Noah's Hitman:

Chapter 7: A Game, A Penalty, And The Fourteenth.

"That'll do for today, Hit~."

Hit let out a few measured breaths as some sweat dripped down his brow, having been training with his new power under the Earl's watchful eye for several hours by now. Despite him being in the body of a child, his 'noahfication' so to speak, had apparently given his body a naturally far higher pool of stamina from another kid his age.

The area around them was filled with holes, craters and the like from all his experimentation with his new ability. No rock formation or part of the terrain in a decently sized radius had been left unscathed from the numerous different things he'd attempted and succeeded with using his power of the Judge, and by no means was Hit gassed enough yet to where he would need to stop. Not even close. If anything, he could feel that desire in him burning strong to continue to train, to continue to feel the rush he was getting from utilizing his new power and making it his own.

And if it were up to him, he would. Unfortunately…

"Ahah!" A girlish, all-too-familiar laugh came not even a moment later, as his other spectator managed to quickly and easily close the distance between them and almost barrel him over with an overexcited cheer. Her lithe arms wrapping around him from behind and hugging the back of his head up against her chest, as her chin came to rest atop his head. "Finally done, huh?"

"Hehe, that he is for today, Road. That he is~." The Earl laughed jollily as he watched Road almost knock him over as she embraced him, ignoring the way Hit's expression became progressively dour. "Training continues tomorrow, Hit, so you'd best be prepared."

He wished it would continue now. Sadly, it seemed as though fate didn't care much for his opinion.

"I'll see you both later for dinner." The Earl gave a light curtsy. His ever-present grin still etched across his goblin-esque features as his rotund figure turned about-face and began rather goofily strutting off with his umbrella still lazily held and propped on his shoulder, almost like a clown. "You both have fun now~!"

"Oh, we will!" Road called back excitedly, before her full attention returned to Hit, who most certainly did not agree with her on that one. He couldn't care less for childish games. "So, what do you say, Hit? You ready for a friendly game of hide-and-seek with your big sister?"

"Given that I don't seem to have a choice in the matter, let's just get this over with." Hit grouched with an almost completely flat tone that bared a hint of annoyance. At the very least though, it should still afford him some peace of mind away from her antics, regardless of which one of them was seeking or hiding in this childish game. Plus, if he won and Road kept her word, then she owed him a favour, no matter what it was.

"Aww, don't be like that~." Road giggled, not put off at all by his unenthused demeanour. "It's gonna be fun!"

Hit just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. 'Fun'."

"Of course," Road continued with a sly grin, easily catching the sarcasm in his tone as she sidled up beside him and wrapped her arm around his. "if you want, we could just skip the game of hide-and-seek and go straight to having our little tea party with my dolls. I don't mind either way."

Hit's eyebrow twitched as he physically held back the cringe that threatened to surface. The mere thought of that alone was enough to make him shudder inwardly. "No, we're doing the game. And when I win, you have to give me as much space as I want. So, unless I need you for something, you don't bother me."

"Is that so?" Road said, bringing her face a little too close to his for comfort, less than an inch removed, as her sly grin grew. Not looking as perturbed by such a bet as he would've thought. "Talk about cold, baby brother. Here I am just trying to be a good big sister to you and you're just pushing me away. You're really starting to hurt my feelings, you know."

"Oh, give over." Hit replied flatly, glaring at her unamused. "Enough stalling. Let's just get to this little 'game' already."

"Fine, fine." Road laughed, waving a dismissive hand in front of them both, whilst shrugging off her younger 'brother's' glare with ease. "You know, you really need to learn to lighten up, Hit. Being such a grouch all the time really drags down the mood. Don't worry, though! When I win our little game of hide-and-seek, I'll be sure to help you with that once we have our tea party!"

"If you win." Hit corrected, taking note of the level of confidence she had yet again, as if the result was a foregone conclusion.

"Heh. Whatever you say, Hit~." Road merely gave him a foxy look in response, something that inwardly put him on edge, as it somewhat reminded him of the looks certain shady casino runners had seeing people play on their machines on some of the planets he'd been to in his previous life. That sort of look of cunning assuredness knowing that the person playing the machine had no real chance of winning, as the whole thing was rigged from the start.

Just then, Road swiped her free arm in an arc across the air in front of them, a dark purplish energy surging forth in a dazzling display as though she was cutting through reality itself. Within mere seconds then, the place they'd been in before fizzled away with light flickers of Dark Matter. The whole scenery quickly replaced with a world holding a pitch black sky with a few splotches of dark blue that resembled the kind of tears one could make in a present's wrapping paper, the space itself seeming to have no end in sight to it from the direction Hit was looking at. Various floating candles and dolls were also strewn about randomly across it in just about every direction. The floor itself beneath them now holding an ashen-grey colour like the two's current skin tone.

"Welcome to my dream world, Hit~." She said with an almost sing-song tone, grinning from ear to ear by this stage. "Pretty cool, huh? It's like my own personal home away from home, if you know what I mean."

