Yikes, the beginning of the school year is coming up. Updates might come a bit slower once classes start, but I'll do my best to update once a week. Thanks to ilikedan, Kaite1211, and TooLazyToLogin for the reviews. TooLazyToLogin, your question will be answered this chapter. So glad you asked! Also, thanks to WithoutWingsX for adding this story to their alert list!
Dobby's Imaginary Sock
Disclaimer: Nein. Nicht. Nada. Don't own D. Gray-man or any of the lovely songs I have used.
Part Twenty-One: Morgen
"And tomorrow the sun will shine again
And on the way which I shall follow
She will again unite us lucky ones
As all around us the earth breathes in the sun."
John Henry Mackay
Today was the day. After four months of hard work on the Thing, Cross had finally finished him. That is, everything besides the name. The kid was still working on that one. Neah thought that naming it was a waste of time and to just call it Thing the First, but that set the Thing to crying. Mana then had tried to comfort him, but after the Thing tried to bite him- the Thing didn't seem to like Mana- he gave up on that pursuit. Of course the kid became more determined than ever to name the Thing because of that incident.
He tightened links holding the wings together one more time just to make sure they stayed together. It would do no good for the little golden sheets to fall off as soon as the Thing began flapping his wings. Cross then polished the main body and looked his creation over. He began to smirk when he noticed something new on the front. Neah would not be happy about this, but Cross wasn't going to tell the Thing to change back to his usual appearance. It served Neah right.
Cross tucked the Thing into his bag and then pulled walked out the door. People didn't seem to give him a second glance as he walked past them in his civilian clothes. He kept his head down as he made his way to the lower floors. There was an empty office on the first floor that he had picked the lock to long ago. It was his main escape path when going to visit the others at the row house. He looked around before ducking into the office. Like always the room was empty and unoccupied, so Cross opened the window and climbed out the window.
As soon as his feet hit the ground, though, he turned back to the window to climb back inside. He really didn't want to face the angry Indian exorcist standing in front of him. "Where were you going?" asked Khanna.
"Just testing fire escape routes," lied Cross, not turning to face the exorcist. He then tried to channel all the charm he'd ever seen Neah Walker use. "It's terribly irresponsible to not have them marked down-"
"Don't lie to me," seethed Khanna. Charm apparently was not effective on the exorcist. He'd have to keep that in mind in the future. "You might have those silly girls in the main office looking out for you, but don't think that nobody else noticed your absence. One of your co-workers mentioned that you sometimes disappear from Headquarters. Where the hell were you going, Cross?"
He was stuck now. Cross was fairly certain should he run or attempt to scramble back into the window, Khanna would stop him. There was nothing else he could say. "I was headed... to tea," he mumbled.
"Tea?!" inquired Khanna in complete disbelief. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I've never seen you drink tea, only that shitty office coffee."
"Well, I can choose to drink a damn cup of tea if I so wish," grumbled Cross. He blew the loose hair out of his face in agitation. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have friends waiting for me-"
Khanna stepped into his path. "I want to see these 'friends' of yours," demanded the exorcist.
"What?" questioned Cross blankly.
"How am I to know that you actually went to tea with friends unless I see these people myself?" inquired Khanna. He put a hand on the hilt of his sword. "How am I to know that these 'friends' aren't accomplices of the Earl? You're not going to tea today-"
"But-" interjected Cross. He really was expected at the row house. Neah wanted to go over plans for a raid he had planned. The damn brat would probably come looking for him if he kept them waiting too long.
"-unless I go with you," continued Khanna.
The situation could not possibly be any worse. If he said no and didn't go, the damn exorcist would be even more suspicious of him than he already was. But if he said yes... Cross didn't even know who all was there. There was a strong chance that Sanjiv was at the row house and maybe even Bookman. Khanna could discover their little scheme and then they'd all be fucked. He had to say no and take one for the team. The exorcist looked him over with a dark, evil gleam in his eyes. Cross could practically feel those eyes petrifying everything in their gaze. Everything, that is, except something in his bag, fighting to get out. He had an idea.
Reaching a hand into his bag, Cross grabbed the main body of the Thing and pulled him to the surface just under the flap. He had set the Thing to automatically record everything and to replay information on command. "You want to go to tea, Khanna?" asked Cross. He felt the Thing become still in his hand. Good, he was at least paying attention to the conversation even though he couldn't see it.
"I never said that I wanted to go," spat the exorcist. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "However, if you insist on going-"
"I hope you're ready for a bit of a hike, then," said Cross. "The place is on the other side of town, so it should take- I don't know- about fifteen minutes."
"I'm an exorcist, Cross," stated Khanna, rolling his eyes. "Walking isn't going to kill me. Let's go to your damn tea party."
