Noah's Hitman:
Chapter 4: The Second Child.
"Just… how long… is this going to… go on for…?" Hit thought to himself, once again within one of these dreams he'd been having lately. Only this time, it felt far longer than the others, and worse, even despite being in a dream, the utter agony that had rendered him unconscious in the first place was somehow still present.
As the pain somehow continued to persist, he'd been subject to an ungodly amount of visions from a past that felt far too familiar to him. Playing back like a long line of forgotten memories that were only just cropping up now in a rapid-fire maelstrom that overtook him.
He saw those mysterious figures again, along with that strange vessel they were on, he saw the world seemingly end in a great flood before being cascaded into a world of darkness. Before that even, he saw countless battles playing back before him this time, involving those figures fighting against other mysterious figures that he hadn't seen before. Untold destruction, at least as far as this world was concerned being wrought by both sides vying for dominance over the other.
They were at war. That much was clear. Though as to why they were warring with one another, he could not discern. All he could do was watch on through it all, as the thirteen mysterious figures battled against many other foes, and through it all, he saw the vague outlines of weapons being wielded by the other side, all glowing a luminescent green.
Innocence.
Hit didn't know how he suddenly knew what those weapons were, but he did. The name seemingly just popping into his head, like all the other memories that he shouldn't have had. This name however, it came across to him like a whisper through subconscious, resonating through his very soul itself. A feeling almost as strong as the familiarity he was currently experiencing for the thirteen figures battling against those that wielded.
Only instead of feeling that bizarre, familial warmth he did for those figures fighting and killing those wielding them… all he could feel towards the people fighting them, particularly the weapons they used, was hate. A pure, unbridled, near overwhelming hatred for them, along with an equally strong urge to see those weapons destroyed. As if they were a bane to his existence. A scourge that was only capable of causing him suffering, a plight that should be eradicated with expedience and extreme prejudice.
Accursed Innocence... never forgive…
"Who's… saying that…?" Hit thought to himself as the dream continued on for what felt like an eternity, forcing him to watch an unholy amount of carnage being wrought as both sides clashed. A part of him cheering on for a reason he still couldn't understand, as those familiar figures managed to take down their adversaries one by one. That same part crying out in vengeful anger and vitriol whenever the other figures managed to fight back and land attacks of their own, wounding those he felt a connection to, writhing about as it wished to spill their blood and make them suffer for their transgressions. To kill them without mercy and shatter those vile weapons into nothing. To crush and grind them into dust.
To bring judgment down upon them for their sins against his family… whilst also ensuring that his family didn't turn against one another and remained a strong unit against their enemies.
"Wait… my family…?" Hit felt nothing but confusion at that last thought crossing his mind. Regardless of how familiar these figures felt, he knew for certain he'd never met them before, and they sure as hell weren't his family either in this life, or his previous one.
And yet… it now felt like his very soul itself was screaming at him that he was wrong. That he couldn't have been more wrong with that thought. That this, despite how ludicrous it was to him, was the truth. These memories were real, and a part of him that he'd simply been unaware of until recently, and these figures now waging war against those wielders of Innocence, were his family. It didn't matter how asinine his mind believed it to be, even with all these foreign memories that shouldn't be his, but somehow felt like they were, those figures felt connected to him in a way stronger than blood ties could ever be. The longer this damned dream - or perhaps nightmare would be the better term – went on, he felt a growing desire to be with them. A growing desire to be reunited with those that he was somehow feeling a stronger bond towards than he'd ever felt for anyone in his long life.
But if that was truly the case… then why the hell could he not recall any of their names? Surely if they meant this much to him, which was still baffling for him, and they were in fact his family, then why couldn't he remember who they were? Why were they just shadows instead of faces? Nameless, faceless figures who's mere presence within his dream was causing him both great joy and sadness at the same time.
The only name that still rang within him, which he could still feel whispering about within the very depths of his psyche and was the one that didn't feel like the name of another. It instead… felt like it was his own, just like the name he'd been given from birth back in Universe 6. One just as important to his identity, if not more so, as ridiculous as that sounded to him, as his original name.
Toraido.