Hit ignored his fellow Noah's babble as he took a moment to glance around at the eery space he now found himself in. So, this was what she'd meant before by 'world of the dream', huh? Well, this dimension, if it could accurately be called that, certainly fit in with her tastes, as far as he'd been able to identify from their interactions thus far. Somewhat dark and dreary with lit candles everywhere giving it a sort of gothic vibe, which was only accentuated by the many dolls littered throughout dressed in various kinds of gothic Lolita dresses.

Other than that, he couldn't really get much of a read on this place.

"Nothing to say, hmm? Have I made you speechless, baby brother?" She asked teasingly, noting his silence as she removed her arm from his and fully stepped in front of him, before propping her hands on her hips and leaning forward slightly. Enough to where her smiling face was level with his more stoic one, grabbing his full attention. "Oh, don't mind me. Feel free to take a look around before we start, if you want. Teehee! It won't help you anyway, but I'll allow it."

A scowl immediately washed its way over his face. "Just start the game, already."

"Alrighty then. If that's what you want~." Road said amusedly, moving away from him and turning on her heel. "Close your eyes and countdown from ten. Once you've done that, come and try to find me, baby brother. Teehee! Should be fun."

Just ten seconds, huh? "Whatever." He shrugged, closing his eyes and beginning the countdown in his head. His ears picking up Road's childish giggling, as it steadily disappeared away from him with the pattering sounds of her feet.

Once Hit's countdown reached zero in his mind, his eyes peeled open again. A small sigh of relief coming from him at the peace and quiet he was now temporarily afforded away from the hyperactive girl.

Hit's gait was slow and steady as he began his search, closely analysing Road's dream world as he traversed through it. His eyes scanning over every nook and cranny around him for the elder Noah. The former legendary hitman taking the time searching for her to enjoy the silence, as eery as some may call it, while he could.

This honestly didn't seem all that difficult, really. Even if it took him a while to find her, this place didn't seem to have very many effective hiding spots. Most of it was fairly out in the open, from what he could see thus far. The cautious part of him had to wonder what exactly made the girl so confident about winning this game, seeing as her little dimension didn't seem to have much in the way of keeping her well-hidden.

Best not to let my guard down regardless. Hit's eyes narrowed as he pressed on further. This is her 'dream world' after all. There could be more to it now than meets the eye.

Roughly ten minutes later…

So that's the end of this place, huh? He thought, as he came to a dead-end on the other side from where he'd started. Hit turned and glanced around the room with a calculating gaze, but still fairly relaxed as his mind ran over every spot he'd passed on the way here. Any nook and cranny Road could fit into or hide behind flashed through his mind quickly, before a small, almost unseeable smirk.

Hmph. This doesn't seem so bad. Now that I know the layout, it shouldn't take too long to check ever place she could be in. I'll have her found soon enough…

Roughly twenty minutes after that…

Well… that's most of them. He thought, having gone over the more obvious places first around the room, before checking out the more obscure. His latest spot having taken him between two overly sized dolls much bigger than he was, which Road had in here for whatever reason. Like all those before it, it had brought up nothing. He still had a couple places he hadn't checked yet, but for some reason, he was getting a sinking feeling in his gut that something was seriously amiss.

Against his better judgement though, he put this feeling on the backburner for now, as he pressed on to the last few hiding spots he'd yet to check.

I have to be close now. She's got to be in one of those spots for sure. There's literally nowhere else she could be…

Roughly thirty minutes after that…

Hit's brow twitched as his face set into an expression of consternation. This is ridiculous…

It had been over an hour since this little charade had started, and by this point, the former assassin of Universe 6 felt bamboozled by this little dimension Road had conjured. Was it possible he'd missed somewhere? No, he couldn't have. The meticulous-minded 'boy' had taken note of every last location he'd passed by that could constitute as a hiding place. From floating present boxes wrapped in birthday and Christmas decorations to dark corners and the occasional dark-looking gap between some especially large dolls he'd come across. He'd kept track of each one as he painstakingly checked over them all, in some instances twice in case he might've missed something, like an opening in one of the enlarged dolls that someone of Road's size could slip into.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he'd checked everywhere in this damn place from top-to-bottom and had yet to find so much as a hair out of place towards where his 'sister' might be hiding. About the closest he'd got, was a tiny stuffed doll he'd spotted perched atop the head of one of the larger dolls, sat in a somewhat slumped over position that resembled her. He'd be foolish to count that as anything meaningful though. It almost felt more like a mockery than anything else, after he had been about as thorough as he could be, and yet he felt no closer to finding the real her than when he started!

The time spent doing this had been quite peaceful and relaxing at first, as he didn't have to deal with her for the time that she was hiding. After a half-hour had passed and he'd checked through most places in here, he'd started to grow a little concerned, but otherwise, still held some confidence that he'd find her soon enough.

