Neuhaus crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. The child had taken his bed from him again, though the circumstances leading up to such were different this time. The first time, it had been a simple invitation as a place to stay. This time, though, it was due to the aftermath of a fight against a demon. He still couldn't believe what he had seen this child do not a few hours before. In that time, he had seen this child take down a demon that should have been difficult for some fully trained exorcists. Yet this child, draining as it had been for him, managed it with the single stroke of a sword. And speaking of the sword...
He had heard it speaking, that was for certain. He knew he had heard a feminine, childlike voice from somewhere, and there was nowhere else for it to come from. It wasn't the child on his bed, and he knew for certain that the naberius he had summoned hadn't done it. So, just about the only thing that he could figure from this was the idea that this child was using a demon sword.
All of this combined together: the child, the sword, the battle he had witnessed... he didn't know what to make of the whole thing. So, for lack of any better solution, in the aftermath of the demon's destruction, he had taken the child back to his home, and had treated his few injuries there. Taking him to a hospital or the doctor's would have aroused too many questions, some of them not even he had the answer to. It was a good thing he had that doctor meister at his disposal. It came in handy many times before in treating combat injuries, and it aided him once again in this situation.
One odd thing he had found when treating the boy. When he had brought him in, there were plenty of scrapes on him, but no blood. However, the moment he removed the scabbard so he could lay him down properly, it was as if he had removed the mortar from the cracks, and blood flowed from the injuries as it normally would. Thankfully none of them were severe, so it was only a matter of dripping disinfectant and wrapping bandages. As for the sudden appearance of the blood, he supposed he would have to chalk that up to something about the sword he carried with him.
Then, though, there was the scar he saw on the boy's face. He had removed the bandage, since it looked like blood was seeping through, and he believed he saw the cause of the boy's ability to see demons. It looked like a temptaint from a ghoul or naberius of some sort. Definitely something of the Rot kingdom, judging by the dark, pus-like matter oozing out along with the blood. It wasn't fatal, from the looks of it, but it was definitely something that would need treatment at some point, with far more medications than what he had with him at that moment. Still, he thought he did his job well enough: cleaning it out with some disinfectant and holy water, then layering over it with some salve before applying a fresh bandage.
Just what sort of child are you? He found himself wondering. This odd, small child who was able to kill such strong demons on his own. Who wielded a talking demon sword and spoke so softly himself. He had no idea who this child was, but he knew that he would find out when he awoke.
–
There was low, quiet sound of mumbling as Arthur awoke. His eyes slid open slowly, and he blinked sluggishly as his foggy mind tried to figure out where he was. It was warm here, and comfortable, and he could detect the scent of food wafting through the air. It felt as though this place was familiar, he just didn't know how...
"Hm? Oh, you're finally awake." He looked up when he heard the voice, and found himself looking at the familiar face of Neuhaus, the man who had given him a place to sleep a few days before.
"Mister...Neuhaus?" he asked, voice still heavily tinged with sleep. "Where am... What happened? Why am I back here?" Neuhaus crossed his arms and narrowed his eye at the child.
"I think I have plenty of questions for you, too, Angel," he answered, his voice low and serious. "...But, I don't think you're in any condition to answer them right now. So that will have to wait until later, when you've got yourself more together." He uncrossed his arms, then walked himself over to another place in his home. In a few moments, he came back with two bowls full of oatmeal, sweet-smelling and with piping-hot steam drifting off of the top. "Here." He placed down one of the bowls on the bed beside the blond, spoon already inside, and sat himself down in a nearby chair. "Eat slow, and be careful, it's hot."
Arthur sat there a moment, glancing between the food, and the man who had given it to him. However, in the end, he picked up the spoon and began blowing on the spoonful of food to cool it off.
The two were like this for a while, sitting and eating in silence, the only sounds being their spoons clinking against the bowls. The oatmeal wasn't bad, it had the slightest bit of sweetness to it, but not overwhelming. Plus, eating meant they didn't have to talk, which was just fine by him, to be perfectly honest.
Still, it was food, and it wouldn't last as a silencer forever. Even as he was still eating, Neuhaus placed his emptied bowl down on the small table beside the bed, and trained his eye upon the boy.
"I think you know well enough that you are owing one big explanation, young man." The blond gazed down into his bowl, almost guiltily, and obviously avoiding looking at the man. Still, Neuhaus persevered in his attempts to get the boy to speak, and kept his eyes upon him until the little blond finally spoke.
"W-well... y-you saw what I was doing, killing demons and helping people who were having trouble with them," Arthur spoke earnestly, like a child fearing he had done wrong, trying to explain his actions. "I was only doing what I was taught to do, I didn't mean to do any harm."
"...From the looks of you from that fight, I would think that you're doing more harm to yourself than to anyone else by your actions," Neuhaus said after a moment. Arthur looked down at the blankets, but the eyepatched man continued. "One thing I would really like to know is, how a kid your age would wind up in the business of demon killing." He bent over in his chair, and Arthur's eyes widened when he saw Caliburn now in the other's grasp. "Especially with a sword like this. Now, how would you have gotten your hands on this? And don't even think about denying that there's anything odd about it, I saw what you did with this in your hands, not to mention I heard it talk."