The second child of Noah… A calm voice echoed throughout his dream once more, and with it, the pain seemed to dull somewhat.
"There's that voice again… the second child-" Hit was cut off from that thought, as the memories ceased playing around him, as the space in front of his vision began to warp. A featureless figure slowly materialising close to him, within a hair's-breath away from him inside this dream, or at least it felt like it. Up to now he'd just felt like a formless bystander forced to watch on, yet somehow still feeling the agonizing pain in his forehead of flesh being carved out from the inside several times over.
Hit was sure he could feel his eyes widening slightly at the sight of the figure that appeared before him in the shape of an adult human. Vaguely anyway, as it wore nothing and held no facial features at all, except for a face-splitting grin that seemed to be etched onto it with a full set of wide, gleaming teeth.
Well… this was new…
The figure tilted its head as it, well, he assumed it looked at him since it didn't have eyes. Outside of the smile, which was creepily large, he couldn't visibly make out anything of an expression. He was sure that a visage like this would normally cause a child his age to feel fearful given its uncanny appearance. For him though, it would be a cold day in hell before anything like this would make him feel even the slightest bit of fear, as he'd seen far worse.
That didn't stop the uneasy feeling he got momentarily though, as the pure white being managed to grin even wider, as if in some form of satisfaction. As if adding to that, it felt like, for some reason, he was standing in front of a mirror… and he was looking right into his reflection.
I'm finally awake… the being seemingly said without moving its mouth.
No, it wasn't just it the being speaking this in his mindscape…
The judge of Noah… It was both the being and him saying this, in complete unison.
No wait, that implied they were separate entities that were in synch with each other. It would be far more accurate to say…
Is reborn… they were as one together. Both part of a single whole uttering these lasting words that resonated deeply like a never-ending whirlpool in the depths of his being, before washing out all over him like a tidal wave. The pain he felt subsiding even further, as a sense of wholeness that he'd, quite frankly, never felt even in the millennium long life he'd led in Universe 6 before this, washed over him. Making him feel like he was truly complete, and one with himself for the first time. A concept he would've scoffed at not even a day ago, regardless of what his dreams were showing him. Don't even get him started on before he'd been sent to this world and born again.
But now though?
The figure leaned in closer and Hit felt like his new body was now apart of the dreamworld. Their faces came close enough for their foreheads to touch, before a blinding light began to emit from the faceless, grinning being. And as that light completely consumed what had become the darkness of his mind, and he began to lose his sight, one final vision came to him before the dream faded. He felt like he could see muted images of the world he now inhabited and see it through a different lens. A strange pillar showing itself before his eyes then, of which he had absolutely no idea what it was supposed to be, formed out of pure light, and shaped like an upside-down cross. Just from looking at it, Hit felt like he was seeing the truth after all the other memories of how this world truly was. Something horrible hidden beneath the surface that he couldn't find the words to describe. Which to be frank, wasn't too dissimilar from other worlds he'd been to in his previous universe, particularly within his younger years.
Just then, as they faded away, a powerful feeling quickly welled up in him. Now, more so than when he'd been birthed into this new world, as this being seemed to merge with him, its figure fading away into him as the light overwhelmed him…
He felt like he'd truly been reborn…
As the dream ended…
"Ugh…" Hit groaned, as his eyes started to peel open. His vision blurry for a couple seconds, but eventually focusing in properly to allow him to see the stark white roof over his head.
"Where… am I…?" He asked, more to himself than anything else. He knew for damn certain that his room in the house didn't have a ceiling as white as that, so he was clearly somewhere else. Slowly rising up groggily from whatever bed he seemed to be lying, with the duvet cover slinking down to around his small waist, Hit couldn't help but feel incredibly exhausted, but also somewhat relieved to feel that the horrendous pain in his head was no more. And for some reason, he got the feeling it wouldn't be coming back again.
