Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.
Thank you for all the feedbacks! Really delighted to know you enjoyed the story and it thrills me to keep improving my writings~ As always, comments are welcomed and appreciated. :3
Father of the Child
by Sceaduw
{Part XI}
The room was empty. The youth scratched the back of his head and shouted again, "hey ROOOAD!" There was no reply. Road was not in her playroom, neither was Lenalee. Waizurii cursed under his breath and felt troubles were knocking on his door again. It disturbed him whenever he had to go report to Sheril, informing him that Road was missing. Well, not missing, just not at where Sheril expected her to be.
Oh, where could they be? Waizurii closed his eyes and visualized the surroundings with his Demon Eye. Before he could pick up any useful thoughts around, a crack of thunder shook the entire ark. It was as if the ark was crumbling to pieces. The psychic was nearly knocked unconscious when the howl struck his mind. It was the Earl and he was furious. Just like last time when the ark was sunk by the fourteenth. The teen swirled around and ran out of Road's playroom. He hoped he was not too late. Waizurii then stopped in midway when a familiar figure appeared in front of him. Good, there she was.
"Road! Where-"
"Waizurii, what happened? Why is the Earl so angry?"
Road's eyes were widened in horror and Waizurii caught her by the hand. He noticed her hand was trembling. Waizurii gave her a gentle squeeze and they both ran towards the source of the commotion.
"Road, Sheril's looking for you and Lenalee. Where's the girl?" asked Waizurii but Road did not answer him. Who cared about the human girl now? Something was wrong at the Earl's side and that was the only important thing for them. The two Noahs remained silent on their way to the Earl.
"Neah! Do you think we will let you be so rude to the Earl?" warned Sheril as he approached Neah from behind. Tyki was at the doorway of the portal although he had no intention of escaping by himself. No matter how much he might loathe Sheril, he was still his blood brother. He released his Teases, large and small, all of them menacing above Neah's head. On his command, the flesh-eating golems would devour Neah's body. So Tyki hoped.
Neah gave a twisted grin at the little creatures and then at the two older Noahs. A swift swirl of the sword, the Teases were torn and ripped apart into smithereens. Three seconds later, Sheril gave out a shriek. From his belly, A long, deep cut emerged. Sheril didn't even know how or when the blade impacted him. The only thing he realised was the immense pain and his blood gushing out. Tyki rushed forward and caught Sheril before he fell onto the ground. He sneered at Neah but Neah smirked cooly. Insignificant, as if Neah was saying to them.
"Back down, Tyki. I'll handle this," said the Earl, "Leave us."
Tyki grabbed hold of Sheril tightly and was about to back towards the portal doorway when two younger Noahs barged in from the other side.
"Y-you!" "Tee-hee! You! It's you!"
"Hello, Jasdevi... or shall I say Devit and Jasdero?" said Neah.
"What are you two doing here? Get out of here now!" Tyki shouted and tried not to let Sheril slip from his arms.
"We heard the Earl! So-" "We heard! We heard! Heh!"
The twins noticed the wounded Sheril, then they realised Tyki's facial expression, looked back at the long-time-no-see Neah and finally at the Earl's face. The Earl was not smiling. Devit swallowed uneasily while Jasdero stopped giggling.
"Leave now twins, we're about to leave too. Don't ask, don't look at him, turn around and we'll leave here together now," said Tyki, trying to sound calm and behave like an adult. He heaved Sheril's arm over his shoulder carefully and began to back away again with the twins. Neah kept his eyes locked on the group. But he did nothing but just smile.
Just a few more steps and they would be temporarily safe from the danger. Or so Tyki wished. Just when he was about to let out a cry of relief when he took the final step, another two youngsters came crashing in.
"Tyki? Father?" cried Road when she looked up at the two grown ups. Waizurii caught a glimpse of Neah and immediately activated his Demon Eye.
Hello Waizurii.
Why are you here, Neah?
Oh, didn't the family invite me here?
We're only expecting Allen Walker, not you.
That's too bad. Allen Walker is not here right now.
I'm sure things can work out fine, just let me speak to Allen. It's about Lenalee!
Neah gave a tiny snigger.
You may leave him a message, but I doubt he will get it.
Waizurii grimaced and took a step forward despite Tyki's attempt to keep the children back to the doorway. The poor man was trying to get the kids under control. Road was approaching Neah too now. The twins followed suit and Tyki whined in frustration. How did Sheril get the kids to do as he says? What strings did he pull? Oh... his threads. Tyki sighed. Sheril was still unconscious and his wound was getting worse.
"Tyki, get father out of here, please!" said Road without looking back. Tyki didn't want to leave. He couldn't just let the children deal with Neah. Neah would surely show no mercy.
"Children, all of you leave us," said the Earl. He forced out a smile. He knew Neah was also waiting for all of them to back out. Neah didn't want to hurt the children as much as the Earl didn't wish to. But patience was limited. And mercy even less. "Go NOW!" the Earl commanded finally.
