Disclaimer - I do not own DGM
Chapter Four - Musings
After returning to camp with Tiedoll, the two teenaged Exorcists crawled back to their cots to salvage what sleep they could. Since they both knew that they would have to be up at sunrise, regardless of how little sleep that they managed to get, and everyone else had already returned to bed. For his part, Cross lost consciousness the moment his head came into contact with his pillow, as was evident by the obnoxious snoring that issued from beneath the blankets. Unfortunately for Mana, much to his chagrin, his thoughts were too preoccupied by his brother for him to be able to resume his state of blissful slumber.
Which all but assured that he would be in a foul mood when morning came.
"What happened to you Neah?" he thought to himself as he gazed up at the stars, thinking back to the somewhat shy youth that he had known, just beginning to emerge from his shell. The boy that Neah had been before their world was turned upside down.
By the very organization that he was now a part of.
Reaching out with one hand, Mana gripped the pendant that was hanging about his neck, gripping it tightly.
"All because of this…"
FLASHBACK
"Hurry up Neah or we're going to be late for school… AGAIN." Holding his books in one hand Mana waited slightly less than patiently at the door for his younger brother to catch up. His hand gripped the doorknob and he had already pulled the door open, anxious to be on his way. They had already been late twice that week and the fifteen year old didn't want to set a new record by being late for a third day in a row.
After all it was only Wednesday.
"You could have went on ahead," a rather disgruntled voice called out a second before ten year old Neah appeared in the entryway. With his mahogany hair tousled about, it was obvious that the boy hadn't been awake for very long. And was in a decidedly grumpy mood. "You didn't have to wait for me Mana, I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself y'know."
"Yea, yea," Mana said, waving his hand dismissively. He was grateful for the fact that shy little Neah was beginning to come out of his shell, if only around him, but there were times when this was an annoyance that he'd rather not deal with. And today was one such time. "Now let's go… I'm tired of being late."
"Whatever," Neah said, the scowl still resolutely on his face. Personally, he didn't really care if they were late to school. If it were up to him he wouldn't even be going in the first place. The boy could think of countless ways he would prefer to spend his time but Mana was forever making him go. Hence the reason why his older brother hadn't simply gone on ahead of him.
Mana was afraid that if he did then Neah would simply skip school. Of course this fear wasn't entirely unfounded.
"Not a bad thought," the mahogany haired youth mused however, all thoughts of this vanished as he heard a sharp voice call out behind him. "Neah!" The boy jumped slightly, turning so that he was facing the man who had addressed him, in a tone which demanded instant attention. The shy youth returned in full force, as was always the case when confronted by the man that terrified him. "Yes sir?" the boy said, making sure to keep his voice meek and completely free from the attitude that Mana had informed him that he was starting to develop.
Because their father wouldn't tolerate it.
"Shouldn't you have left for school already?" the dark haired man demanded, gazing at the boy that stood before him through narrowed eyes.
"We were just leaving Father," Mana said quickly, stepping over and positioning himself between his father and his little brother. The man had never been overly fond of his younger son and would often look for any reason he could find to strike the boy. This was something that Mana had learned long ago to prevent by putting himself between them. So far it had never failed to work but the teen didn't plan on sticking around long enough to find out if his luck would hold out. Grabbing Neah by the hand, and silently pleading with the kid not to make a big deal about it, the brown haired teen began walking toward the door that he had left open.
But he only made it as far as the threshold when he was suddenly seized by the arm. Whoever was grasping his upper arm pulled so fiercely that the teen almost lost his grip on his brother's hand but Neah seemed determined not to release him. Glancing up through wide brown eyes his gaze fell upon a tall, broad shouldered man dressed all in black. The man glanced down at the pendant that Mana was wearing around his neck and nodded his head ever so slightly. "I knew it," he muttered, seemingly more to himself than to the boy whose arm he still held in a vice-like grip.
"Let go of me," Mana demanded at the same time that his father stepped forward. "Excuse me but what the hell do you think you're doing with my son?"
"The boy is no longer your concern," the man said in an even tone, giving Mana's arm another vicious tug. This one succeeded in pulling him free from his younger brother and Neah screamed as Mana was pulled out the door.
"MANA!" the ten year old screamed out in an anguished and at the same time frantic tone of voice, making a move to run after his brother. "NO MANA, YOU CAN'T LEAVE! MANA PLEASE!" He took a few hasty steps toward the door, determined not to let the man get away but this put to an end as his father rushed past him, shoving the child so hard that he fell back, hitting his head against the wall.
END FLASHBACK
"That was the day that I was taken to the Order," Mana mused, his hand still gripping the pendant that he wore around his neck. "The day that changed both the lives of myself and my brother forever."
And by all outward appearances it hadn't changed Neah's life for the better.
"Is there something the matter Mana?" a kind voice questioned, causing Mana to blink his eyes several times as he just now realized that someone was standing beside his makeshift bed. Granted it was nightfall, which made visibility virtually nonexistent but at the same time he was trained to be on the alert at all times and yet this man had managed to sneak up on him. Which was completely unacceptable and something that he knew could possibly get him killed. Inwardly berating himself for having allowed the man so close without even noticing his presence Mana replied, "It's nothing Tiedoll… I was just lost in thought."