Noting how weak he felt at the moment, he chose the safer option to simply take a look around his surroundings. The feeling of familiarity struck him almost immediately. Not the room itself, but whatever larger complex he was in, he was definitely aware of, despite having never been here physically before. The room itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but was quite spacious, with the bed he was in being in the centre of the room that was easily three times bigger than his own at the house. There were several pictures and paintings framing the walls around him, with people, animals and places. The first of which clearly by impressive artists of some description, the second being a mix of photos and paintings of mostly cats and crocodiles for some reason, and the last of which, if he had to guess, were of famous locations around this universe's version of earth. Like the pyramids in Egypt, or the Eiffel tower in France, which was very recent in this world, if was not mistaken. Right across from the end of the bed, was a door that obviously would lead him out of the room. Though as to where, he didn't really know.
It was then however, that his gaze scanned passed a mirror hung on the wall on his left side, one directly aligned with his bed. Normally, he would've disregarded looking into a mirror as he wasn't someone who particularly cared about his appearance, and simply skipped passed it without issue. However, this time he stopped himself as soon as something that wasn't right registered in his mind about his reflection and this had him steadily inch his gaze back into the mirror.
"What the hell…?" And as soon as he did, Hit was instantly caught off-guard by his own reflection. His eyes widening in surprise as he saw that his once pale skin tone had changed to that of an ashen grey, and his blood-red eyes had turned a molten, amber gold. While his dark purple locks of hair seemingly remained the same, though a few strands were matted down to a bandage that covered his temple, which was soaked blood-red in various places.
The pain in his head from before… that feeling of his forehead being carved out like a pumpkin…
After a small bit of hesitation, Hit raised up both of his now ashen-grey hands, grabbing on to either end of the bandage covering his whole forehead, and despite how weak he felt at the moment, he was still able to slowly peel the bandage off himself without much effort. As soon as it was removed, his hands pulling it away down to his lap, Hit could only stare in genuine shock at what he saw. Seven small, cross-shaped scars practically carved out along his forehead, from one side of his temple to the other. Dried up blood staining along the sides of some of them, along the skin of his forehead surrounding the scars.
Raising a hand again, Hit's index and middle fingers brushed along the one stood in the centre of his forehead. A dull ache meeting him in response that wasn't even remotely close to the atrocious pain he'd had to deal with before. "So, my head really was getting carved out… and it appears my skin has turned to ash as well. How… intriguing…"
It wasn't just outward appearance either though. No. He could feel a change had taken place inwardly as well. His childish frame no longer felt… well… human to be blunt. As weak as he felt now, there was something about his body that made it feel inherently superior to that of the ordinary human he'd been previously, sans the soul and mind of a millennium old hitman, of course.
Most people in this situation might've panicked, at least a bit at this turn of events, but Hit had long since learned to never let himself become overtaken by such an emotion. His practised calmness easily winning over as it always did and squaring his face back into a neutral expression. Dispelling the pointless feeling before it ever had a chance to surface, as it typically only made things worse.
Just then, Hit heard the door to the room open, and his head turned to gaze at the newcomer. A woman with a placid complexion, dressed up in a dark maid dress and small heels, with chestnut-brown hair held up in a bun behind her head, with pasty-white sclera for eyes devoid of irises or pupils. A dark purple star was also etched over the centre of the woman's forehead.
"O-oh! Master Noah, you're awake!" The woman remarked in surprise, her voice sounding more like a machine trying to imitate a female human, rather than an actual woman. The best comparison he could make of her voice, is that it reminded him of the metal-men of his now destroyed universe. There was certainly emotion behind their words, but there was no denying how robotic they came off all the same.
Master Noah though? Last he checked his name had never been Noah. But strangely, he got the feeling she wasn't referring to it as a personal name, but as something else… something akin to a family name was his best guess, which had him getting that feeling of familiarity yet again.
"I'd best fetch Lord Millennium immediately! He'll want to see you as soon as possible!" The maid said, joy seeping into her tone as she didn't bother giving him any other warning before quickly bolting out of the doorway. Leaving the door wide open as she rushed down a hall.
Lord Millenium? Though this was his first time hearing such a title, the name itself was definitely ringing a bell with him…
"Wow, someone's in a rush." Another voice said with a hint of humour from within the hallway outside of his room. Their voice distinctly light and feminine, like that of a young girl in her early teens.