Khanna turned on his heels and headed out to the main road. While his back was turned, Cross released the Thing. He watched as the Thing zoomed off in a blur. For the first time, he was glad that the Thing was golden. It would be much too hard for Khanna to see flying through the air. The speed enhancing spell had been a good choice. Now he just had to hope the Thing actually made it there and was not attacked by some dumb bird.
Cross tried to prolong the walk to the row house for as long as possible by weaving through every side street they came across. Khanna quickly became annoyed and asked for the address. Once Cross told him, the exorcist began to lead the way. Fortunately, they'd wandered far enough that they arrived exactly fifteen minutes after Cross had released the Thing. The exorcist rapped his knuckles on the door until Sophia opened it.
"Oh, hello!" she quipped while straightening out her gingham skirts. Sophia had made the dress after they'd received the ₤10,000 from Bookman. She was quite proud of the dress since she'd never had the need to make spring clothing while in Great Britain. Cross admitted to himself that it was a rather pretty dress. The green lower skirt helped to make the black and white gingham pop out much like how a certain green crystal hidden under a black ribbon choker did against Sophia's pale skin. "You should tell us that you're bringing a guest next time, Cross. I'll have to set another place now."
"Sorry!" he apologized. He looked into her eyes and hoped that she knew that he really meant it. Cross would never wish Indivar Khanna's presence onto any other person. The Clan of Noah, however, was a special case. They could take him. "This is-"
"I'm Indivar Khanna," said the exorcist. Cross was impressed that the exorcist was actually trying to be polite. "I am an... acquaintance of Cross. And you are?"
"I'm Sophia Maria," she replied with a polite nod of the head. "Do come in."
She stepped away from the door and held it open. The house, for once, looked spotless. Cross could tell it was still the same old place, but everything just looked... neater. Sanjiv's books were not strewn across the desk, there were no dishes in the sink, and it appeared that someone had dusted. He wondered if Sophia had done all of this. It made him feel bad, for it really had all been last minute. Once they were inside she shut the door and walked over to the base of the stairs. As soon as she was out of earshot, Khanna muttered, "I didn't know you had a girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend!" he hissed. He glared at the exorcist, his face beginning to turn red. "Sophia is a childhood friend."
"Well, how was I to know that?" asked Khanna, feigning innocence.
"You never fucking asked," Cross whispered back venomously.
"Mana! Neah! Cross is here!" she called up the stairs.
Two sets of footsteps echoed through the upstairs hall and then came down the stairs. "About time," remarked Neah. It appeared that the younger Walker had attempted to tame his wild hair.
Mana, on the other hand, looked like he had put in no effort. "Cross!" he cried out. Like the first time, the juggler came over and attempted to kiss him on the cheek like some old grandmother. Cross held out an arm to push him away.
"Stop it!" he hissed as Mana struggled against the arm. Mana settled for an awkward hug that caused Khanna to quirk an eyebrow.
"Please excuse my older brother," commented Neah.
"It's been so long!" exclaimed Mana enthusiastically.
"I saw you two last week!" groused Cross. He finally succeeded in pushing Mana away. "That's not a long time."
"It is to me," huffed Mana. He walked over to a chair at the table and sat down. The juggler proceeded to pout.
As Neah introduced himself and his brother, Sophia came over to Cross and pulled the Thing out of her apron pocket. She placed the Thing discreetly in his closest hand.
"So you got the message," he mumbled.
"Yes," she responded. "Thanks for letting us know."
"How did you all manage this?" he inquired.
"Well," she began with a giggle, "when we got your message, it sort of became a mad dash. We dumped everything into Mana and Neah's room, and then we scrubbed the floor."
"You got Mana and Neah to scrub the floor?" he questioned. Cross was very impressed and more than a little bit amused at this news. The idea of Neah Walker, Lord of Walker Manor and the Noah of Destruction, scrubbing floors was so absurd that he wanted to laugh. Now would not be a good time, though. He would bother Neah about it later.
Sophia smiled. "Yes," she chuckled. "He had his sleeves rolled up and became all red in the face. If Mana and I hadn't been so scared at the time, I think we would have fallen over laughing."
He felt Khanna's eyes wander over to him and Sophia, so he finished their conversation with a small smile. Cross buried the Thing back into his bag and sat down at the table opposite of Mana. Sophia took the seat to his right. Khanna and Neah soon joined them, the exorcist taking the seat to Cross' left. Neah, at the opposite end of the table, began pouring tea into the- surprisingly- matching china. The wonders that £10,000 could do.
"So, Mr. Khanna, what do you do for a living?" asked Neah. It seemed that politeness was catching. Cross was reminded of the way Neah had interacted with his family when they were younger- the stiff manner of speech forced upon young gentlemen early in their childhood. "Cross doesn't tell us much about work, except that he's some sort of scientist."
"I'm afraid that it's rather confidential," replied Khanna with a frown. Cross had doubted the exorcist would say anything if it wasn't necessary.