Now though? As he stood at the centre of this dimension over an hour later, even he found the frustration beginning to mount on.

Tch! Where is she? I should've found her by now. There's no place left for her to hide. I've scoured through everywhere in this place that she could've. His amber eyes like slits as he surveyed over the room, unsure of where else to go by this point.

A thought struck him then. One that made him pause. Hold on… Is she even still in here at all?

As if to answer his unsaid question, a girlish giggle resounded throughout the entire space. "You look so flustered, baby brother. But then, I guess you have been searching for me for quite a while~."

Her voice, where was it coming from? It had to be originating from somewhere in here.

"You know, I have to say, it's been pretty entertaining watching you try so hard to find me this long. Even though I know you won't~." She giggled again, as though finding his efforts nothing but humorous. "So, tell me. Are you ready to give up yet? Or do you still want to try and find me?"

Hit didn't bother to deign the girl with a proper response. Instead, he kept his ears perked up to try and find the origin of where her voice was coming from.

"Not gonna answer me, huh? Talk about rude!" She admonished him, though there was no actual bite to it. Just further amusement. "Well alrighty then. Guess that means you're gonna keep trying then. Teehee! Good luck~."

Above! Hit suddenly had an epiphany, his gaze snapping up to the pitch-black sky. The only place he hadn't tried to check yet. Mainly because he'd subconsciously assumed that it was a sky, instead of an elaborately hidden ceiling well above his head.

That had to be where she was. She'd never hid herself down below with him at all. She'd somehow taken the high road and plonked herself up there, hidden under the illusory dark 'sky'. This was a dimension of her own make, after all. Made from her 'dream', which meant she obviously must've had some control over it at least. She was probably able to do stuff that he couldn't here, like walk over the ceiling like it was just a normal thing to do.

Now then, he just had to get up there. And with the superhuman enhancements and abilities gifted to him by being a Noah, that wouldn't be difficult at all.

The Earl had said he had the ability to enforce his will on anything around him and make it play to whatever law he wanted, be that real or something he made up. It was a physical realm still, after all, so his powers should still apply here. Or at least he hoped they did anyway.

Deciding it was best to test that now rather than procrastinate for too long, Hit bent his legs at the knees, leaning a hand down and touching it off the floor. The muscles in his legs tensed as he prepared himself. His body wasn't that for a normal child's anymore. It was that of something far superior physically, which meant he should be able to reach there the old-fashioned way.

"Oh, what's this?" Road's voice piped up again, intrigued. "You're squatting. Ooh! Are you about to jump or something?"

Hit didn't respond verbally. Instead, he let his actions do the talking, as he sprang up like a spring and launched himself right off the ground. His body soaring up through the air much higher than any regular child, or adult for that matter, would be capable of. The 'boy' covering what had to have been around three stories easily by the time his eyes caught what had to be the 'roof' of this dimension passed the dark 'sky' illusion, which also strangely looked like the inside of a gift box, but he ignored that.

Calling on his Noah ability just as his hands were about to touch it, he made to enforce his will upon it in a different way than how he'd practised earlier with the Earl. His focus zoned in on the ceiling, as his mind thought hard of a certain law being altered about it, as though he were passing down his judgement for it.

The instant his hands slammed into the surface, and he didn't immediately drop down back to the floor, but instead literally stuck to it, Hit knew he'd succeeded.

"Oh wow. Using your ability to stick yourself to the ceiling just to check for me up there. Clever." Road complimented in earnest, before her tone quickly took on a teasing edge. "It's too bad though that it was a complete waste of time. I'm not hiding up on the roof, silly~."

What. Hit, choosing not to believe her at first, scanned all across the area of the roof he'd stuck himself to, running his gaze over every last damn inch that he could. From his front, to the left, to the right, and then finally behind him. To his dismay, after being sure to double-check just in case, he found that, indeed, Road was definitely not up there.

"It was a good guess. I'll give you that." The girl's voice seemed to console him, though it was hard to miss the small laugh in between, as he dropped back down to the ground with a crouch. "You wanna know the really funny part, though? You've already passed me. You just didn't realise it."

"I have?" Hit actually blinked at that. Total confusion warring in his mind, as he stood up.

"Yep! You were staring right at me at one point, but you just kept moving on." Road's chipper voice informed him. "I'm a master when it comes to hiding in plain sight, you see. No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to find me in my dream world. So, baby brother. I'll ask again. Do you feel like accepting defeat yet?" She asked smugly, as though she had him in an assured checkmate.

"No." Hit replied after a moment, his brow twitching as he let some stubbornness prevail. She said I was staring right at her at some point. Is she trying to throw me off, or is she being genuinely serious? If it's the latter, then there's no way I shouldn't have found her by now. My perception couldn't have fallen off that badly since my rebirth. I refuse to believe I could've seen her and just moved on without knowing. She's not exactly a hard girl to miss…

Again, despite him saying that though, the only thing he'd spotted was a doll that resembled her, not her herself. Which left him in a rather tight spot.