A short, lithe figure then walked in front of the doorway, confirming his suspicions as it was indeed, a young-looking girl in her early teens. One who couldn't have been any older than fourteen from appearance. The young lass had purple-blue, spiky hair done up in a punk-rock style, with the same ashen skin tone, amber eyes, and cross-shaped scars that he now had. Her outfit being that of a gothic-punk Lolita dress, with the top section being white with frills lining the centre, while the bottom half was a light-purple skirt that reached down to just about the upper portion of her thighs. Stockings of the same colour as her skirt reaching up to the middle of her thighs, with black shoes worn over her feet to finish her little ensemble.
The new girl, who'd been previously gazing off where the maid had run off to, didn't waste time turning her head to the side as she looked into the room. Her amber pools meeting his in that instant, and no sooner did this happen, that an excited gleam entered her eyes, and a gleeful smile quickly formed on her lips.
"Ahah!" She giggled girlishly, as she quickly made her inside the room with a level of speed he hadn't quite been expecting. All but diving over the bed with ease, circling her arms around his head as she reached him before he could react, and embraced him with a hug. One that was far too enthusiastic for a stranger to be doing, almost knocking him backwards unto his back, as her knees propped up on the mattress either side of his duvet covered legs. "Look who's finally awake!"
"What… the hell…?" Hit, for the first time in a genuine while, found himself staring at someone in complete befuddlement. His eyes locked to the back of her head as this girl he'd never seen before hugged him close to her, propping his chin on her shoulder as she squeezed him tightly. Not unlike how an older sister would affectionately embrace their younger sibling. Something he'd seen done before by others, in both this world, and his previous, but had never actually felt himself.
But there was no shirking off that feeling coursing through him again. Of this girl holding a strong, familial-like connection to him that couldn't be accurately put into words. One that wasn't too hard for him to gleam himself from first glance, given she held much of the same characteristics he currently did as far as physical appearance was concerned.
"Oh wow! You look just so precious!" She all but squealed with childish enthusiasm, leaning back as she somehow managed to pull him into an even deeper hug that almost cut off his oxygen supply, making it significantly harder to breathe. "You're so small, cute and cuddly, I could just gobble you up right now!" She exclaimed teasingly, or at least, he hoped it was teasingly.
Regardless of intent, Hit found his eye twitching slightly at the 'cute' remark. He didn't care that he was in the body of a child now, he still had the mind of someone completely ancient by human standards, who'd been a professional killer for most of his life. He wasn't someone who did 'cute'. Not then, not now, and not ever if he had a say in it.
"And just… who might you be…?" Hit asked carefully, given he could barely breathe at the moment due to her absurd, overly clingy grip. Doing his best not to come off as sounding rude, as he wasn't much of a touchy-feely kind of person either.
"Oh, where are my manners?" She giggled once again and Hit had to wonder given the inflections in her tone if she was actually being apologetic for not introducing herself sooner or was just messing with him. "My name is Road, and from now on, I'll be your new big sister!"
His… what? "Come again…?"
Pulling back with a broad smile, Road gave him all of about a second to properly catch his breath, before pulling his head into her chest and burying his face into the fabric of her dress. "Aww! Just look at that face of yours, hehe! You look so adorable with that confused look on your face!"
Hit visibly cringed. Not just from her latest quip, but also from her overly strong hug squishing his face into her dress and making it virtually impossible for him to breathe this time. If he didn't get her to stop this soon, considering how weak he currently was, she'd render him unconscious again from deprivation of air…
"Road, that's enough." A voice that Hit recognised called from the door. "The boy only just woke up after seeing his memory, after all. He's no doubt exhausted after that, and you suffocating him isn't making things any better."
"Aww…" Road pouted in dismay, loosening her grip enough to allow him to breathe as she turned her head towards the one accosting her. "But he's just so cute, Lord Millennium! Can't I cuddle with him just a little longer? I'm sure he doesn't mind."
Oh, he absolutely minded…
"Road…" The Earl cast a somewhat disapproving gaze at the girl. One that was enough to make her sigh like a young child that just got told she couldn't play with her new toy any longer.
"Fine…" She said with an even greater pout, before unwrapping her arms from him, but remained in her sitting position with her knees bent and below her.
