Chapter 11:

HIS GUARDIAN ANGEL; HIS NOAH

Allen's POV

Throughout the morning, Mother had given him some unusually suspicious glares that he couldn't help but fret about. Does she know about me and Tyki? Does she think that we're something... more? Does it bother her...? As the sun rose high into the sky, he helped Barba to prepare dinner, for that evening. He'd been lost in thought the entire time, coming up with theory after theory as to what Mother had been thinking and how long it would be before he would be found out.

Can I stay here? I hadn't intended to, but it's so nice, being able to relax. To not feel as though I'm constantly having to be on guard is nice... They may suspect me, but at least I know that they'd warn me if my eye doesn't. Or, at least, I'd like to hope so.

"Allen~!"

At Barba's desperate whine, the boy stiffened and turned around, nearly whispering a, "huh?"

"That's not how you do it, silly Allen." He took the potato that the younger one had been peeling and held it up, along with the peelings. The skin that he'd peeled off had way too much meat still on them and the potato, itself, was about half the size it was when he first started. As they looked over the rest of the potatoes, they saw that they were in the same condition as the first one. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as they stared in silence.

Once he'd looked up at the bald man and seen how depressed he looked, he waved his hands in front of him, panicking terribly. "It's okay! I'll just go buy some more! I'll go right now!"

Barba only nodded slightly, though the frown on his face seemed to begin to lessen. Allen sighed, realizing that this had probably been the first time he'd upset Barba and that Mother would likely scold him if she found out, if she didn't do so because of the potatoes. Agh... I'm so troublesome...

Tyki's POV

Tyki sat in a pub while wearing his overalls and glasses, despite his hair being longer than it had been, the last time he'd dressed this way. After Allen attempted to exorcise his noah, he hadn't felt much of an urge to be human, anymore, and more-so preferred to do things that the rest of the noah loved to do.

On one hand, he was happy to finally fit in with the rest of the noah, no longer standing as the outcast who had to walk on eggshells, trying to sneak to meet his human friends. On the other hand, though, he did slightly miss it. He hadn't realized that until this day, though, as he'd dressed himself so poorly and sat at a table, pulling his cards out to play a game with a stranger while he oversaw the fourteenth's kind and beautiful vessel. Too kind and unfairly beautiful.

As he held the cards in one hand and his cigarette in the other, he watched out the window as the white-haired one walked with deep contemplation coating his features before bumping into an unwealthy man and apologizing frantically. The man must've had quite the bad day because, as soon as he recovered from the shock of nearly tipping over, he balled his hand into a fist and punched the boy's pale cheek, reddening it immediately. He yelled something before walking off, leaving Allen standing still, staring at the ground with gritted teeth and trembling lips. Whether it was from anger, pain, or sadness, Tyki didn't know. I'll add that fool to my list; he'll be dead by morning. Should it be by tease or blood loss? Ooh~, what a decision.

He hummed audibly, making the stranger at his table turn his head in confusion. To cure his boredom, the noah had been killing all who'd opposed the boy, being sure to count even those who gave him a nasty look or shooed him away. Or maybe it's for more than just entertainment... Somehow, it makes me angry to see anyone but me treating him the way they do.

As the white head of hair bobbed out of view from the window, Tyki finished up his game and made his way out, using his tease to catch up to the younger one.

Allen's POV

He walked through an alleyway, taking it as a shortcut on his way to grab some more potatoes. In the alley stood several low-wealth civilians, huddled together and conversing quietly. As he attempted to pass the men, they formed a wall, preventing him from walking any further. He stiffened as he remembered the time he'd last been confronted in this way. He remembered how he'd blacked out and, once he came to, he realized that he'd killed several humans. He felt like a noah and just the idea of doing so again made him sick to his stomach. In an attempt to keep complete control over his own body, he focused on his breathing, choosing to avoid eye-contact with the strangers.

"Oi, boy", one of them commanded. "Are you deaf? Empty your pockets or we'll do it ourselves."

He closed his eyes and clenched his hands into fists, fighting with himself internally. He could hear someone whispering, "Kill him. Kill Them." Unsure of whether it was in his head or not, he tightened his muscles and grit his teeth. No... These are humans - I could never...

"Boy", another of the men chuckled.

"Boy!" At this point, they were grabbing him roughly, but he only stiffened, in response.

"Shounen~." His eyes shot opened at the sound of Tyki's voice and he looked around the alley. It was empty; not a soul to be seen, heard, or felt.

"Tyki", he whispered, wearily, unsure of whether he had actually heard the noah or if he was going insane, hearing the voices of his past in his ears during the present. He suddenly remembered the loving way the noah of pleasure looked at him when he called him "shounen" and the way he'd stretched his given name, "Allen". His cheeks began to burn before his heart began to sink, causing his shoulders to sag and his head to lower. There I go again, thinking about that noah. He "tch"ed and shook the thoughts away, continuing to walk down the alley, now that the opposing humans had disappeared. Maybe I really am going crazy and they weren't even here to begin with. Whatever it is, I shouldn't stand and ponder - it only ever leads to heartache.

Tyki's POV

Above the alley, on the roof of the building the bums had been sitting next to, Tyki stood with a heart in his hand, watching the boy continue through the alleyway. He breathed out his frustration and worry, squeezing the heart in his grip and allowing it to seep through his fingers, dropping onto the bodies of the dead hobos. Honestly, does he simply attract danger, by nature? After the white head of hair was out of sight, he dropped the bodies from the rooftop, causing their blood to splatter over the stones.

He hopped to follow the ex-exorcist by rooftop, jumping from building to building and ducking out of sight when he was sure the younger would look up. Hopefully, I can remain this close to you without being caught. If I can't be with you in person, at least I can be with you in secret, even if I'm the only one who knows it. Hurry up and miss me already, idiot! Miss me and look for me...

(Sorry if the personalities weren't on point! I know, at least, that Barba was a little off. Of course, though, it's not as though I have a lot of referance for him, since we only have a few episodes/chapters, that include him! ;-; Even those don't show too much of his personality, besides the time when he went to give the flowers to that one lady, at the hospital... those who've watched the anime know what I'm talking about LOL.

And I'm soooo sorry that this is a really long chapter. xD I don't know if you all care about that. Personally, I prefer that chapters stay at about the same length, every time. This time, though, I just couldn't leave out Tyki's POV ;-; It just doesn't seem like one of those cliffhangerable moments, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to just add it to the next chapter, but at the same time I can't just cut out the last two scenes or it'll be too short! lmao so ja ~ c: I hope it's alright with you all.)