"Oh well, suit yourself." He was pretty sure he could almost feel the shrug Road gave there, despite not being able to see her. "If you wanna go ahead and give yourself a bigger headache looking for me, then go for it! I suppose I can get some more fun out of watching you fumble around like a headless chicken. Just let me know when you're ready to give up. Okay?"

Hit scoffed at the girl, though inwardly was starting to get the sense more and more that he was fighting a losing battle of sorts. Even still, he wouldn't concede. Not yet anyway. Doing so meant having to go to a damned tea party with her and her dolls, which made him cringe just thinking about it.

He could still do this. He could still find his annoying 'sister' and win this silly game. He was not about to give her the satisfaction of seeing him give up and let her have her way.

Not a hope in hell.

Thus, he continued trying to find her. His vision practically set into overdrive as he checked every single place, both in plain sight and not, just in case she was lying to him, from top to bottom. Minutes flew by as he did, leaving no stone unturned, so to speak.

Every so often, as he stubbornly continued his search, Road would throw in a teasing comment about his efforts. The punk-goth lass's humoured voice following him no matter where he was, always originating from somewhere, though his ears could never quite tell where for some reason.

Every place was scanned intensely once, twice and then thrice over for good measure, to ensure that his eyes truly hadn't missed a single detail the first or second time he'd been to a certain place. And yet still, no matter how hard he focused and doubled down… nothing. She was nowhere to be found. All he ever came across, again, was that doll made in her likeness sat upon one of the larger dolls in the spacious room several more times. Each with even less of a passing glance, as it almost felt like the damn thing was mocking him with his inability to spot Road in wherever the hell she'd managed to hide herself. Furthermore, whenever he did, a part of him strangely felt like face-palming at himself, for some reason, like he was indeed missing something he shouldn't.

'Hiding in plain sight', huh? It wasn't often Hit admitted this to himself, but he really was thrown for a loop here. Damn, if only he still had his ki-sensing, then he'd have had no problem finding her by now. As it stood now, this 'game' was far more annoying and frustrating than it should've been.

Face set into stone, Hit found himself stopping close to the centre again what must've been a full hour later. Two hours in total, and he'd turned up nothing despite Road's playful jabs. His mind whirring every failed possibility inside his head, as he felt like he'd well and truly exhausted all his options by now. Something which brought about nothing but disappointment in himself as a result. He couldn't help but pinch his eyes shut with his finger and thumb as aggravation bubbled within him. His head tilting up as he buried such an emotion before it could show on his face, though rather unfortunately, it was hard for even him to stop the exasperation from seeping through his features, as a sigh cut through him. Especially as he came steadily to the sobering and, quite frankly vexing realisation of what he may just have to admit at this point.

As if she could smell out his weakness like a bloodhound could smell out a person's scent from a mile away, Road's ever so cheery voice chimed in. "Had enough yet, Hit?"

The more prideful side of Hit wanted to say no just on principle, as he could literally feel the smugness oozing out of her words. The girl's snickering making it all the more irritating for him. However, Hit was neither irrational nor dense. After over a thousand years living prior to his 'rebirth' in this world, he knew when to admit something was chalked. Denying the girl, no matter how much his prideful side wanted it, would just be pettily dragging this whole affair out even longer. And all so he could probably spend another hour or more fruitlessly looking for her in an area he'd traversed around a good five times by now. It would be nothing short of him just delaying the inevitable at this point.

Hit let out a calming breath, letting his hand falter back down to his side as he prepared himself for what he was about to say. Knowing full well what it meant and how much he was going to dislike it.

"Okay Road… You win." Even just saying it felt like a hard punch to the gut.

"Teehee! I knew you'd see reason eventually." Her voice couldn't have sounded happier at his admittance to defeat. "I have to say though, it was really fun watching you walk around in circles this whole time without a clue. It kinda reminded me of a lost puppy, in a way."

"If you're done gloating, then just come out and reveal yourself already." Hit's hands balled for an instant in his pockets as he shoved down the feeling of indignation. His face a complete stoic mask despite his predicament.

"Oh, but I already am, Hit. Turn around~." Hit did as he was told, and almost felt his eyes shoot wide open when he saw Road sat atop the very same huge doll he'd passed numerous times before. Her stocking-covered leg lazily swinging back and forth over the edge of its head with a shit-eating grin on her face as she waved at him.

What the hell? Where had the other doll… gone…

Oh, you have got to be kidding me… Hit felt like slapping himself in that moment as he failed to suppress a groan. Her words from earlier about him having passed and stared at her before without knowing it coming to the forefront. "You were that little doll all along, weren't you?"

Road laughed almost hysterically, going so far as to throw her head back as he finally put two and two together. "Oh my God! It took you long enough to figure that one out, huh?"

