Rushing to post this on time almost didn't work! But, I buckled down and did it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Ao No Exorcist or -Man.
Chapter 4
Shiro felt the shadow's spikes starting to dig into him, when it stilled. The tar-like figure was staring down into the dark hallway, its opposite seemed to glance in the same direction. Mephesto had avoided being put into a situtation much like his own, watching Shiro as he was toyed with by the shadow. He had a feeling that anything the shadow did was for enjoyment and he was not serious about killing him at the moment. Then, this round of silence and stillness ensued. The shadow turned its attention back to him and painstakingly removed the sharp spikes from his side, dissolving into a cloud of darkness. It left the feeling of being called away, against its will, as it moved down into the corridor. The clown-like figure did not dissolve away, but silently moved toward the entrance of the hallway. Shiro sat up, his side jolted with pain and breathe caught in his throat. He slowly stood and Mephesto helped him to stand up. The demon-exorcist nodded to the masked clown, which began to move down the hallway. The black smog moved around them, making most of the hallway darker than usual and the masked clown brightened the surrounding area. The two beings were in conflict just by existing in the same space and Shiro wondered what type of creature Yuri was with right now.
Musician allowed himself to relax slightly now. The girl was asleep, the exorcist were nowhere to be seen, and the soft velvet of his uncle's presence calmed him. Although, Yuri slept too close to him and the stone floors were freezing, he shivered not from fear or cold, but from the anticipation. Two exorcists were being brought down here, whether they were like his deceased guard or himself decided their fate.
"Nephew, one of those exorcist is an akuma," his uncle informed him. Musician froze and processed those words carefully. If one exorcist was an akuma, then the other could not be an Accomadater. The two had to be like his guard, since their kind of exorcist seemed unused to the ways of his own kind. Unless the akuma was converted. This conclusion seemed the most likely of meeting his own kind. Akuma could sense a Noah's presense and someone looking for him could use an akuma to find him. But, the many creatures the girl told him of were also called akuma. One of the exorcist could be accompanied by one of them or the exorcist of this time could accept akuma as exorcists. The possablities were starting to worry him. He had no advantage in their meeting. No energy to fight against them, no knowledge on them, and no expirence with their kind on near equal ground. But, he knew more about himself then they did about him. He was not an akuma, an exorcist, or a human. He was both an Accomadater and a Noah, a hybrid of the two, and they were not prepared for either of his kind. Even with his limited sense, he could tell they had no Dark Matter or Innoccence to combat him. In a way, the two parties had no idea what they were facing. So, Musician relaxed and waited for the exorcist to come, the feeling of Crowned Clown coming ever closer empowered his resolve. He would not go with them without fighting because to stop fighting was to die, and Musician wanted to live, no matter how painful it was to continue walking with the wounds he carried.
Shiro felt Mephesto stop, bring himself to stop as well, since the demon-exorcist still supported him. The white being in front of them dissolved and spread across the ground, making the dark mass turn into a slime-like substance that crawled up the wall. The effect lightened the room they were in and Shiro felt a jolt in realizing what the white figure had done. It had provided enough light to see where they were walking, but not where they were being led, the surroundings not being lit enough for them to tell were they had gone. Or at least Shiro could not tell, but Mephesto might have been able to. He focused his attention onto the room, which had bare stone floors and pictures of akuma on the walls. But, a figure that clashed with its surroundings were what caught his eye. A pale figure with pure white hair, a jagged black stump for an arm, and a shocking pair of mismatched gold and silver eyes. Its eyes were trained on them, even as a second figure on the floor stirred. This second being was Yuri, who was shifting as she slept. Mephesto, for once, looked serious as he studied the gold, cat-like eye of the creature in front of them. The being did its own studying as Mephesto half-dragged him forward and drop him as he seated himself on the ground. Shiro hissed slightly in pain at the sudden movement.
"Damn it, Mephesto," Shiro half growled and whispered harshly, "I got stabbed, remember. Don't be so careless." But the creature was the only one who showed a sign of hearing him, now being its center of attention.
"A-are y-you o-ok-kay?" Shiro was surprised at the stuttering, small voice that had a masculine hint to it. In fact, Musician himself was surprised he started talking to the human first and not the akuma who watched him, but slowly the surprise wore off as the akuma had a glint of interest in its eyes and started to worry him. If something had interest in him, it was best to avoid it at all cost. The human however had curiosity and slight wariness, these emotions were easier to be watched under, and he could easily talk to someone with these emotions. He had talked to a little girl, one who had nothing but curiosity in her eyes, for days upon days.
"Not really. No," said Shiro, a slight frown on his face, "You should know that though, right? That shadow of yours attacked me." Shiro watched as the being's eyes widened at him, its relaxed state disappearing as it tensed and drew into itself, shrinking meekly under his and Mephesto's eyes. Shiro was momentarily stunned by how fast the creature had changed, being worried about his health turned so quickly into cowering away from him. He thought of a dog, one that was kicked excessively by a cruel master and left to its own devices when it was no longer needed. The analogy fit perfectly for the creature that now looked to Mephesto.
"Don't worry about Father Fujimoto. He's being crabby is all~!" Mephesto said, cheerfully. This caused Shiro to glare at him and Musician to retreat further into himself. He regret having the two opposite beings bring them to him. He wished they were gone now or someone else would take their attention away from him. Then, an answer appeared before him in a small stirring. He reached over and nudged the sleeping Yuri to wake up. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, before her eyes widened at seeing the two exorcist.
"Father Fujimoto, what are you and Mephesto doing here?" she asked with a slight frown on her face. Yuri glanced at Musician once before all of her attention was on the exorcists and vice-versa. Then, an erruption of sound fell onto him. The girl and preist shouted, the akuma tried to negotiate between them, and his Innoccence tried to calm him and Neah worried over him. The sounds were deafening and hurting, flooding over and drowning him in their violent repetition of echoes and origin. The words of chaos and maddness spoke over the calming voices of clarity and he felt a deep pain spark inside him. A memory echoed among the other voices. One of hatered in turqiouse eyes that attacked him with an insufferable act of abuse and being unable to scream in its unfairness. But an energy rose into his throat and panic ensnared him in his memories. For once in his prision of silent suffering, he screamed.
It was an awful sound that shook the foundation of the True Cross Order's Vatican Headquarters. The occupants of Musician's cell were floored by the noise and the old stone walls fell onto them, a brilliant white cloak and ink black shadow keeping them safe from being buried under the rocks. But still the noise pursist to echo around them. Shiro was the first to understand what was making the noise. His gaze darted over to the creature, finding it gripping its head in pain and mouth gaping with the noise around them, a pure black arm had appeared attached to the stump on his left side. The noise was heart-renchingly tragic, and spoke of pain, suffering, and madness. He grabbed the chain connecting to the creature's collar and was burned by the metal. He staggered back as Yuri, who watched what he was doing, gentlely picked up the chain instead and started to pet it, her mouth moving silently. Slowly, the screaming started to fade and turned into a quiet sobing, its hands moved to its face, as if to hide itself from them. After the ringing left his ears, he was able to hear what Yuri was saying and later Mephesto would validate what he was hearing was true.
"It's natural to be scared... It's okay... You don't have to bottle it up inside... Everything is going to be just fine..."