"Trust me, Road. I fully understand your enthusiasm seeing a member of our little family return to us, but please do save the affectionate gestures like that for later." The Earl remarked earnestly as he made his way into the room and Hit finally got a good look at him as his gaze shifted to him. As soon as he did, his eyes widened slightly in shock at the grey-skinned, cartoonishly rotund, goblin-like caricature of a Victorian gentleman standing in front of his bed. With a rectangular shaped, toothy maw so elongated it was a wonder the being could even speak at all. Set in a perpetually wide grin. His attire identical to that of the man who'd been in the graveyard with him, which alongside the voice, tipped him off that they were most likely one and the same.
He knew there was something off about that man. And lo and behold…
The Earl's gaze wasted no time shifted over to him, and somehow his grin grew wider at the sight of him. His amber eyes behind his spectacles dancing with joy. "Well now, good to see you're finally awake, little one~."
Through countless years of practise, Hit's features schooled themselves quickly into a neutral expression as he regarded the being that Road had called 'Lord Millennium'. His usual calmness returning to him almost immediately, now that his face was no longer getting smothered by an overzealous, young teenager treating him like some sort of full-body plush doll. "Mind telling me who you are?" He asked, his mind clear enough to ask a question that his very being was telling him he knew the answer to already, along with his follow-up. "And while you're at it, could you please explain to me where I am? Last thing I remember before I lost consciousness was being in the graveyard…"
If the Earl was surprised by the boy's reaction or his shockingly calm demeanour compared to how a child would normally be in a situation like this, then he did a fantastic job at hiding it. "Ah, of course. Seems I've forgotten my manners again. My name is the Millennium Earl, the patriarch of our little family, but you can just call me Earl or Lord Millennium. Whichever you prefer." The Earl responded politely with a small bow. Tipping his top hat off for a second, showing two small, devilish horns atop his head. "And might I enquire as to what your name is?"
His name? Well, considering he could tell his body wasn't human anymore, and he already couldn't see himself going back to that life he'd been living in the mining village… he may as well go back to the name he much preferred over what he'd been given from birth here. "Hit."
The Earl's glasses glinted ominously under the light of the room, as he chuckled at the quick introduction. Clearly this one wasn't the kind to mince words. No surprise there given which member he could tell he was. "Well then, on behalf of myself and Road here, who I'm sure has already introduced herself, I'd like to formally welcome you into your real family, Hit. The clan of Noah~."
"The clan of Noah, huh…" Hit felt a sudden emotion well up inside him as the Earl finished, like he was about to tear up in joy at the prospect of being with his 'real' family, though he couldn't for the life of him understand why that was. There was no denying the familiar feeling he got from both the Earl and Road though. Same as what he got for the figures in his recurring dreams. That feeling of a familial bond that couldn't be properly put into words, but definitely stronger than blood.
"That's right." Road spoke up this time. Her pout vanishing as a smile took its place. Gaze settling back on him. "You're one of us, now. And I for one look forward to you being with us from now on."
"Here, here." The Earl agreed as he put his hat back on. "And as for your second question. At this very moment, you're inside the home where all of our clan originate from, and the room you've been resting in is a part of as well. That being Noah's Ark~."
"Noah's Ark…?" Recalling his dreams again, which the Earl had just confirmed was in fact a memory of some sort, it didn't take long for the once legendary hitman to piece together what he was talking about. "You mean that vessel I saw in my 'memory', right?"
"The very same~." The Earl nodded with a look of joy in his eyes. Though that quickly changed to one of sympathy and concern, with a hint of melancholy. "I assume then that you were able to handle what you saw?"
A look of confusion entered Hit's features. "Why do you ask?"
"Well… it's just that typically, when someone awakens as one of us, the memory they see of the past, and how the world really is can be quite intense." He explained, sounding like he was talking from experience. "Depending on the memory as well, the reaction to witnessing such a thing can be rather unpleasant. You," The Earl said while pointing at him. "young one, bare the memory of the Judge of Noah, I can sense it quite clearly. And given how young you are, I was expecting a more… volatile reaction to what you've seen, after you woke up. Which is why I had one of my Akuma periodically checking on you for the time you finally woke up, so that I could come over as fast as possible to comfort you, if need be."