Hit could only grumble as the girl continued to laugh at his expense. He'd never even considered she might have the power to transform herself into a doll just to hide from him. Well, hide was a bit of a stretch to say really. It was more like she'd plopped herself down at an easily visible vantage point and just watched him scour around for her more human-looking form like a complete tool for two bloody hours. He'd been played so effortlessly it was actually embarrassing.

Once her laughter had lessened down to a more controlled giggle, Road slinked off the large doll and seemed to will her little dream world away with but a click of her fingers. The candle-lit, eery space dissolving in a mist of Dark Matter within a few short seconds, leaving them both standing right back in the rocky area he'd been training in as though they'd never left.

She was upon him then in the blink of an eye, a wide grin on her face as she grabbed one of his wrists. "So, do you wanna go straight to the tea party or do you want me to dress you up first? Ooh! I bet I could find something that would look adorable on you!"

Urgh.

A while later… in the dining room…

"Ohohoh! Well now, what do we have here~?" The Earl greeted jovially with a twinkle in his eye, as Road and Hit made their way inside. "Hit, my boy, you certainly look like you freshened yourself up quite nicely~."

"Don't. Just. Don't." Hit groaned, looking utterly exhausted mentally with the expression of someone who looked like they'd just been through hell. Of course, Road hadn't been joking about dressing him up, much to his own dismay. The purple-haired Noah boy was now garbed in a tiny, black suit with silly white frills going down the centre in a V shape with an absurd looking orange bowtie around the neck. His pants replaced with tight-fitting suit pants to go with a pair of polished dress shoes that only just barely fit his feet. A ridiculous looking black top hat clearly too big for him sat over his head with some downright childish ornaments attached to it. Like an assortment of fake flowers and a straw-made wreath made in the shape of a damned heart of all things at the centre.

He'd tried to refuse, naturally, but after losing that game to her, Road hadn't taken no for an answer, and had effectively forced him into wearing it.

"Teehee! I knew you'd like it, Lord Millennium. I picked it out myself for the tea party we just had, because I thought it'd look cute on him. You think it suits him?" Road chirped, as she hugged Hit from behind, propping her head out over his shoulder with a girlish giggle.

"Oh, it certainly does! Why, I think I can even see some of myself in him, haha!" The Earl cracked up, laughing heartily at Hit's expense as he stepped closer and kneeled down before them. "You look like a right little gentleman now, Hit. I'll bet you enjoyed playing a little dress up for your big sister's little tea party, eh~?"

Someone please, kill me now… Hit cringed ferociously, his expression the total opposite of someone who'd enjoyed themselves.

And how the hell could he have? That had to have been some of the worst misery he'd ever experienced. Never before would he have thought that a simple, childish tea party with some silly dolls could be so agonizing. He'd been wrong though. So wrong…

When you were having a tea party with Road, you didn't just get to sit around, drink a bit of tea and eat some biscuits while the former prattled off some crap you didn't care about. Oh no. That would've been merciful after forcing this stupid suit on him. It had to be done 'the right way'. And by 'the right way', he meant going along with Road's child-like fantasy and conducting the whole farce as if it were an actual gathering amongst 'friends' from her point of view. Which meant he had to be 'sociable' and 'come out of his shell'. What the hell did any of that mean? It meant forcing her own version of playing house down his throat, and if he dared protest or not go along with her lunacy, she'd take matters into her own hands.

From mind-numbingly horrid conversations having to be made with inanimate dolls as if they were real people. All of which were on even more pointless and inane topics Road herself came up with, which his brain couldn't be bothered to remember, to Road 'coaching' him through how to 'open up' more and be less of a grouch. Something that basically involved irritating him in anyway she could think of. Like to 'entertain' their 'guests' with some made-up tales or offer to have a few of them out for a bloody dance of all things. He'd outright refused to do so, and Road had made him pay for it by getting him out of his seat with remarkable speed, shoving one of her stuffed dolls in his hands, and then badgering him to take the 'lovely lady' out and stop being a kill-joy. Something he'd, to his internal embarrassment, had no choice but to do once the girl blocked any exits, and took him from behind to instruct him on what to do. Using her surprising strength to make him move around with some janky 'dance moves', if one could even call them that, tripping him up more often than not as she clearly had no idea how to actually dance herself. Though that certainly didn't stop her from goofing around with him for a good bit like he was some puppet on strings for her own amusement, laughing her ass off all the while as she played with him, quite literally in this instance.

There were other things done besides that, but he couldn't be bothered to recall those either. In fact, he'd rather burn the memory of that whole ordeal from his mind forever. Never before, in all of the years he'd existed, had he ever felt his blood boil the way it had as that 'tea party' went on. He'd kept it calm on the outside, but inwardly, the longer that had gone on, the more he'd felt his sanity begin to slip.

The worst part was he'd had to put up with Road's hyperactive antics during that asinine affair for almost three blasted Hours! It'd gone on longer than even the hide-and-seek game and may well have run on longer than the 'tour' she'd given him of the Ark the other day. By the end, he felt like he'd been sapped of any amount of pride he'd had left.

