11. Ability

"It's time to join the angels, little brother."

Sandy gripped Ronald's arm with both hands, hoping to calm him. "Ronald, dear, you're babbling again." Worry laced her voice. She feared losing him, leaving her alone to raise the family. While Sandy was a perfectly capable cobbler, she preferred to raise the children and tend to the house. Even worse, she'd be losing the love of her life. He couldn't leave her. She wasn't sure she could go on without him. "We'll find a cure."

"No way," Lavi uttered, still staring. There was only one explanation. He knew close to nothing about how a Noah manifested or if someone was simply born as one. During the original record, Noah would simply show up, not offering an explanation of where they originated or how they got there. He'd pried some information from Tamiz but nothing entirely concrete. Tamiz was never much of a conversationalist.

Delicate hands wrapped around the Bookman's shoulders, complete with a fresh black nail polish manicure. The bracelets on her wrists clinked together as she drew him closer to her. "You know exactly what's happening, right Lavi~?" She watched the scene with golden eyes, observing and waiting for everything to complete. She'd been drawn to it, lured there for unknown reasons, but it became incredibly clear as soon as she'd arrived. She hadn't expected the Bookman to be there but was rather pleased he was.

Sandy nearly jumped a mile, staring at the girl who'd manifested behind the redhead. Gray skinned, she stood tall, nearly Lavi's height as she rested her chin on his shoulder. Her outfit was strange, mostly white and strapless accented by black ribbons wrapping up her arms and legs. Her short skirt belled out, revealing layers of tulle and petticoats beneath its fabric. She had pompoms on her shoes, something strangely childish for a grown woman.

Lavi didn't seem bothered by the girl's sudden appearance or how she hung on him like a child. He was too preoccupied, staring at the transformation Ronald was experiencing. "I think so, yeah." There were few things which could be occurring right now, none of which seemed to indicate a plague or disease. Rhode's appearance confirmed his thoughts.

She knew Lavi would understand. She didn't need to plant any information into his surface thoughts. He was a smart Bookman after all. "I can see why you're drawn to this family, little brother," Rhode added, "and why he's been drawn to you."

"But he's..." Lavi cut himself off. He had previously assumed that a Noah had to be reborn each generation. The prior gap was 35 years, but this one was only 5. The new Noah would have to be rug rats for that theory to be valid. And yet Tyki was barely older than Lavi, and Rhode was still an unknown. Ronald was at least 20 years older than Lavi. The theory completely fell apart at the seams.

"The gene is within the chosen few," Rhode corrected him, "The true descendants of Noah's family. It awakens when its needed or sometimes not at all. But there's a vacancy in the family right now. It needs to be filled."

Sandy stared at the Bookman and his strange, childlike friend. It seemed like the two were speaking in riddles, speaking of genes and inheritance. They weren't nobility. They didn't have a lineage of any importance. They were just a poor cobbler's family. "Noah? Like the man in the great flood? Just who are you, and what's happening to Ronald?"

"We are the Noah," Rhode replied, tilting her head slightly with a slightly pleasant smile drawn across her soft features. "The true inheritors of the earth. Ronald now belongs to the family. Isn't that right, Maitora?"

With the previous record, Lavi only briefly associated with Maitora, the Noah's Ability. He was a young boy, probably 15 at most. He had some sort of obsession with stripes, as Lavi had never seen him wear anything else. From what the Bookman had gathered, Maitora was a creator, responsible for creating the foot soldiers, the Skulls, and that horrifying Level 6 akuma in the final battle against the Order. He'd also been the creator of the Ark. It seemed fitting that a cobbler would fill the position.

Ronald sat up for the first time, pulling the cloth off his forehead to reveal the newly formed stigmata spanning his forehead. He opened his now golden eyes, looking up at Rhode and Lavi. He was no longer in pain, and the bleeding had finally stopped. "Everything's so clear now."

"It's time to come home," Rhode invited. She rounded Lavi to hold a hand out to him.

"No, you can't leave!" Sandy threw herself around his shoulders, sobbing into his chest. She cried, absolutely devastated by the thought of him leaving. "Please don't leave me."