"Well, that sounds rather exciting," responded Neah, sounding somewhat disappointed. Cross wondered where the younger Walker was trying to go with this. "I suppose you're working on obtaining a permit, then."
"No," stated Khanna curtly.
Neah pursed his lips and then proceeded to change the subject. "I'm afraid Cross never told us how he met you. He keeps such odd company usually, so I can't help but wonder-"
"It's really not that interesting of a tale," interrupted the exorcist. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"You really aren't going to tell us anything about yourself," sighed Neah as he put the teapot down. Cross now saw that the younger Walker was trying to get a leg up in this situation.
"Not a chance," remarked Khanna.
"Sugar?"
"No."
"Milk?"
"No."
"Cream?"
"If I said no to sugar and milk, what makes you think I'd say yes to cream?" inquired the exorcist. His right eye began to twitch.
Neah handed Khanna his cup. "There you go, then," huffed the younger Walker. This was one relationship that wasn't starting very well. Cross couldn't care less, for he didn't like either of them. It probably would have been worse for him if they had teamed up anyways.
Cross could feel the vibrations of Mana's legs shaking under the table, but his upper half remained perfectly still. It appeared that the juggler hadn't forgotten every story he'd ever heard about Indivar Khanna. Mana wasn't taking any chances and refused to look the exorcist in the eye. "So… the weather is lovely today."
"Yes it is," agreed Sophia.
"Most definitely," added Cross.
"Isn't it too hot to be wearing that thing around your neck?" questioned Khanna.
Mana coughed while Sophia only looked at the exorcist and said, "Pardon?"
"It's May," commented Khanna. "Surely it's too hot to be wearing that bizarre piece of fabric."
"Oh, well, I'm used to wearing this," she replied. Sophia began fidgeting with the black choker and her pendant of the Virgin Mary. "It's… fashionable from where I came. I'm from London, you see-"
"London?" asked Khanna. It appeared that the exorcist meant to grill them all to find out why they were here. Cross had seen grown men crack under these kinds of interrogations. They would have to be very careful. "How did you end up here in Rome?"
"Um..."
"She ran into us, you see," interrupted Mana. He picked apart a biscuit on his plate, but didn't eat any of the pieces. "I'm a travelling performer of all trades- juggling, acrobatics, and clowning- and my brother is a musician. One day while we were wandering the streets we heard the most beautiful voice, so of course we had to investigate. That's how we met Sophia. My brother was in need of a singer- it's so hard to book a show without one- so they teamed up. We grew tired of England, and I had a job down here with a circus at the beginning of the year. In the end, we all ended up moving here."
"That sounds like an adventure," sniffed the exorcist. "Now I'm wondering who you mean by 'we all.'"
"Excuse me?" questioned Mana innocently, a cheeky grin stretched upon his face. Cross could see a nervous sweat building up around Mana's hairline. The juggler's biscuit was nothing besides fine powder now.
"There's a sixth place set at the table," pointed out Khanna. "Obviously you are expecting someone else."
Everyone looked at the sixth, empty spot next to Mana. Cross was fairly certain who was supposed to be sitting there, and that redhead was probably walking around Rome avoiding this street like his life depended on it. Neah almost dropped the teapot on Cross' lap. Sophia stared at the empty spot, horrified that she'd forgotten to put the cup away. Mana began to laugh nervously and rub the back of his head. Cross closed his eyes and actually began to mutter a Hail Mary while Khanna glowered at the cup and then the stairs.
It seemed as if Mary was in a bad mood, for a lighter pair of footsteps came crashing down the stairs belonging to none other than a certain young akuma. "Sorry I'm late, guys," yawned the kid. "I fell asleep. Why didn't you call me, Sophia?"
Sophia appeared too stunned for a moment to speak. She did her best to smile and to take this moment in stride. "Mana told me you were taking a nap, so I didn't want to wake you," she replied. She took a tea sandwich off of the center tray and began to munch on it.
Khanna watched her polish the sandwich off in a mere two minutes before she reached to place five more on her plate. Cross wasn't sure if the exorcist was impressed or moderately horrified to see a little girl eat a sandwich so quickly. The exorcist closed his eyes and shook his head. "And who are you?" he inquired.
The kid stuck his hands in his pockets and began rocking back and forth on his feet. "Oh, I'm Allen," stated the kid. "I'm Mana and Neah's little brother."
Mana looked ready to protest, so Cross kicked him under the table. He then glared at the older Walker to keep him quiet. They were just going to have to run with it. "Step brother," clarified Neah. "Our father married his mother."
"Right," said Khanna. He took a sip from his tea. "And where are you parents?"
The kid looked down at the ground sadly and began to sniffle. Mana ran over to him and gave him another one of his awkward hugs. "Are you okay, Allen?" he asked uncertainly.