"Oh, I bet he did, Lord Millennium! I had loads of fun, and I'm sure Hit did too. He's just too shy to admit it." She said, while gripping him tight against her, smiling at him as though she hadn't just spoken a flat out lie.

Too shy to admit it…? She actually calls that fun…? He'd have rather jumped off a cliff or bashed his head into a wall than put up with that masquerade any longer. "I absolutely did not."

"Ahahaha!" The Earl chortled as he enthusiastically patted his shoulders. "It looks like our newest brother disagrees. Either that, or he really is just too shy to admit he had fun with his new big sister~."

"It's definitely the latter."

Hit glared at the girl. "No. It definitely isn't."

"Aww, c'mon Hit! Stop lying. I know you enjoyed it." She said teasingly, while pinching his cheek. "After all, if you didn't, then why were you smiling by the end of it?"

"You and I both know that's a lie."

"Oh really?" Road grinned mischievously, as she proceeded to hook her index fingers to the corners of his mouth and pull them up to form a forced, almost comical caricature of a smile. "Teehee! Because I recall it looking something like this."

A vein started to show around the side of the Noah boy's temple at this point. Not looking far from popping. "Get your fingers out of my mouth. Now."

Road sighed exaggeratedly. "You really need to stop being such a wet blanket." She said as though he was the problem here, and not the other way around.

"Now, now, Road. There's no need to be like that." The Earl chimed in, rather amused still by the display in front of him. "Besides, its dinner time, and as much as I enjoy seeing you two get along, this is just poor table manners. Now, both of you, take a seat~."

"Fine..." The spiky-haired girl huffed, taking her fingers away from his lips. Just as she was about to pull away from him though, she grinned again as she gave him a quick, affectionate peck on the cheek. "We'll play some more later. Okay baby brother?"

Hit barely had time to grumble at her lark, before the energetic lass had slinked away from him and taken her seat. He took his own across from her not a moment later, forgoing with asking the Earl if he could change out of this attire, as he just couldn't be bothered at this point. Settling with just removing the dumb top hat from his head and placing it on the table.

The Earl joined them both at the head of the table with another humoured laugh, and dinner commenced from there. The whole thing passing by mostly without issue, as Hit remained silent whilst eating the admittedly delicious steak given to him, as Road and the Earl chatted along.

That was of course, until the Earl sighed after finishing his own dish, dabbing his elongated maw with a napkin as he let a particular comment slip. "Ahh, this is nice. It'll be even better once the rest of our family is back here with us soon~."

Hit's amber eyes shifted around the table, as if only just now noticing the plethora of empty seats dotted throughout either side of the rectangular table. He immediately felt two questions bubble up in his mind. The first being why it was just himself, the Earl and Road here and no one else from their little family. Then there was his question about what the Earl had meant the other day, when he'd mentioned the number of figures he'd seen in his memory, and the Earl had become melancholic all of a sudden and hadn't given him a direct answer about it. Just that it'd been the case until recently.

Furthermore, there it was again. He could feel the strong emotions of hurt, loathing and betrayal surfacing from the Noah part of him once again. Why was that? He again got the feeling he knew deep down why that was the case, but he still didn't have a proper clue why.

Perhaps it was about time he found out then. He knew he couldn't ask the Earl the latter, as Road had made it clear, in a moment of seriousness, that that wasn't a good idea. He also got the feeling that the former had something to do with the latter as well, strangely enough. Making it just as unviable to be asked of the Earl. That left only his 'big sister' to ask if he wanted answers. She'd told him yesterday they'd talk about it later, so might as well do it now.

"Now then, would either of you like some dessert? I've got some tasty home-made cookies and ice-cream that I'd love to share with you~." The rotund, goblin-like caricature of a gentleman broached politely. The Akuma maids already at the ready near them to go off and collect the servings.

"Lord Millennium, could you please give me and Road a moment?" Hit asked with politeness, garnering the plump fiend's attention. "There's something important I've been meaning to ask her in private, if that's okay with you?"

"Oh? Is that so?" The Earl's ever-grinning face tilted slightly, as his beady eyes shone through his spectacles with curiosity. "Not to pry, but might I ask what it's about?"

"It's to do with something she told me yesterday about our family that I'd like her to elaborate on."

That caught Road's attention immediately. The elder Noah going from raising a curious eyebrow of her own at his request, to a look of understanding as she cottoned on to what he was referencing.

"Ah, about the family eh? Well I don't see why not. Although, it's not quite up to me~." The Earl motioned towards the girl in discussion. Deferring the decision to her.

"Sure. It's fine with me." The bluish-purple haired Noah nodded, keeping her grin on, though it was noticeably thinner as she shifted out of her seat. Hit doing the same and following her as she skipped her way towards the door. "This should only take a few minutes, Lord Millennium."

"Okey dokey then!" The Earl flashed them both a thumbs up. His jovial expression oddly resembling that of a happy-go-lucky clown. "I'll be sure to have your desserts prepared for you when you come back~."

