Holy shit, sorry this took a million years plus fifty.

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Much to Manta's relief, by the time he arrived downstairs Anna had already been fed and was quietly watching afternoon soap operas on her side. The usual Anna Position. Yoh was in the kitchen, cleaning up from the breakfast he had made on his own. There wasn't any sort of annoyance in his eyes, even when he turned to face Manta, who was panting from his near fall of death down the stairs. He only smiled. "You're up late."

Hiding that flush as best he could, once again hoping it could be blamed on the heat, he just nodded. "I had a long night." He gasped between his pants. When Yoh's eye caught Faust coming down after him, his smile only widened comfortingly.

"I bet."

He had heard the sounds of Faust last night. He had smelt the blood even as he passed by his room. Although he considered the doctor a friend, he knew that there were limits to what even his friendship could do. He had tried to comfort Faust once. The whole ordeal had lasted 5 minutes. The brunette had left the room with a broken nose a deep gash in one hand. When his mind came to, the German had apologized profusely, even as he was stitching the wound and resetting the bone. Yoh accepted it without hesitation and hadn't held any grudge against him since.

But that didn't mean he was stupid enough to try it again.

And yet, Manta stood there in one piece, and Faust appeared to be much better, even if he chose to be alone for the beginning of the morning. He only offered a quick hello before slipping outside to escape the confines he felt of the house. He gave Manta no more than a passing gaze and a lazy half-smile. Although it was not intended to be such, something about the expression oozed sultry and seductive in Faust's own strange way.

Manta returned the smile nervously before quickly turning back to Yoh. "I'm sorry I slept in! Here, let me finish the dishes for you." He quickly gave his friend a gentle push aside, picking up the task he thought rightfully his.

Merely smiling as he moved over without a fuss, Yoh watched him. There wasn't a single bruise, cut or abrasion on Manta's skin. No torn clothing, no tears. Faust really hadn't laid a finger on him last night during the routine slip into depression.

Aside from the dirty blond hair looking just slightly more disheveled then normal, Manta was, physically, unscathed. There was something off about his expression though...something in his eyes and way his mouth had an odd little twist. It wasn't quite the worry Yoh was used to, but it might have been a sign of off balance in his friend's head.

"So I guess everything is fine?" Thinking he should break the now uncomfortable silence, Yoh piped up the question lightly. Body relaxed and voice easy, Yoh's eyes remained watchful, looking for that one little reaction that that would speak something was wrong. Manta's fingers just barely tightened around the plate in his hands. Was that enough of a reaction to signify what Yoh was worried about?

Then nothing else. No, Manta was fine, likely still just barely unset from the prior evening. Manta still hated blood, and judging from the bandaging and the absorbed red that remained on one of Faust's sleeves, there had been enough of it.

Now nodding when he knew Yoh needed an answer, the shorter boy set down the plate and looked up. He always feared the brunette was looking through him, seeing the troubles he held within. It didn't worry him as much anymore, and wasn't afraid to meet his eyes, but at times his mind begged to know just how much his friend knew of him. "Yah…he just needed someone to talk to. It wasn't that bad."

There was no other choice but to believe him. Were it any worse than what Manta recalled, there would be signs of it. So Yoh smiled and nodded. "It's good then…I mean, for him. And it probably helped you two come to better terms."

That was true. Any chance they had to speak, while often awkward, helped to comfort the emotions they seemed to get stirred up in. Guilt, fear and pain seemed to hang in the air as they both tried to ignore what memories could not keep silent. After a past like the one Manta and Faust held, any relationship the two had would be far from ordinary.

First impressions were everything after all.

The last plate clinked softly as Yoh set it in the cupboard, closing the aging wooden doors. "Maybe we should head out a little today? Just walk, get outside?" Lately Manta looked like he needed fresh air. But the boy made a bit of a face, looking out the window as the sun beat down on the stone pathways. He shuddered at being out in that heat, but after a few moments of deliberation, knew that Yoh was right.

If he was ever going to clear his head, he was going to need to get away from the oosen and work, away from his computer and cell phone.

Away from the doctor and that aura that hovered around him like a static field that seemed to short circuit everything in this head whenever he was near it.

"I'd like that." Manta whispered whilst he leaned the hollow of his back against the countertop. "When should we leave? Anna might want me to do chores later today." He said the last part loud enough for the blonde girl in the common room to hear him.

As if on queue, she answered. "I don't have anything for you today. You can do those windows tomorrow." A beat. "Yoh, after you and Manta return, I want to go on a walk as well. Somewhere quiet. A nice long walk would be good for you, since you're missing your training today."

With a sweat drop, the shaman nodded and grinned sheepishly. "Alright." Anything to stay out of training, that task so grueling it put Manta's amount of work to shame. But even he knew the difference in the over exertion of a body and that of a mind. One was far more devastating than the other.