"...Her name is Caliburn," Arthur mumbled after a moment. "She came to me a few years ago, and she saved me when I was in trouble. I... I didn't have a home anymore, so she started taking care of me. We travel together, and she makes sure I'm alright, and teaches me how to kill demons with her."
So that was it, then. A demon within a sword had convinced a homeless, likely desperate, child to contract with it, and now likely dragged him God knew where to train him to kill demons. He hadn't liked the looks of things, but now that he knew what they were really like... This would just not do, not at all.
"So... this is Caliburn, is it?" He gazed into the metal of the blade, squinting his eye as if trying to discern something in it. However, all he saw was his own reflection. "Seems like an awfully careless caretaker, if she's having a child your age fighting such dangerous creatures."
"She's not!" Arthur snapped his eyes up from looking at the bed, and looked at Neuhaus's face instead. "Really, Caliburn is a good person. She makes sure I'm healthy and fed and clean. She's taught me so much! I... I wouldn't have anyone without her. She's always been there for me." He seemed to remember his shyness as he concluded his little outburst, and lapsed back into mumbles and hiding his face by gazing downwards.
"... And, tell me, if she takes such good care of you, then why do you have such a large injury on your face?" Arthur jumped, and his hand shot up to the bandages over his scar. That was right, these were clean, that must have meant that Neuhaus had changed them while he'd been unconscious... so he'd seen it.
"That... that wasn't her fault," he mumbled, clasping his hands together. "I... I got that before I met her. There was this big demon, a long time ago, it came after me and clawed my face. It's been there ever since. Caliburn had nothing to do with it." Neuhaus sighed as the blond came to the conclusion of his explanation. Whatever it he did, it seemed that there was no changing the boy's mind. He was dead-set in thinking that this sword was a savior of some kind. He was never good with kids, and he found it hard to believe that such a deeply-ingrained belief would be so easily removed.
"... If that's what you say," he sighed at last. He stood up from his chair, aware of the blue eyes that were watching him intently. "I'm probably thinking correctly that you were planning to leave town as soon as you were done with that demon, right?" A silent nod was his reply. "Well, I'm thinking that, when you do finally decide to go, there won't be anything that I can do to stop you. If you are going to leave, then at least stay here a few more days, until your injuries heal."
He said not a word more on the subject, only collected up the dirtied bowls, and carried them to the sink to be washed, turning his back to the boy wringing his hands in his lap.
–
Contrary to what Neuhaus had expected previously, the little blond had actually stayed put. The little boy whom he only knew as 'Angel' sat complacently in the bed for most of the time he was there. Although he'd had to call in and tell the Vatican that he was staying in his hometown for a while longer (though he purposefully failed to tell them the whole reason why), there wasn't much annoyance on his part about it. He was a bit persistent at times, and kept asking how long he thought it would take until he was healed all the way.
...Truth be told, the worst of it all had pretty much healed over about a day or two ago. He could have left any time since the day before yesterday. It just so happened that, much like his not telling the Vatican the full reason he was staying longer, it had 'slipped' his mind to mention such to the boy.
He couldn't keep him there forever like this, and he knew it. But, perhaps, somewhere deeper in his heart, he had been hoping that keeping the boy here would place a desire within him to stay in one place. That the longer he stayed, the more he would be longing for a solid place, instead of aimless drifting to kill demons wherever he went. It also didn't hurt that he kept the boy's sword at the opposite end of the room, tucked away in a closet, and justifying it to the boy with the asinine excuse that the alloys of the metal could do something to his health while he was still healing. He could tell that the blond hadn't believed him one bit, but for whatever reason, he still stayed.
If he were being completely honest to himself, he might have admitted that it was actually... sort of nice, having a child around. When Michelle had still been alive, they had talked about children, sure, but he was still young and still very uncertain when she had told him she had wanted them. Now, though, when she was gone and they had no chance of that together, he found himself wishing that he hadn't been so hesitant on the topic. Perhaps, in a way, this was his own way of trying to feel what that could had been like, had he only dropped his hesitancy and gave a hearty 'yes' when she had declared she wanted them to have a baby.
...If only this could actually last.
–
Come on, Arthur, it's nighttime and that man went out. We don't know when he'll be back, we have to slip away now while we have the chance. Arthur pressed his lips together as he finished tucking the last of his things into his pockets. Caliburn's familiar weight was pressing down on his back again, and his small traveling pack was securely on his arm.
"I don't know, Caliburn..." Arthur murmured, tensing his grip on his sleeve as he stood up. "Do we really have to leave like this again? I mean, it doesn't really seem right... he's done so much for me over this time, and to leave like this, sneaking away without saying goodbye-"
Oh, you left him a note, Caliburn's voice came out impatient and pushing. Besides, it's like I've told you, it's a lot easier to leave people when you don't say goodbye to them. It just makes for unnecessary tears, and you know that I don't like those... Maybe you'd rather I leave, and you can stay here with this stranger as long as you'd like, is that what you want? Arthur started as she suggested this so calmly, and quickly shook his head. That's what I thought. Besides, Arthur, you don't need a person like that keeping an eye on you, you have me, remember?~
"...Okay, I guess if you say so," Arthur sighed.