Ronald drew his arms around her, pulling her close to him. He had two families now, his human family and now his Noah family. He was torn, feeling her pain. He couldn't abandon one family in preference for the other. He loved the life he'd formed, the children he'd brought into the world, and he loved his wife. He would take her to the end of the earth if he had to. It was his wish as Ronald, as a human.

But right now, Ronald had a responsibility to his new family. He had to help fix the world, and he had to destroy the Order. It was his desire as a Noah. "I have a job to do now, Sandy."

One glance at Lavi and Ronald and the answer was pretty clear. She had a new brother now, but he also had his own family. In a way, he was like the previous Tyki, preferring to live out his human life as well as his Noah's. She had sent Lavi to the house with a plan in mind, but now it was imperative they carried it out. "Don't worry about that~. Everything will be taken care of," Rhode informed her.

"We've already arranged somewhere for you 'n the family to go," Lavi added. "You'll never hafta worry 'bout money again. Ever been t' a mansion before?"

...

Sandy wasn't certain Lavi's question had been serious until she'd seen the place herself. The trip through the Ark had left her disoriented. Her children had managed to behave themselves, carrying various important items from home, minding not to get lost in the strange city. Ronald had returned to his white form, as had Rhode who busied herself in dragging them along excitedly down a pathway and out the exit door.

The exit door opened up to the backyard of a large mansion. It wasn't the Earl's but instead was what remained of Cyril's estate. After the conclusion of the last battle 5 years ago, Cyril and his family seemingly disappeared. Trisha's whereabouts were unknown and the mansion fell dead quiet. The disappearance of the political figure, Cyril, and sent several states into war with one another, each blaming the other with accusations of kidnapping and assassination.

The Camelot family seemingly vanished until the young daughter, Rhode Camelot, resurfaced and claimed what was rightfully hers, taking the position of power for herself. She claimed that Cyril had been slain by one particular state and that it caused her to go into hiding. The head of that state was quickly put to death for murder, and the people assimilated into Rhode's own jurisdiction. The former state had included the village where Lavi was previously staying and Ronald and his family had lived for generations.

Rhode had offered Lavi a place for Ronald and his family to stay, at the time unaware of Ronald's destiny as Maitora. She simply had wished to recreate the mansion as Cyril once kept it, with human staff and a human life. While she wouldn't admit it, she missed Cyril fawning over her, she missed the attention, and most importantly, she missed him.

Everything was empty since the final battle between the Noah and the Exorcists 5 years ago. Everything got lost and broken apart. Even her own dream fell to such a fate. And while she had returned, she dreamed of refilling the place with real people, not just things she dreamed up. And since Ronald meant something to her little brother and now that Ronald was also her little brother, his family was more than welcome to the place.

Family was everything to her, Ronald's human family included. If it had been before Rhode had become so possessive over Lavi, she probably would have tormented the family and pried Ronald away from them. But now, things were different. Humans were still generally the spawn of a godless world, but she had exceptions now.

The entire family marveled at the place. Amanda, the youngest, still held on to her father's hand as if she let go, he'd fall ill again. "We really get to live and work here? It's so big and pretty!"

Rhode nodded, putting on a friendly and rather excited face. "That's right! We'll be a big family."

Lavi glanced over. It was strange to see Rhode so friendly with the kids. Right now, she seemed incredibly human, like a protective older sister but not quite in the possessive manner she was with Lavi. He wasn't entirely sure the reasoning, but he surmised it had to do with Cyril's absence. The house did seem rather empty, aside from the redheaded, probably Irish maid approaching them.

"Now, why don't you all get settled? Rose will show you the way," Rhode offered, waving over the redhead. "We'll be borrowing your father for some fun."

…

Author's musings

Surprise! Ronald is Maitora! I went through a few Noah before decicing this would be the best fit for him, his personality, and his skills. Initially Ronald was going to be Raasura, but his personality didn't seem wrathful enough. As I began developing him, he became more of a mellow, easy going, creative character. So I had to switch gears.

Next I thought he would be good as Toraido. He's got a good sense of justice to him and a good head on his shoulders. I didn't go with that as I'm still stuck on the idea that Tamiz is Toraido.

Then it occurred to me. Maitora is perfect for him. It's a creative role and whoever filled it needed to be good at creating things. Ronald's a cobbler. He makes shoes. He repairs shoes. Much of what he does is creating new things from scraps and repairing old things and making them new. It felt very fitting.