"Their parents died in the epidemic two years ago," whispered Cross. He might as well help them with this illusion of a normal life. "Tuberculosis is nasty stuff."
"That's a shame," remarked Khanna. He was as heartless as ever not even apologizing to a kid. "It must be difficult."
"We get by," responded Neah. Mana and the kid sat down at the table, the kid taking the empty spot between the two Walker brothers. Neah asked the kid if he wanted tea, which he declined. It was at this point Cross noticed how ridiculous this entire situation had become. He was sitting at a table having afternoon tea with an exorcist to his left, a rogue exorcist to his right, an ex-Noah across the table, an akuma, and a real Noah who had just handed a tray of scones down the table. When Cross offered Khanna a scone, the exorcist only glowered at the tray. He took that as a no thank you and passed the tray to Sophia who took two scones.
"Shouldn't your little brother be in school?" questioned the exorcist. "It is a week day."
"I think that's entirely up to us to decide," replied Neah curtly, the corner of his mouth curling down as he took a sip from his cup. "We're not familiar with the schools around this area nor do we have the money for tuition."
Khanna watched Mana pile a dozen sugar cubes into his cup. "Right," drawled the exorcist. Cross gave Mana another kick in the shins, hoping the older Walker would realize that he needed to stop it with the sugar. Any person on the street could tell you that sugar was not cheap. The juggler winced, tears welling up in his eyes, but put the sugar down. He was probably forming a bruise on his shin by now. Khanna seemed relieved that Mana had finally stopped.
"There's a school run by a church not far from here," continued Khanna. He held up a hand to refuse the bowl of strawberries Mana was now offering him. "I can bring up Allen's case to Father Andrew."
"No thank you," stated Neah coldly.
"You don't want your brother to receive an education?"
"We're not a charity case," spat Neah. He glared at the exorcist across the table. "We can teach him ourselves."
Cross suddenly understood what the discussion was really about: who was in control. It was petty, really, to see a thirty-five year old man and a teenage runaway lord fighting over control of the table. He wondered if subconsciously the Inner Noah was provoking Neah. Perhaps it was instinct for a Noah and an exorcist to fight.
"Would anyone like more tea?" inquired Mana cheerfully.
"Stay out of this!" growled Neah and Khanna.
"Um, mister, who are you?" asked the kid. He looked over at Khanna with wide eyes. Cross was relieved to notice the kid's pupils were not dilated. That meant he could hold on for a while without running off. Of course, he wasn't sure if having two accommodators in the room would change the kid's reaction in the long run. He'd have to keep a close eye on him.
"I'm Mr. Khanna," he said through gritted teeth, clearly annoyed to have to repeat himself and have his argument interrupted again. "I work for the same organization as Cross."
'Allen' gaped at the man. "Does that mean you're a magician, too?"
Khanna spat some of his tea out of his mouth onto the empty plate in front of him. Mana fell out of his chair and began rocking back and forth laughing. Sophia ran over to exchange the exorcist's plate for a dry one. Cross was pretty certain he heard her chortling as she ran water in the sink to rinse off the dirty plate. Neah dabbed at his mouth with a napkin to hide his smirk. Cross was having a pretty hard time containing himself. He was rather much enjoying this character of 'Allen' the kid had created. The only thing that kept him in check was that he was rather embarrassed at this point. Sure, the forced politeness from earlier had been stifling, but now they looked like a bunch of fools. He wasn't sure what was better for the exorcist to see.
Khanna's face turned red. "No," he responded. He enunciated each word. "I am not a damn magician."
The kid gasped. "You just used the 'D' word!" he exclaimed.
"People might tell you not to, kid, but everyone does," growled the exorcist. He then reached for a sandwich only to find there were none left on the tray. Khanna turned to Sophia. "Did you just eat that entire tray of sandwiches?!"
"Um... yes?" replied Sophia as she dried off the plate.
"How did a little girl like you eat two dozen sandwiches?" asked the exorcist.
Sophia looked about ready to panic. Cross saw the kid bite his lip, getting ready for what usually came next when she became nervous like this. Neah's eyes looked about ready to bulge out of his head. They all knew that Sophia had a tendency of accidentally activating her Innocence when she panicked. If Khanna were to see that...
Cross grabbed the fruit platter and passed it to Khanna, hoping that would appease him for now. The exorcist sneered at him but took a slice of orange anyhow. Sophia was visibly shaking now and looking at him with wide eyes. He'd have to get her out of the room in order to avoid any accidents. After running through several spells in his mind he found the perfect one for this situation. "Did you stay up all night getting this ready, Sophia?" he inquired. He began forming magic symbols under the table with his free hand. "You really didn't have to push everything else aside just for a little tea party."
"Oh, I wasn't tired," she replied, looking very uncertain. Sophia put the plate down on the kitchen counter. "I hardly realized that the time went by."