"Thanks a bunch, Lord Millennium! I'm sure they'll be delicious!" Road turned and beamed at the patriarch, as she made her way out the doorway, Hit following close by.

Once they were a reasonable distance away from the dining room, and out of ear shot of either the Earl or any stray Akuma maid, Road stopped in her tracks. The normally hyper-energetic girl's demeanour becoming much more solemn as she turned and met her fellow Noah's piercing stare.

"Alright, out with it." Hit said stoically. Cutting right to the chase. "What was up with you and the Earl yesterday? Why is it that when I mentioned about how many members this family has, that he suddenly got so awkward? His mood practically did a one-eighty from cheery to depressed."

"Well, you see… It's complicated." Road parroted what she'd told him before, as an uncharacteristic frown marred her features. One that wasn't played up or exaggerated like when she pouted at him not doing what she wanted, but one that held a genuine tinge of sadness to it. "Up until recently, you were right before. The Noah family used to only have thirteen members, but about fifteen years ago, that all changed."

Hit's eyes narrowed, as he felt the Noah part of him rise again with the same feelings from before, which he quickly squashed down. "So, you're saying we added a new member then?" He wasn't quite sure how that could happen, given the story the Earl had told about them awakening with the memories of the original members, and them having a group of thirteen at max.

"Yeah… He was an additional member that up till then, hadn't existed before. His name was Nea, or as most of the family took to calling him, The Fourteenth."

Hit didn't fail to notice the less than savoury way she'd said that moniker. "I'm guessing he wasn't called that out of fondness, was he?"

"Nope." Road chuckled mirthlessly, rubbing her arm as her expression became more subdued. "He was called it out of spite, actually. He and the rest of the family didn't really get along, to put mildly."

Hit nodded for her to continue. Knowing just from how the Noah part of him was reacting that this couldn't have ended well.

"Nea was… rebellious. He didn't want to go through with our mission and pretty much got in the family's way at almost every turn. Things got so bad to the point that the previous generation, minus myself and the Earl, started to hunt him down after one too many sabotages."

So, he was against what the others were trying to do, huh? To the point where they went out to try and hunt him down? That didn't really surprise him. Given what they intended to do, it was probably bound to happen eventually. All you needed was a person who was sentimental enough, even after awakening, that they didn't want to go through with it for either a personal or moral reason. Of course, if you showed to the average human what was showed to him in the memory, combined with their new Noah side, that was a lot less likely to happen. Not impossible though, if this additional Noah was anything to go by.

"Nea tried to run and hide from them, but he found out the hard way that that was impossible."

Impossible? Were the others just that good at tracking him or something?

"Thing is, we of the clan have the ability to sense out our fellow Noah, no matter how far away or well-hidden they are."

Wait. Hold on, they did? They had the ability to sense each other after all this whole time!?

Well wasn't that highly convenient? He didn't learn about this until after that dumb hide-and-seek game, where he couldn't use it to find her.

Road seemed to be aware of the brief look of aggravation that passed over his features with that little tid-bit, and despite how uncomfortable the current topic was for her, she flashed him a cheeky smile. One that let him know that that was absolutely intentional.

"Using that ability, they hunted him wherever he went, never giving him a moment's rest. He was no doubt living in constant fear every day that it went on. Your predecessor was actually the most determined to take him out, as the Judge is the one tasked with ensuring there are no betrayals in the family… and was also the first one of us that he killed."

Hit's eyes widened slightly, as he was barely given any time to take in that particular bombshell before Road continued on. Looking less and less comfortable by the second.

"The Fourteenth… Nea… He didn't stop there. Eventually, he managed to kill off every other member of the family, except for the Earl and me. All of this in the hopes that if he could take down the Earl, he could become the Millennium Earl himself."

Wait, what? "Is that even possible?" Hit couldn't help but ask, soaking in everything she'd just revealed with growing surprise. Take down the Earl to become him? What kind of nonsense was that? "Also, you just said the Earl and you survived?" Wouldn't that make her practically twice as old as she currently appeared? If not more so?

"That's right. I was a part of the previous generation of Noah." Road confirmed with a shrug, smiling lightly at his bemused expression. "As for your first question though… I have no idea if it is. Nea and the Earl… they had a… special kind of connection, you see. So, for him, it might've been possible, but I'm not sure."

"Special kind of connection? What do you mean?"

"Can't say." Road shook her head. "I'm not quite sure on it myself. Pretty sure the only one who would be, is Nea himself."

Hit's eyes narrowed sharply at that. Call it a hunch after so many years in his previous life dealing with all sorts of people, that Road knew more about it than she was letting on. That she more than likely knew what this 'special connection' was but had no intention of sharing it with him. At least not yet anyway, though he had no idea why.

"Hmm. So, if what you're telling me is true, then why did he want to become the Millennium Earl himself?" With the way she described it, he couldn't see it being out of jealousy or envy, so why strive for it? What was he hoping to achieve by becoming the Earl, if that was even possible?

