even with the 14th gone. It seems they did find a way to operate it and very quickly. I'm not sure how and when they did that, cos I always assumed it was Allen Walker setting up the gates,' Bookman said in his flat voice. Somehow, it sounded quite unfamiliar even to his own ears. After so much time spent as Lavi he found it extremely strange to speak like that, and in proper language as well. He frowned at his own thoughts. It was no use referring to his past persona since the annoying brat was gone and he was now on his own. He had moved on, if not entirely free to do as he chooses. He had to try better to get rid of remains of 49th.

His eye caught Tyki studying him speculatively. Quickly, he rubbed the frown off of his face and ignored the Noah, who stayed silent but with a sly smile threatening to twist his lips. Bookman had to fight his urge to punch him in the face and only thanks to his training he managed to look impassive throughout his small mental struggle.

'And the Exorcists?' the Portuguese asked, turning away.

'I saw two groups. One here and one on my way. They got rid of some Akuma and went back,' he replied. 'There was one Innocence,' he added somehow reluctantly. Some tiny part of him still hated him for giving up the information, even though there was no real harm done. He silenced that annoying voice once again. In all honesty, he was not at all doing such a good job with 49th and his internal struggle almost made him miss the surprised look on Tyki's face.

'How do you know there was Innocence?' The Noah asked in a strangely strained voice and Bookman considered his tensed face for a moment but then he looked down at his hands.

'I'm not quite sure. My master said that being a Bookman means you fit into any conditions perfectly. So we are natural accommodators for Innocence. There was this strange pull from it,' he explained before he could stop himself. He shouldn't be saying such things about the Clan as it may be used against him. On the other hand, if the Noah would sense that he was hiding something important they'd surely get rid of him without a moment of hesitation. He did get himself into a fucked up situation, sure he did.

Tyki was watching him closely, deep in thoughts. Oh yes, the pull of Innocence did seem dangerous in a way. It could draw attention to him if the Exorcists were smart enough to notice how the substance resonated for a moment there. It didn't last long but surely was visible. He was lucky that there was no General – they would recognize the slightly brighter and more vibrant light. He knew he would have to be more careful now that he was aware of the issue. That is, if the Noah would still let him be.

'Did they notice you?' Tyki asked after a moment of silence and Bookman shook his head in reply. 'Good. Don't get noticed.' The redhead smirked at him.

'That's what I do,' he assured knowingly and earned a surprised look for that.

'Come, I have something to show you,' said the Noah and went into the alley towards the inn where Bookman was staying. As the redhead followed he continued. 'Road wrapped it neatly so that I could give it to you at any time for you to examine it.' He raised an eyebrow in interest at the Noah, but he said nothing more until they reached the rented room. Then, Tyki took a black sphere from his pocket and gave it to the other. Bookman took it with an uncertain frown, not knowing what to expect.

'It's my memory of the events that happened that day when we took you from China,' the Noah explained. 'You will find it very interesting, if probably a bit disturbing, but it'll fill your record nicely. Road wrapped it into a dream so be careful unpacking it. We'll give you some time, so that you can sort out the information, but then you'd be back on track,' he finished and was about to leave when a question stopped him at the door.

'When exactly did this happen?' asked the Bookman looking steadily at Tyki who smiled widely.

'One month and a half ago,' he replied and left without a second glance. The redhead dropped onto his bed. So much time, he thought. So much could have happened and he knew almost nothing. Sure, snippets from conversations he overheard told him a lot, but all in all he knew so little. He eyed the sphere with some reluctance and disgust. It reminded him too much of Innocence and he suspected Road did it on purpose. And how the hell was he supposed to "open" it?

As if on demand, the substance started emitting a faint light. Or rather faint darkness. The feeling was all too familiar as he got sucked into the Noah's dream. He suppressed a shudder and soon found himself standing behind one of the Thirds and passing an arm through him. Blood and screams erupted and he had to use all his willpower to not cry out as well. It's Tyki doing this, not you, he said to himself, it's his memories. But then, things got only worse: from chasing Allen, through American Branch assault, right to the horrifying clash between Kanda Yuu and Alma Karma. After that, the retreat of the Noah and kidnapping of the Thirds went rather unnoticed. And the terrible headache that appeared right next did nothing but wrap Bookman in complete darkness as he passed away.