"You must stop doing that," sighed Neah. He seemed to have caught on somewhat. The younger Walker looked desperate to know exactly what was going on, but after staring at Cross for a couple minutes he seemed to decide to let the magician do his own thing. "I won't allow you to skip breakfast and lunch again."
Cross finished signing the spell under the table and saw the effects immediately. Sophia became unsteady on her feet and her eyelids drooped. Both Walker brothers looked at her in great concern. "Sophia, are you alright?" questioned Mana. He stood up from his spot on the ground.
The kid looked completely confused while Khanna just quirked an eyebrow. Cross stood up and walked over to Sophia. "Sophia?" he inquired. Just as he reached her, she fell over, causing the others to yelp. He caught her before she hit the ground much to everyone's relief.
"What the hell just happened?" asked Khanna.
"She fell asleep," answered Cross. He hooked an arm under her knees. "Probably wore herself out."
"Will she be okay?" inquired 'Allen'. He looked rather jittery. Between sitting here with two accommodators, the questioning, and this surprise the akuma was quickly reaching his limit. Cross would have to get him out of the room two, at least for a little while.
"She just needs some sleep," responded Cross. "I'm going to take her upstairs to her room. Hey, Allen, could you come with me and open the door?"
"Sure!" chimed the kid. He hopped off his chair and ran up the stairs ahead of Cross. When they reached her room, the kid closed the door behind them and let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for that."
"I didn't want you transforming in his face," said Cross as he laid Sophia down on the bed. "Khanna would kill you."
"I kind of figured that," snorted the kid. "So, what did you do to her? It must have been you."
"It's a simple sleeping spell," replied Cross. He tucked her in. "It will wear off in about an hour."
"Mana was right," stated the kid. "You are a good magician."
"And you're a damn good actor," remarked Cross.
"Oh, that wasn't acting," commented the kid. "My name, well, this body's name really is Allen."
Cross shrugged. "I'll keep that in mind," he told the kid. "Don't hold me to calling you that. You should've told us in the first place. I'm surprised Neah didn't assign you some stupid name like Francis or Tom or Tim-"
"Whatever," grumbled the kid as he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. He began turning the doorknob. "Let's just go downstairs. Maybe that bastard will leave now."
However, 'that bastard' was climbing up the stairs when they entered the hallway. "What's taking you so long, Cross?" asked Khanna bitterly. "You left me downstairs with those two idiots."
"My brothers aren't idiots!" cried out 'Allen.'
"Sorry to disagree, kid, but they are," said the exorcist without any hint of apology in his voice.
"They're a bit eccentric," stated Cross, trying to push everything bad those two brats had ever done to him out of his mind. It would do no good to tell Khanna about all their transgressions.
"More like batshit crazy," muttered Khanna. His eyes suddenly shot up to the ceiling. Cross followed his gaze and saw what looked like a trap door carved into the whitewashed ceiling. He hadn't spent much time on the second floor during his visits, so he'd never noticed it before. As he turned to ask the kid about it, the exorcist pulled out his sword and stabbed it through the trapdoor. The kid squeaked in surprise, and Cross noted he sounded mildly horrified. Khanna pulled his sword out and looked at the clean blade. "I think you might have rodents in your attic. I'd suggest calling a rat catcher."
"Right," the kid gulped as the exorcist sheathed his sword.
Now, Cross had done his best so far to accept everyone's behavior today. He would allow petty power struggles and sugary tea, but now things had gone too far. It was his money that rented this shitty little row house for the first four months, and now they would have to pay the landlady to fix the hole Khanna had unnecessarily put in the ceiling. "What the hell?!" he shouted. "You don't have to go waving around poking swords into people's houses to say that they might have pests!"
"Well, do you want me to open the damn door and check?" inquired the exorcist angrily. "Oh wait, this place is so cheap that there isn't even a string to open it!"
That was true. Cross hadn't seen a string coming from the trapdoor, nor any other kind of handle to open it. He was still pissed, though. "Maybe it's cheap," seethed Cross, "but it's a whole hell of a lot better than being locked away inside Headquarters all the time. So stop telling me what to do about our damn house!"
"So that's what you've been doing with your wages," grumbled Khanna. "Paying the rent for a bunch of idiots! If that's what you want to do, then fine. Just don't bring them around the Headquarters. We don't need any more fools running around the place."
Khanna turned his back on them and walked down the stairs. The kid stuck his tongue out at the exorcist's back. Cross rolled his eyes at the immature gesture but couldn't help grinning because of it. When they came downstairs, Mana was walking over to the sink balancing all six teacups on his chin. Neah snatched them from his brother before he could finish his journey. "But I was doing so well!" Mana whined.
"I'm not letting you destroy that tea set," snapped the younger Walker.