Ah. So that's why the maid had rushed off so quickly. Apparently, she was also a demon of some sort that he had control of apparently, going off what he'd just said. Still not anything he hadn't come across before in some sense, so he didn't bother to pry into that.
Usually, Hit wasn't much of a talkative person, but right now he felt far more comfortable and relaxed around these two than he otherwise should've. A fact that only strengthened what they'd been telling him so far, as he didn't see even a hint of deceit in their eyes or in their body language as they said all this to him. Body of a child or not, he was still, for the most part, as perceptive as he was in his previous body. If he had noticed them trying to deceive him, he didn't care how much he inwardly felt a powerful kinship towards them, he would've been far more guarded than he was currently being. "I see. In that case, yes, I handled it just fine."
This time, the Earl genuinely blinked owlishly in surprise. Even Road seemed to be somewhat taken aback as well given the expression of disbelief crawling on to her face. "You did? You're sure about that? Nothing about what you saw is egging on your mind?"
"Not really." Hit shrugged. "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle."
As bad as what he'd seen had been, it paled in comparison to some of the things he'd seen in his previous universe, let alone the tournament of power where the two omni-kings essentially made entire universes fight for survival from total erasure purely for entertainment and because they thought there was too many. The mere fact alone that the only reason he'd been spared the fate of his existence getting wiped was because he entertained them enough to get a second chance, was something that would forever be head and shoulders above what this world would throw at him. Nothing compared to the fear even he felt being at the omni-kings mercy during that time, even if he didn't outwardly show it.
The utterly stunned face of the Earl is what met him back this time, and even Road had her eyes widened in shock at the nonchalant way he'd blown off the 'memory'. Her mouth somewhat agape at him, seeing how he was clearly being blunt and honest with them. Rather embarrassingly, it took Hit a few seconds to remember again, that to them, he was just a reserved ten-year-old who hadn't seen much of the world up until now, where his eyes should've been 'opened' all things considered. You know, rather than an alien who'd lived for over a thousand years that had seen his fair share of crazy and outlandish things, and just so happened to now have his soul and mind in the body of a small boy.
That last detail he didn't plan on anyone other than him knowing about. No one else needed to know that about him, as for the most part, it was useless information. Not unless the omni-kings decided they were going to make an appearance in this world, of course. Which he didn't see happening ever, considering the way the Grand Priest had phrased it to him before his departure.
"W-well… that's good I suppose." The Earl replied, still clearly in surprise over his dismissiveness of the traumatising memory. "This is certainly a first… other than Wisely due to the nature of his own memory, no other member of the family that's awoken throughout each generation has been able to take their memory this… easily!" He'd seen plenty of fully grown men and women in the past awaken, and they'd all had their own kind of traumatised reaction to what they saw to varying degrees, including for those who bared the memory of the Judge. Yet this boy… he wasn't lying to him when he said that, and he certainly wasn't hiding anything from him either, as some had tended to do in the past. Not being able to speak about what they saw for the first few days they were awake. A perfectly reasonable response after going through something so horrendous.
This kid however… the newest member of their family, and the first one born of this generation, was able to take what he saw, and rather than reject it in some fashion like some who woke up tended to do, he'd simply taken it in stride and shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal…
Not only that, but he could tell just from looking into his eyes that he hadn't been subsumed by Toraido's memory either. Which was one of the only two things he'd thought could happen. Either rejecting it in some form or being taken in by it. Just by looking at him, he could tell something else entirely had happened.
Could it be possible that this boy had…
"Anyway," Hit sighed a little, which was enough to regain the Earl's attention and cut off his thought for now. "While I now know who you are, what I am and where you've taken me, there's still one thing nagging on my mind…" He revealed, accepting all of what he now was without any real issue. Something that most wouldn't be able to do as easily as he was doing right now. But then again, those were still mostly simple human minds that hadn't, and likely would never see a fraction of what he'd seen in his previous universe over the course of a thousand years.
"Oh? And what would that be?" Road asked curiously, finally somewhat recovered from the way he had dumbfounded her a minute prior with how easily he seemed to be taking all this. Even she hadn't been nearly this okay when she'd first awakened some time ago. And she'd been older than him back then too!