There was a light tug on the folded sleeve that hung around his elbow, and he looked down in the eyes of his friend. Even if Manta had grown, he always seemed so small to the taller teenager. But those eyes were so mature, even if they were soft and dark like ebony. Yoh had never met his mother, but he was fairly sure that's where Manta got those deep, soul sucking eyes from. He had to shake his head to lose the contact with them. "You want to go now?"

Manta gave one last glance back into the kitchen to be sure it remained clean, before he turned back and nodded firmly. "Please."

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Faust looked over and down as he heard the door slide open. Without thinking, he counted the beats before it closed. 1…2…3- Two people leaving… Yoh and Anna perhaps? Although the sun was as bright as ever, the day had been graced with an unusually strong breeze. In the shade of the only tree that overhung the part of the roof he was sitting on, Faust felt its chill more than those in the open.

He perked and leaned forward as the two figures emerged from under the balcony. More than a little surprised at seeing Manta there instead of Anna, he smiled nonetheless. Finally, Yoh had managed to get him outside. A thought passed through his mind that now was a good time to hold the boy's laptop hostage, but it was fleeting.

The two on the ground didn't look back as they left the house, oblivious to the fact that the necromancer was watching them. With a second thought, Faust knew that was probably untrue. Yoh noticed and understood everything, even if he always appeared dazed and confused. He could be as complex and surprising as the doctor himself, and Faust knew that one could never really know him. He was always surprised by Yoh's kindness and superior wisdom. It rivaled his own. Well, his wisdom did, as Faust's kindness department was lacking from time to time.

It wasn't that he was a bad person. He could love and cherish others as deeply as anyone else, even more. But Faust's mind was damaged, and he had a deep belief in revenge and pride for those he loved. Forgiveness and mercy was something not everyone deserved, and most had a very short amount of time to prove it to him that they deserved it. When at the blunt end of his crossblade, Faust had little sympathy for those who ended up on the other side of it, as they often had done something unforgivable to end up there.

Manta entered his thoughts again. Pinned to the ground, opened and vulnerable, tears in his eyes more from panic then pain, Faust felt disgust and guilt wretch him at the memory. He felt sick when he thought of the prior evening. Although he had managed to not think more on the circumstances at the time, now his debating, calculating brain couldn't balance the equation. No one had ever caused Manta more physical pain than he had. And, in a moment of his own greatest torture, the boy had been the only one able to help him.

It confused him further as it spun in his head repeatedly, trying to pull logic from ever corner of his mind as he tried to understand why Manta had put himself in such unbelievable danger with someone he must have truly feared.

Emotions can't be explained by science, love.

"Nonsense. Emotions are nothing more than chemical reactions in the brain. Every emotion can be explained."

He angered you. He still lives. Explain?

"…I don't count. My insanity makes everything possible. I'm as unpredictable as a dog that has been beaten over too long a period of time." Faust looked away from the skulls in his hands, already knowing he was going to have to admit defeat. Eliza always won him over, not just with persuasion via their love, but with thought, rationality and caring.

A human is not always made unpredictable by negative emotions. Perhaps he is equally difficult to deduce because he is kind?

Faust had not thought about it that way. He closed his eyes and let power flood from his pours, feeling the skull in his hand lift and hold in the air. When his eyes opened again, he found himself looking into those beautiful blue cyan eyes hooded and surrounded by perfectly curled black lashes. His gloved finger ran down the apparition's face, a smile gracing his lips. "Truly a wonder. Your understanding astounds me."

Eliza smiled as she kissed him softly. "Manta may not be a shaman, but he is no less of a mystery. He will not be explained so easy as some of your patients. He has a fondness for you that fear can not shake, so trying to understand him through your texts will be no easy task. "

"I couldn't have asked for a better wife." Chuckling now at the truth of her words, he was reminded yet again that she too belonged in the wise category he and Yoh inhabited. "I suppose it's best I work on healing those wounds I've given him."

Yet again, she shook her head. "Those will never heal love. Manta is the one that needs to find a way to deal with them." She ran her hands though his hair now, the paleness of her fingers lifting the blonde strands like wind. "I think it is safe to say he has found a way."

When he looked at her questioning, she ran a thumb over his lips, and he understood. "Seems quite a leap."

"He would not do something that requires such a leap unless he was sure he was safe. He is trusting and despite his irrational fear of everything, he blindly walks into situations of danger to help those he cares for." Her form flickered. "Understand him without dissecting his soul Johann."

With a nod, Faust closed his eyes and upturned his palms, letting Eliza's skull fall softly into his hands. He remained quiet as he thought, details of the conversation subjecting themselves yet again to the grisly thought process of his rational.

He understood what she meant.

"I think therefore I am." He whispered quietly as he stood, making his way to the ground. Manta simply was who he was, and needed no explanation for his actions. He did only what his soul mind and body were capable of and Faust had foolishly tried to categorize him.

With a clearer mind, the doctor entered the inn and quietly moved to his room. He still had much to think on.

And the two had more that needed to be said once Manta returned home.

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Next chapter soon ..