"Thank you for tea," stated Khanna, his tone now very formal. "I'm afraid I must bid you all farewell. Let's go, Cross."
"I'll be sticking around for a bit, thank you," he retorted. "I'm not a damn dog."
Khanna looked at him and then the others, his eyes examining each of their faces. "Fine," agreed the exorcist. "I'll see you back at Headquarters tonight."
Without another word Khanna walked outside and slammed the door behind him. All four of them remained silent for the next five minutes, only the noise of their breathing filling the void. Finally they began to move about and make casual conversation. "You really hate him, don't you?" questioned Mana.
"Not as much as Neah seems to hate him," replied Cross.
"I never said I hated him," sniffed Neah. He began to fold the tablecloth. "I just find him to be a stuck up son of a bitch."
"Neah!" exclaimed Mana in mock disbelief. He walked over to the kid and covered his ears. The kid struggled against Mana's hands. "Language!"
"Your brother is right for once, Mana," said Cross. "He's a bastard."
Mana shook his head. "He was only here for an hour, but he already has you two cussing," tittered the juggler. "I hate to think what would have happened to us if he had stayed longer."
"I can live with the swearing," mumbled the kid. "It's the sword that scares me."
"Well, calling him a magician certainly pushed him over the edge," admitted Mana with a snicker. "Wouldn't you say so, 'Allen.'"
Mana and 'Allen' both burst out laughing, while Cross just chuckled to himself. When they once again settled into an uncomfortable silence, Neah broke it by asking, "Do you think he's really gone now?"
Cross looked out the window and saw no one besides children playing in the gutter under the watchful eyes of the women hanging laundry on the lines overhead. "Yes, he's really gone," he responded.
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the other three ran up the stairs. Cross followed them and found the kind on Mana's shoulders knocking on the trapdoor. "Hey! Are you okay in there?" inquired the kid.
"Sanjiv! Please say something!" exclaimed Mana.
At least Cross now know why Khanna had driven a sword through the ceiling. He now knew how close of a call it had truly been. Cross wanted to ask why the hell they hadn't gotten the young Bookman out of the house, but right now he was a bit more curious as to how Sanjiv had avoided the sword. From all of his sparring sessions with the exorcist, Cross knew that Khanna was deadly accurate with his blows.
The trap door swung open revealing a rather annoyed looking Sanjiv. "Those protective spells are a little too good, Cross," stated the young Bookman. He jumped through the hole in the ceiling and closed the trapdoor. "I couldn't even pry the vent off up there. Next time just let me leave through the back door, Neah."
"It's not all my fault," retorted Neah. He looked at Cross accusingly. "I'd like to know why the hell that bastard was here in the first place!"
"Not everyone can just pop from one place to the other like a fairy," groused Cross. He had reached the point where he actually wished he were in the laboratory. Neah accusing him of bringing someone synonymous to calamity knocking was ridiculous. "I didn't want to bring him."
"And only fifteen minutes, too!" snarled the younger Walker. It appeared that Neah wanted to pick a fight. "Twelve if you count the Thing's travel time. Next time either give us a warning in advance or don't come at all!"
"I came because I knew that you would have come looking for me if I hadn't!" shouted Cross. He stepped closer to Neah and looked down at the shorter boy. "That would have been far worse in the end!"
"Why do you always assume that I can't take care of myself?!" bellowed Neah. "I wouldn't have been caught!"
"How the hell are we supposed to know that?!" hollered Cross. He was practically spitting his words just to add emphasis. "So far you've survived on circumstance, on luck! That can't and won't last forever, but you'll keep busting your way through all of this because you don't care what being caught would mean for everyone else!"
"It wouldn't mean anything!" sneered Neah, his eyes once again bulging out of his head. "The Order wouldn't have been able to connect any of you with me! Plus my shitty family would probably break me out in the end and applaud my efforts to spy!"
"No offense, but we don't have the advantage of anonymity, if you'd care to notice!" roared Cross. He balled both of his fists. "Khanna has known for months that I've been sneaking out of the Order! If it hadn't been today then I'm sure he would've found us tomorrow! He's not a scholar, but he's not stupid, Neah! Someday he'll probably trace all of us back to Walker Manor and then we'll really be fucked! What are you going to do then?!"
Neah slammed a fist against the wall leaving a sizable dent. "WELL WHAT DO YOU THINK I SHOULD DO?!" barked the younger Walker. "YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SMART, BUT YOU WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE RIGHT NOW IF IT WASN'T FOR RHIAN'S PROTECTION! YOU THINK THAT I'M DANGEROUS! LOOK IN THE MIRROR, CROSS! AS MUCH AS YOU MAY DENY IT, YOU BRING CHAOS IN YOUR WAKE!"