Eyes looking dead straight at the Earl, Hit regarded what every bone in his body was telling him to be his new 'brother' with a flat stare. "Could you tell me what happened to my mother?"
The ex-assassin may not have truly been close with either of his parents in any sense, due to no fault of their own, but they were still his parents in this reality. And last he checked, only his father was dead. His mother was still alive, as far as he knew. The least he could do is find out if the woman was okay or not, and if so, try to make sure she wouldn't get involved with him anymore.
"Ah… that…" Suddenly, the Earl became awkward, even going so far as to break eye contact with him. Something that both he and Road noticed as they looked at him, letting them both know, especially Hit, that the answer wasn't going to be a pleasant one. "Well…"
"You disposed of her, didn't you?" Hit cut in with all the subtlety of a gunshot going off, the words spoken calmly, and his face set into stone. Just about the furthest kind of reaction one would expect from a child that had pieced together such a fate for their own mother.
"Sort of…" The Earl conceded. Crushing the small bit of worry he felt that their new brother may not take kindly to such a thing if they were particularly close, as he waved out his hand. Dark Matter pulsing out and causing a familiar figure to appear through the dark-purple mist he'd created. "Best if I rip this little band-aid off now, rather than later…" He decided, having known this would probably crop up, as it hadn't been the first time something similar to this had occurred either. The most recent example being something he'd rather not think about. Too painful otherwise…
"Lord Millennium." The woman that had once been Hit's new mother bowed upon her summoning. Skin a sickly white, with eyes just as whited out as that maid from before, and with that same dark purple star etched over her forehead. Her dress the same as it had been the night she'd been turned into one of his weapons, minus the blood. "How may I be of service to you?"
Just one look at her was all Hit needed to see to get the gist of what'd happened. It couldn't have been any more in his face with what he'd learned so far. "You made her into an Akuma…"
"Ergh… yeah…" For the first time in his life, the Earl was starting to feel genuinely awkward about having turned someone into one of his Akuma. It wasn't every day after all that he did this to the parent of one of his soon-to-be Noah brethren.
"Oh boy…" Road thought with her own hint of worry, knowing this might not go over too well. "I really hope he doesn't take this too badly…" While she personally couldn't care less about the woman herself, she did care about how her new little brother might respond to this, given that she was still his mother at the end of the day. Any normal child wouldn't exactly react kindly to something like this…
The moment she looked back at Hit, she was very quickly reminded, as though it hadn't been demonstrated enough already, that he was by no means a 'normal' child in any sense. Noah or not.
Hit's face was still set in a neutral expression, without even a hint of anger or even resentment in his eyes. If anything, the only emotion she could make out from his now amber pools was… annoyance…
"Is there a way for you to change her back?" Hit asked, feeling somewhat sorry for the woman, an emotion he wasn't used to feeling given his former profession. Even still, he didn't care that this was his 'true family' he was with now. That woman had still been his mother for the last ten years, and she, in his mind, didn't deserve whatever had been done to her.
"I'm afraid not." The Earl shook his head, but at least had the decency to show some form of sympathy for him, given he'd been the one to make her like this in the first place. "Once I've made someone into an Akuma, there's no turning them back, I'm sorry to say." He was by no means sorry for turning her into another one of his Akuma, or rather, his father really, but he was absolutely apologetic to his new brother if this caused him any distress. He wasn't heartless, after all.
Despite his tiredness, Hit found himself pinching his eyes closed as vexation creeped into him. "Just great…" Of course, it had to be irreversible… what a pain…
Though he hadn't had any true connection to her like a mother and son should've, knowing how bad things had gotten for her, and knowing what she'd ended up becoming in the end just wasn't fair on her. Even as detached as he was, he knew that much at least.
"Don't worry…" Road said sympathetically, taking his other hand and squeezing it in a gesture of good faith. The girl not entirely certain if he was sad or angry with the Earl underneath it all, as he was quite hard to read. Best to play it safe regardless. "As I said, you're one of us now. And for what it's worth, I know that Lord Millennium didn't intend to hurt you by turning her into an Akuma…" To anyone else in his situation, that line wouldn't have been comforting in the slightest.