"Come with me, all of you! You too Road!" shouted Tyki. From the look on Neah's face, the way he kept stealing glances at Tyki, Tyki knew for sure the next one to go down would be himself. He had an awful feeling if all of them didn't evacuate in the next ten seconds, he would not be walking through, but carried through the portal door.
"It's Lenalee, isn't it?" Waizurii blurted out at Neah awkwardly, "You're here because of her?... And the baby I presume?" Tyki's eyes widened in horror.
"Waizurii!" Tyki hissed. How dare the psychic brought up this taboo issue! Now he would be certified dead.
"We'll give her back to you!" added Waizurii. Road eyed Waizurii nervously. Oh no. They couldn't do that. Not when they didn't have Lenalee anymore. She had dumped Lenalee back to the Black Order. It had to be done, Lenalee was in the way of Tyki and Allen. If not for the baby's sake, she would have got rid of the girl once and for all.
"By the way, for all your information, Lenalee's not pregnant," reminded Waizurii out of good will, "just in case you guys are fighting over the paternity of the non-existing baby."
There was a brief, yet felt like eternal, silence.
Waizurii was amazed at how everyone's thoughts were suddenly synchronized into a long blank bleep. For a second, the psychic thought he had gone deaf. It was the first time he could hear nothing among living souls. Seeing no one actually responded to him, Waizurii added, "I'm serious. I knew when I first saw her and read her mind."
Then the world exploded, along with Waizurii's mind. Everyone began screaming and yelling mentally.
WHAT THE HELL!
THE GIRL'S NOT? SHE'S NOT?
NO BABY! NO WAY!
WHAT? WHAT? WHAT! HEE HEE!
SHE TRICKED US! HOW DARE SHE!
I'M TOTALLY FOOLED!
AM I TOO STUPID?
WHERE'S SHE NOW!
Among the racket, the psychic faintly heard some dull poundings. He noticed it came from the Earl.
MY HEART... My heart... heart...
"Waizurii, if you knew in the first place, why didn't you say so?" asked Road, bravely breaking the terrifying silence. Although she quite enjoyed the fun previously, it did get frightening when Neah ended up wielding the Earl's sword. She was not pleased to see Sheril injured. Well, come to think of it, Sheril caused it all when he brought Lenalee to the ark in the first place.
Everyone turned to Waizurii for an answer. Their looks were emitting a strange feeling of disdain. The psychic felt discriminated. Usually, no one wanted him to peep into other people's mind, let alone announcing what he had read. Hey, he could have kept it as a secret for longer. He explained everything so he could save their asses from being kicked by Neah. So this was how his siblings repay his kindness.
"Shouldn't you all be asking Tyki why he didn't deny his relationship with Lenalee? He had been planning to escape from his own marriage all along!" retaliated the teen, shifting all the glares now to Tyki. Tyki gaped but he didn't know what to say. That was exactly what he had been doing. He growled at Waizurii who looked away innocently while further adding to the fact that Lucy was a fake wife too. Lucy was Lulu Bell, their Noah sister. The only thing real was Lulu being drunk.
If Sheril had heard it all, he would be anything but forgiving. Tyki felt like dropping his brother and running away. But he couldn't. Both the Earl and Neah wouldn't let him run far anyway, that he was sure. Not even two steps behind to the portal door.
"Look, I just don't want to get married," said Tyki, "but this is not the issue here now! Neah, I don't know what's going on between you and the Earl. If I had known thirty-five years ago, I had no memory of it now. The burden you mentioned, if there's anything we, as a family, can help, let us help you!"
Now seemed a good time to resolve the conflict between the Earl and Neah. Maybe the two didn't realise, but every other Noahs in the family were concerned about them. At least during when Neah appeared. They might be jealous of the special attention Neah was getting from the Earl, but still, they wanted the Earl to be happy. Waizurii nodded silently. He knew there used to be a time when the Noahs were actually blissful. Tyki should care, afterall, he was the Noah of Pleasure.
"I'm not the one who needed help, Tyki," replied Neah gently. He closed his eyes and threw the sword back to the Earl. The man caught the sword with ease. "You heard your children, my Earl."
"Neah, come back to me!"
"Try and remember who you used to be, my dear Earl."
Neah lowered his voice into a whisper. Tyki and the rest of the Noahs couldn't hear him anymore. They were surprised by Neah's sudden change in attitude. Road tried to sneak in closer but Waizurii stopped her. He shook his head. Road pouted and demanded Waizurii to tell her all that he could eavesdrop on the two.
"Neah, don't-"
"It's alright. Let the Heart go. The war ended since the union between the Noah and the Innocence, did it not?"
"But the Vatican-"
"Who cares about that organization? Not me, not them," Neah pointed at his siblings, "not the exorcists, not Allen Walker. Only you. You cared to destroy the Vatican too much that you destroyed every other thing." He paused to give a heavy sigh, he continued, "you destroyed us."
The Earl fell into silence. He tried to avoid Neah's gaze. His lips tightened into an ugly grimace. The man tried to stay calm, trying not to look offended.