"WELL, IF YOU HONESTLY FEEL THAT WAY THEN I'LL JUST LEAVE!" growled Cross. He stomped down the stairs towards the front door. "I DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO HELP YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE! KEEP THE OTHERS OUT OF YOUR STUPID-ASS SCHEMES!"
With that said, he opened and slammed the door behind him. He stormed back to Headquarters, ignoring Mana and the kid calling his name out of the second floor window.
oOo
After training with Khanna for several hours, Cross returned to his room and found that he couldn't sleep. He laid in his bed for an hour before giving up and taking out some pieces of scrap metal. Cross sat at his desk for half an hour searching through the cardboard box of discarded gears and wires before realizing he was setting aside some of the same pieces he had used to make the Thing. The Thing had been rather quiet that night, so he decided to check on it. When he turned around, though, he came face to face with Neah Walker.
"You left your bag at the house," said the young lord. He set it down on the ground in front of Cross and looked away. "The others are pretty upset about you leaving- well, maybe not Sanjiv. I don't think he has upset in his teeny tiny range of expressions."
Cross snorted and pulled the Thing out of his bag. He shook out his little wings and then flew to a spot atop the magician's head. "I don't think so either," replied Cross.
They sat there for a long while in silence, Neah looking at the side wall with his hands in his pockets. Finally, the younger Walker spoke again. "I am concerned about the others, you know," he stated quietly. He sat down on top of Cross' bed and looked down at his hands. "It's just… difficult for me to express it. You know what I was like when I was a kid. I never really had to care for anything, so I didn't. That is, until I saw Mana again. I didn't think that I missed him that much until I saw his face. We're connected in a way that the Clan can never hope to replace. I think he knows that, even though I may never say it."
"Did he put you up to coming here tonight?" asked Cross. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the young Noah skeptically.
"He wanted me to," admitted Neah, "but he actually doesn't know that I really came here. It's stupid, really, but I know that I'm going to have to apologize because we need you around. Mana, Sophia, the kid- well- Allen, they all look to you. Even Rory looked to you when we were kids. I can't replace that because I can't care quite as deeply."
"Who says that I care?" inquired Cross a bit too defensively.
"You do care," responded Neah, looking up at him. "You care because you have the most to lose if this all goes wrong. This might sound bad coming now, but that's part of the reason I sought you out. I knew you'd never be able to say no because Sophia and eventually even Mana would have said yes. There was no way you'd let them walk the path to hell by themselves."
"Do you really think this is the path to hell, Neah?" questioned Cross. It was so unlike the younger Walker to talk like this that it slightly scared Cross. He knew that there was a high chance of everything going wrong, but with the progress they'd made in the past month they were finally ready to start implementing their plans. They were going to have serious problems later on if they already doubted themselves.
Neah pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. "I'm afraid, Cross," he said. "I've seen the chaos left in the wake of this war. I know things that you can never hope and never should wish to know. Everything about my plans carries such a great risk, but I still will go forward with them. It may lead to hell, and if it does then I want you to force the others to turn back."
"Why don't you tell Mana this?" asked Cross.
"Because he would never leave me if it were up to him," replied Neah, his eyes softening. "He promised me that he'd follow me no matter what. Back then, I really wanted him to stay with me, but now… I just don't want him to get hurt."
Cross sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn, what happened to that brat that I used to be forced to follow around?"
Neah chuckled a bit. "I began to see things differently," he answered. "So, will you follow me again?"
The Thing took off from on top of Cross' head and began flying circles above Neah. "There's no damn point in changing my mind now," stated Cross. He sat forward in his chair. "We'll just have to be more careful going forward. I do seem to have rotten luck."
Neah smirked and stood up to leave. "That you do," he agreed. "I must return to the Ark tonight for a family meeting, but hopefully I shall see you tomorrow."
"Right," commented Cross. He watched as Neah opened a gateway in his room. "I'm just not sure I have the most to lose, Neah. I do care about the others, but if things were to go wrong I think you would feel it most of all."
Neah just stood there for a moment before turning back to smile at him. "That's why we must make sure that nothing goes wrong." He left and the gateway closed behind him in a blinding flash of light. The Thing zipped back to his spot on Cross' head, shaking dizzily when he landed. It felt good to have resolved this argument with Neah, but he still wasn't tired. Cross pulled on a pair of boots and left his room to take a turn out in the hallway.
oOo
He had grown accustomed to seeing the empty halls of Headquarters at night. Recently he'd signed up more often for the later shift so that he could go to the row house in the morning. It was certainly more peaceful now that everyone was asleep. Not even the Crows patrolled the lower floors of Headquarters at this time of night.
The Thing flew high above his head exploring every nook and cranny of the stone building. When he flew around a corner, though, the Thing suddenly turned around and zoomed back to him. Cross fell over from the force of the Thing's impact and felt him burrow into one of his pockets. That was when he heard the footsteps. He stood up quietly and found the nearest broom closet. Cross forced himself to hide inside despite his distaste for the cramped cupboard of cleaning products. He had avoided broom closets for months after the incident with Gwendolyn last year.