That's the spirit~ the female voice from the sword chirped. Now come on, let's get going before he has a chance to come back.
"...Right." Ever so carefully, Arthur creaked open the front door of Neuhaus's home, and slipped out into the night. It would be a simple trip, all he had to do was get through the town, out of the limits, and make his way out through the woods. Despite the bright whiteness of his clothing standing out in the dark, he slipped unnoticed through the narrow side-streets and dark alleyways.
It was just as he had passed through the gateways of the town, and was making his way out into the woods, that a voice stopped him cold.
"Guess I thought right when I believed you would only leave when you wouldn't have to say 'goodbye', huh?" Arthur yelped and turned 90 degrees on his heel, only to see Neuhaus standing there, half-hidden in the shadow of a large tree.
"M-Mr. Neuhaus! Wh-what are-"
"I think you know why I'm here, Angel," Neuhaus answered as he came out into the road to stand in front of the boy. His one eye was not without emotion, but most of what was there was only tiredness, tinged with a soft light of what could have been called disappointment. Arthur found himself caught cold in that gaze, and his shoulders drooped ever so sightly. "I had hoped that you could at least stick around to say 'goodbye', guess that was too much to want, hm?"
"I... I'm sorry, Mr. Neuhaus," Arthur murmured, dropping his gaze. "I just... I didn't want to-"
"No need, kid." Arthur stopped cold, and looked up at the eyepatched man as he interrupted his explanation. "I suppose I sort of knew that, no matter what I did, you would end up trying to leave without a word. That's just how you are, isn't it? You drift in, do what you need, and then slip away again, trying not to bother anyone with the fact that you were ever there. Isn't that right?" Arthur looked down and away from Neuhaus, wringing his hands together in his typical, shy manner.
"I... just don't want to be a bother to anyone. I'm always moving around, and Caliburn says that it's better not to get attached, since we never stay in one place for too long, so, I mean... you know..." he said a bit more, but by that point it had trailed off into a string of inarticulate mumbles.
"...I see." Neuhaus sighed and closed his eye, running his fingers through his hair. A big part of him just wanted to grab the sword and keep the kid from leaving, but something told him that this course of action would be no good for him, or the kid. "...Well, like I said, kid, if you're wanting to leave, then I won't be able to stop you. Just... just know something." Arthur looked up at him curiously, both his visible and bang-hidden eye gazing at the man expectantly. "If you ever feel like you're ready to stop wandering for a while... there are a few places in the world where I have contacts. If you ever find a place where the name of the 'True Cross Order' means anything to people... Well, you're a smart enough kid, I think you know what I'm getting at."
"Y...yeah, I do," he murmured. The atmosphere was getting a bit thick and awkward, and he didn't quite know where to go from there. So, for a moment, he simply stood there, timidly shuffling his feet against the ground as he tried grasping for something to say.
"...Well, I suppose I'd better stop holding you up. Burning up your traveling time by keeping you here talking to me." Wordlessly, Neuhaus stepped out out the road, shoving his hands in his pockets and tucking his chin into his collar. "Go on then, I've said my piece, I'm not going to try stopping you now."
"I... Th- thank you, Mr. Neuhaus,"Arthur murmured as he shifted the strap that held Caliburn to his back. "I... I hope that we'll be able to meet again, someday." The man nodded at the boy from his place on the road's shoulder.
"You just take care of yourself, Angel." With this as a grunted sort of farewell, he turned back towards the town, and started to walk away.
"Ah..." However, he stopped mid-step when he heard the blond make a small sound behind him, but didn't turn around to look at him again. "Mr. Neuhaus, I... well, since we're leaving and all, I just... well, I'm sorry, you've done so much for me... and I didn't even tell you my real last name." What? "My last name isn't actually 'Angel'... it's 'Pendragon'." … Pendragon?... Why did that sound familiar?... "Well, thank you... and... goodbye."
"Wh- hey, wait a-!" He turned around suddenly, intent on stopping the boy once more, despite his promise not to. However, by the time he was facing the direction where the boy's voice had come from, all that was there was tall trees, the crisp night air, and an empty road.
–
Boy, that one certainly was strange, wasn't he, Arthur?~ Caliburn's voice echoed slightly in the quiet forest as Arthur trekked his way through the dense foliage. I mean, honestly, who did he think he was? We don't need someone like that around, holding us back, and he just talked so awfully much I thought I was going to doze right off~ Honestly, how silly can a person be? Thinking that we would ever stop our traveling, especially with just how far we've come on our own, who says we need someone like that getting in our way, right Arthur?~ … Arthur? The blond kept his eyes on the ground as they came to a cleared patch of grass, and didn't seem to hear his sword's words. Arthur!
"Wha?... Oh, I'm sorry, Caliburn. I was just... thinking about things."
Well, don't try that too much, Arthur~ You'll just hurt your little head and wrinkle up that pretty face of yours. You have me to do all of that thinking for you~ You just keep on going and do as I say, and everything will turn out just fine~ With you following my lead, we don't need anyone else, right?~
"Y-yeah... right."