Neah chuckled and leaned in close to him. He rested his forehead on the Earl's shoulder and said, "do what you have to do, my beloved Earl, not what you want to do. If you're too tired and you can't do that anymore, I shall take over as the Millennium Earl."
The Earl did not speak or move. He remembered. That was why Neah appeared each time. Each time when the Earl was lost in his madness. That was what Neah was born to do as the Noah of Destruction. He was destined to destroy chaos and restore order. And then... the child was destined to be destroyed by the Millennium Earl. Neah was the Earl's keeper. His secret guardian.
The Earl didn't want that. He wanted to be with Neah. He wanted Neah. He... wanted.
The man's eyes widened with pain. He grabbed Neah by the throat and pinned him down onto the ground. To the other Noahs' horror, the Earl pierced the sword into Neah's chest, pinning the teen firmly onto the stone pavement. Road gave out a cry but Waizurii hugged onto her, stopping her from getting near the Earl. So much feelings radiated from the Earl that Waizurii had to struggle to keep his Demon Eye open. He thought his head was going to explode and he clutched tighter onto Road's smaller body. The twins turned away. No matter how much they disliked Neah, they wouldn't want to witness his death. Again. Tyki saw it through, and on behalf of Sheril.
Neah did not resist as he coughed out a mouthful of blood. He raised up his hand slowly and caressed the Earl's face.
"Why are you crying, my beloved Earl? Isn't this what you have to do?"
"This is not what I want to do, Neah."
"Yes... finally my Earl."
"Go now, my dear Neah."
Neah dropped his hand as the Earl pulled out the sword.
"Don't come back again."
"Don't make me come back again."
Neah grinned and closed his eyes. It didn't take long before the Earl saw through his tears that Neah was gone. Lying in front of him was Allen Walker. The teen was deep in a slumber but breathing steadily.
"Hey-"
"Shhhh! Waizurii, give the Earl a moment."
"But-"
"What is it that you must say at this delicate moment?"
Road mumbled annoyingly. She wiped away her tears and gave Waizurii a light slap on the arm. Tyki nodded in agreement.
"What is it, Waizurii?" asked the Earl. He looked up from the sleeping Allen and grinned at the Noahs. His tear marks were freshly visible despite his wide grin. Road rushed up to him and gave him a big cuddle. The Earl chuckled and patted her on the head. He then felt lonely when Road proceeded to care for Allen. Tyki, still carrying Sheril on his back, stumbled over to the Earl and gave him a reassuring smile. The twins strolled up to him too. Although not saying anything warm and friendly, their presence already showed the Earl much loving.
Earl, Neah said he loved you too.
Waizurii paused and waited as the Earl pulled himself together.
He also said, don't go look for the new Heart anymore. In time, Allen Walker will bring us new blood, new power.
The Earl trembled and refrained from bursting into tears.
Thank you Waizurii.
The Earl gave Waizurii a slight nod of appreciation.
"Come on, Waizurii, spill it out!" "Tee-hee! Spill it! Spill it! Hee!" the twins urged the psychic to reply the Earl's question. Waizurii raised an eyebrow at them and sighed.
"Oh, I just wanted to say... Sheril is bleeding himself to death as we speak!" Waizurii rolled his eyes at the trail of blood left behind by his adoptive father. Tyki shrieked and the Earl rushed over to help Sheril. Seeing nothing fun to do there, the twins shrugged and was about to leave. Then they remembered. They eyed Waizurii with playful malice. Now was pay back time for the knockout slap they got from the psychic earlier.
Uh-oh, thought Waizurii and he made a run for the door.
"Allen! Hey hi!" Road smiled down at the awakened exorcist.
"R-Road...?" Allen was still dumbfounded. He felt nothing but drowsiness. Every piece of his muscles screamed out in pain as he tried to sit up. He faintly remembered seeing Lenalee but everything was fuzzy and unreal. Road gently touched his forehead and rested his head on her thighs.
"It's alright now, Allen."
Sweet dreams, Neah.
"I want to see Lenalee, Road...," Allen trailed off weakly. He gritted his teeth in discomfort. His arms and legs didn't seem to belong to him. He squirmed and tried to sit up once again.
"Don't you want to see Tyki?" asked Road as she helped him up.
"No... yes! Tell Tyki to stay away from Lenalee!" Allen groaned, "I just want to be with Lenalee. Where is she?"
Road tilted her head slightly and pouted. She realised she had made a mistake all along. A big mistake. Too bad, she would love to see Tyki and Allen happily together. She stroked Allen's bangs away from his forehead as she hesitated on giving him an answer. She traced his cursed mark with her finger, causing Allen to writher away from her touch.
"Road!" Allen uttered and grabbed her wrist. Road peered into his eyes. She thought she saw her brother again. Allen watched as Road closed her eyes.
Neah, what would you want?
The little Noah snapped open her eyes again. She had made up her mind. Taking a quick glance at Tyki and the Earl, who were busy tending to Sheril's wound, she turned back to Allen and whispered, "I'll take you to her, but you must come quietly! Father mustn't find out about it!"
Allen nodded and followed Road through a portal door silently.
-to be continued-