The footsteps came around the corner and stopped pretty close to the closet. Cross could barely make out two sets of feet by looking through the crack under the door. "I thought I saw something," said a deep baritone that Cross instantly recognized as Khanna's voice. He wondered if the exorcist was on patrol for some strange reason or if he'd decided to take a midnight stroll just like him.
"You've been on edge ever since you returned from the city this afternoon," replied a woman's voice. Cross recognized this voice, too. It belonged to Amaranta, the woman who worked in Communications. He'd seen her talking to Khanna before, but he'd never seen them walking about together. This was definitely a conversation worth hearing. "Where did you go with Cross?"
"He apparently has friends living on the other side of the city," stated Khanna. His feet began to move away from the broom closet.
"Are they really his friends?" inquired Amaranta.
"I'm not sure," replied Khanna. "They're all definitely familiar with him. The one boy Mana I had heard about from Mother. He was there with his two younger brothers and a girl: Neah, Allen, and Sophia. Sophia and Allen were a little odd, but there was something just plain wrong about Neah."
"What was it?" questioned Amaranta, running to catch up with Khanna. Cross held his breath waiting for the exorcist's response. He wasn't even certain if the Order knew about the Clan of Noah. They'd be in trouble if Khanna knew anything about that.
The exorcist was silent for a moment. "I can't quite put my finger on it," he responded. "He had a kind of darkness about him. Definitely not a happy person like his brother."
Cross refrained from sighing out loud lest Khanna and Amaranta should hear him. At least they didn't know about Neah or the Clan. He'd have to be grateful for that missing piece of information. "A darkness, you say," murmured Amaranta. "You've been wrong about things like this before. You thought that Cross was awfully suspicious in the beginning, but I don't see anything wrong with him. Perhaps I should go with him next time."
"I don't think he would let you," replied Khanna. His voice became softer. "I've been wrong before, but Neah Walker is a dangerous boy, that I am absolutely certain about. Please, don't try to follow Cross, my dear."
Cross stifled a laugh. True, it was concerning to hear them talking about him and his friends like this, but the ever-stoic exorcist had just called someone 'my dear.' After getting over the hysterical peculiarity of it all, he began to think about what that phrase meant in the bigger picture. It struck him suddenly: Amaranta and Khanna were definitely more than acquaintances. They were more than friends. He suddenly felt very claustrophobic, like he had treaded on a moment that was obviously meant to be private. There was no way to escape now. He'd just have to wait until they were far, far away and sneak back to his room.
Amaranta huffed, obviously annoyed. "You know, I'd generally believe you were just paranoid, but this has really gotten to you," she remarked. "Maybe that darkness you thought was part of Cross was really just something left over from before."
"What do you mean?" asked Khanna.
"Just think about it for a moment," whispered Amaranta. "You find a boy who keeps crossing paths with the war. He doesn't really have a name or any sort of history about him- I've seen his interview file. No family, no home… You thought that he was involved with the Bookmen, that he was covering their tracks to keep them out of trouble. I think it's something else, though. It's obvious that something got him in the beginning, something before you met him, maybe even before he was in the circus and met Bookman Junior. He might seem free, but this thing still has him and won't let him go."
"Well, what am I supposed to do about that?" inquired Khanna.
"Help him," said Amaranta.
"What?!"
"He'll never ask for help," she explained. He heard her take a few steps, probably towards Khanna. "It's not who he is. But he needs help, Indivar. He's still so young…"
"He's seventeen already," interrupted the exorcist. "Cross isn't a kid anymore. I think he can take care of himself."
Cross heard something that sounded like a hard swat to the arm. Khanna cursed under his breath. "Will you try and help him, please?" Amaranta quietly begged.
Cross could just imagine the blond secretary looking up at Khanna with large, pleading eyes. As nice as it was that someone was worried about him, he didn't really want Khanna breathing down his neck even more than before. "Fine," grumbled the exorcist. Cross wasn't sure who was angrier about this: Khanna or him. "I'll see if I can find out anything more about Neah Walker. If there's something that got Cross before, then I'm sure it must be connected to that boy."
He heard them start to walk further away, their footsteps becoming lighter with each step. Cross barely caught the soft thank you muttered by Amaranta before they turned a corner and started ascending the nearest staircase. After waiting a good twenty minutes, he made his way out of the broom closet. The Thing flew out of his pocket and looked about. Deciding that the coast was clear, they set off in the opposite direction and didn't stop until they reached his room.
So there we have it. Scandal! Revelation! Emotions! And an akuma who was once called Allen. What shall befall our little crew next as they move forward with their plans? We'll just have to wait and find out. Please review!