Seeing him remove his fingers and reopen his eyes to look at her, she continued, hoping to diffuse a possible quarrel that she'd rather not have. "But, if you want, I'm sure Lord Millennium wouldn't mind getting rid of her, if you wanted him to." She remarked honestly, while glancing towards the Earl for support. "He already has plenty of Akuma as it is. He could do without this one if need be. You are way more important to us than any of his Akuma will ever be, after all."
The Earl nodded his head vehemently in agreement, silently thanking the gothic-dressed girl for the helping hand. "Road is correct. A member of the family will always mean more to me than any amount of Akuma I create." Raising his hand up above the Akuma's head, his hand began to glow and pulse with dark energy that was magical in nature. "If you wish it, I'd be happy to dispose of the Akuma for you, if it made you feel better. I'll release the soul and allow it to pass on to the afterlife. No problem. Just say the word and I'll do it." Better that than just making it self-destruct and have the soul be eaten by the Dark Matter in this case, as that would just be in bad faith.
Hit thought over that for a small moment, seeing that the two of them were once again being sincere with him. No attempt to pull a fast one on him here, like some of his old clients had tried to back in the day.
Another sigh broke through Hit's lips, as he came to the conclusion that that was the best option either of his parents in this scenario could've hoped for. Though he couldn't do much else for her, he owed his mother and father of this world that at least.
"Alright then." Hit nodded in agreement. His features as stony as ever. "That should do."
"Very well then…" As soon as Hit had given him the word, the Earl kept his own. His dark energy dropping out from his palm and striking the stationary form of the Akuma like a bolt of purple lightning. It made no move to protest or escape its fate, as the Earl uttered the word "Release."
Just then, its body quickly began to dissolve away. An ethereal figure that couldn't be accurately made out was visible for less than a second, before they were gone in a purple flash of light aiming towards the ceiling. Right as it did, the body it had been inhabiting immediately disintegrated. Leaving not even a trace of its existence behind. "There. All done."
All Hit could do was nod his head in thanks. Some small form of satisfaction welling up, knowing this place had an afterlife like his had before its erasure, and that both his parents were in a 'better place', as the church goers would say.
That seemed to be enough of a que for the Earl to see his gratitude and come to the conclusion that any chance of a potential row had just been quashed. His giant, face-splitting grin becoming just a little more pronounced. "Well then, now that that's been dealt with, how about we get you out of bed and show you around your new home. Certainly beats being cooped up in here~."
"Heh, that's a great idea, Lord Millennium!" Road replied with great enthusiasm, as she turned towards Hit with a friendly, beaming smile. "What do you say, Hit? Up for a tour of the Ark?"
"Sure. Why not?" Hit replied back, feeling a wave of nostalgia that was no doubt linked back to that new 'memory' of his at the prospect of seeing around the Ark. Leaving that feeling aside, he might as well check it out now, as he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious how it really looked, considering that all he'd really seen from it in his 'memory' was incredibly vague.
"Great!" Road wasted no time latching on to his hand with hers as she hopped off the side of his bed with an exuberant expression on her face as she giggled to herself. "Then maybe after that, you and I can have some fun together! There's a whole bunch of games that I'm just dying to play with you! Ooh! Having a baby brother around is going to make things so much more entertaining around here!"
The Earl had a hearty laugh at Road's enthusiasm as he took the lead, whilst Hit visibly cringed for the second time since waking up as he was effectively dragged out of the bed by Road. Who was clearly more hyper-active now than she had been when she almost glomped him to death.
Perhaps he should've said he'd prefer to rest…
AND CUT!
Well, that's the end of this chapter anyway. Hope it came out well enough, though I have to say, I might've rushed the whole Akuma scene a little bit. Not entirely sure.
Either way, Hit is now officially a Noah, and next chapter, he'll be filled in in a more in-depth way about what is going and what he'll be apart of etc, etc.
As for those of you who've read the manga, not to spoil anything for those that haven't read it yet, but I am aware about the Earl's backstory and such. I'll delve into that as well as the chapters go on.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter, and I'll see in the next one, which will hopefully be out in mid-September. So see you all then!