For his part, Tiedoll was fairly certain that the teenager was lying to him but the man was also fairly certain that Mana wouldn't tell him what was really going on. So he merely offered the boy a smile before turning to walk away. "Well you should probably wrap up your thoughts and get some sleep. We'll be leaving soon after sunup you know."
"I know," Mana grumbled, raking his hand through his hair. "Believe me I know."
Morning arrived far too quickly, as far as Mana was concerned. It seemed as though he had only just managed to fall asleep when he felt someone poking at his side. He could see the sunlight, which easily pierced through his thin blanket, but he didn't want to acknowledge the fact that it was morning already. Clenching his eyes tightly closed, seeking to shut out the world with this motion, he wished that he could have just a little more time for sleep.
"Damn it Walker," Cross growled in a low and somewhat threatening voice, beginning to grow annoyed with his companion. He had half a mind to just leave him there and return to headquarters without him. "If you don't wake the fuck up, I swear to God, I'll leave your ass here."
"I'm amazed you haven't been kicked out of the Order yet Cross," Mana commented dryly as he pulled the covers from over his head and stared drolly at his companion. "Y'know we are technically affiliated with the Church right?"
"I know," Cross snarled, turning his back on the other teen. Now that Mana was awake the red haired teen was more than happy to ignore his existence entirely. Or at least until there was another bet to be made. "I just don't give two shits."
"Of course you don't…" He wasn't at all happy about it but Mana managed to drag himself out of bed. Heinously uncomfortable though it may be, he would much rather remain there owing to the fact that he had gotten maybe an hour and a half of sleep.
Which wasn't anywhere near enough.
"Rise and shine everyone!" Tiedoll called out as he entered their campsite, large sketchpad in hand. There was a broad smile spread across his face, which made Mana groan and have to resist the urge to punch him in the nose for being so damn cheerful at this unholy hour of the morning.
"I'll rise," Mana grumbled, packing up his makeshift pallet and preparing for the trip back to the Order. A trip that he was dreading but would make none the less. "But I damn sure don't have to shine."
"Well aren't you cheery?" Tiedoll commented, eyeing the younger Exorcist over the top of his glasses. They had fallen down the bridge of his nose and, with his hands otherwise occupied, he found that he couldn't really do anything about that fact at the moment. Not that he really cared all that much to begin with, there were too many other things that took precedence.
"No," Mana deadpanned, still consumed with thoughts of his brother and feeling rather disgruntled owing to his lack of sleep. Those two things together were serving to put him in a rather foul mood.
"What the hell's put you in such a good mood anyway?" Cross demanded, much like Mana growing rather irritated with Tiedoll's completely uncalled for cheerfulness. It was too early in the morning for that shit.
"I just spent the morning painting the most beautiful sunrise," Tiedoll replied, seemingly un-phased by Cross' foul mood… as well as his foul mouth. Holding up the oversized paper that he held in his hands, he revealed to the two teens a rather breathtaking painting of the sun rising above the horizon.
It was a rather good painting, as far as that went, but neither boy could bring themselves to care too greatly at this given point in time. The polite thing to do would have been to at least comment about the picture but neither Mana nor Cross had it in them to do so. So they merely shrugged simultaneously and went back to packing up their things for the trip back to headquarters.
Completely used to such reactions from the two teens, Tiedoll merely offered them a smile and went on about his merry way. Walking across the meadow where the group had spent the night, he called out cheerfully to other Exorcists that he met.
"So what's on your mind?" Cross practically demanded as he and Mana finished packing their things. Due to the fact that he always had such a difficult time waking up in the mornings Mana had perfected the art of high speed packing, thus he could sleep late and still be ready to depart quicker than anyone else.
"I was just thinking about Neah," Mana replied, his voice low so that none of the others would overhear. This conversation wasn't for public consumption and Mana would hate to have to kill one of his comrades, so it was best that they didn't overhear. "I want to know what made him go to the Earl's side."
Cross shrugged, still determined not to acknowledge the mahogany haired brat's existence until he was able to beat that smirk off the kid's face. "So how exactly do you plan on finding this out? Asking the brat is probably out of the question."
"I plan on researching that strange transformation that he underwent," Mana replied, having decided on this course of action during his sleepless hours the previous night. That seemed like the logical place to begin the search but Mana held no illusions that it would be an easy endeavor. Which was why he was about to speak words that all but got caught in his throat. A carefully worded request for help. "And I could really use your help…"
For a moment all Cross could do was stare at his companion but then, once he recovered somewhat, he offered Mana a curt nod. He would never admit this fact, especially not to his rival, but he was just as curious as the other teen about the transformation. Because it was obvious that the younger Walker had powers that they didn't have an explanation for… and the red head didn't like being in the dark about anything.
"Thanks," Mana muttered, more grateful than he cared to admit.
A/N - End of yet another chapter, hope that you enjoyed. Thanks to all those who have reviewed the previous chapters and special thanks to my beta Howlingwolf94! I appreciate all of the help that you've given and don't worry about the delay. I know that things come up. Til next time please be kind enough to leave a review on your way out.