"Again, that's something only The Fourteenth himself could tell you. I have no real idea myself." She replied with a helpless shrug whilst glancing off to the side and Hit once again got the feeling she knew more than she was letting on.

"I see…"

"Either way, if you were wondering why it was just me and Lord Millennium before you showed up, now you know. The rest of the clan is dead right now and has to reincarnate like you did at some point down the line." As she informed him of this, Road stepped closer and smiled affectionately at him as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "You're the first of the new generation that'll hopefully awaken soon, and you have no idea how overjoyed the Millennium Earl was when he came across you. Nor me."

Hit stared up into his fellow Noah's amber pools, and nearly found himself at a loss for words at the sheer level of sincerity and familial warmth there was within them. Devoid of the typical, annoying teasing and exaggerative antics, as her eyes displayed a level of candour and care that couldn't be faked. Not to mention a level of emotional maturity that he wouldn't have guessed initially that she'd have. Even knowing now that chronologically, she was much older than she appeared, it still came as a bit of a surprise, given how she'd acted like a petulant child up to now. It was honestly a little jarring, the more he thought about it.

"What happened to him, though?" Hit felt the need to ask, though he had a feeling the answer was obvious.

Road sighed melancholically. "The Earl killed him. And I can tell you right now, it was the hardest thing he's ever had to do."

"He was that strong?"

"It had nothing to do with strength." She quickly shot down with another shake of her head. "As I said, Nea and the Earl, they had a special kind of connection. When the Earl killed him… he broke down crying while holding his lifeless body in his arms. It's something Lord Millennium has never been able to get over. Even all these years later, the memory of that day still haunts him, because of how much he cared about Nea, and wishes things could've turned out differently."

Hmph. Didn't most people when something went wrong in their past? Even he could relate to that on some level with his distant past. Heaven's knew that despite his moniker of the 'flawless Hit', there'd been some blunders back in the day that he'd had some regrets about, not strictly related to his profession.

In any case, wasn't this a right mess. A member of the clan that apparently shouldn't have even existed turned on them just so he could become the Millennium Earl himself. And to what end? This chat hadn't given him any real detail on this Fourteenth's character, other than he disagreed with the objective, and wanted to be the Earl himself. Again, to what end though? He still had a feeling that Road knew more on that but was deliberately choosing not to say. He hadn't a clue for what her motives for such would be, but he supposed he'd just have to let it go for now.

That did still leave him with one question though. "Were those The Fourteenth's only reasons for doing what he did? He simply disagreed with the clan's plans and wanted to become the Millennium Earl? Or was there more to it than that?"

Road's expression turned pensive for a moment, as she seemed to debate to herself whether or not she should answer that. Apprehension seemingly crossing over her features, as she let go of his shoulders.

Hit was just beginning to think that the elder Noah wouldn't answer him, when she suddenly asked him, in a surprisingly soft voice, "Do you think you can keep a secret?"

"A secret?" The former hitman of the sixth universe blinked. Her expression right now was hard for him to decipher. The small smile she now wore seemed almost… nostalgic?

In any case, the physically young-looking boy nodded in affirmation.

"Nea didn't just fight for himself. He fought on behalf of his brother, Mana." That name came out as more a pleasant whisper, and Hit didn't fail to notice the lack of any hostility when saying the name. Rather, she somehow managed to sound both sad and fond simultaneously. "Nea hated the current humanity as much as we did, but he loved Mana more than anything. He alone was the driving force behind most of his actions, up until the very end."

Nearly all of that for his brother… That only brought up even more questions about what his true motive was. He couldn't sense even a hint of a lie in what Road had just said, so apparently, The Fourteenth didn't give a crap about humanity, which meant whatever reason he had for wanting to become Noah family's patriarch had nothing to do with actually wanting to save them. Nothing to do with wanting to stop this version of mankind's destruction.

For all that had been answered, there was still just as much left unanswered from it. One thing was for sure though, The Fourteenth, from what he'd just learned, seemed to be a rather intriguing character. If he ever reincarnated somehow, Hit wouldn't mind having a small chat with him. Even though the Noah part of him understandably hated his guts right now, he was more than a little curious to know why he did what he did. Perhaps he had some insight that none of the clan, including the Earl had which made him want to become the Earl.

Or it was entirely possible he'd just gone insane. Wouldn't be the first time Hit had run into someone like that, and it wouldn't really surprise him either. Suppose he'd just have to wait and see, if the guy ever did actually come back.

Highly unlikely, given what he'd been told, but you never know. He'd come across more improbable stuff before back in his old universe, so he wasn't about to rule it out.

"Anyways," Road started, cutting him off from his train of thought, and bringing him back to reality. "I think I've said enough." Her hand slinked down and grabbed on to his as she moved by his side. "Just remember, baby brother. This is a secret, so please don't mention any of this to Lord Millennium. It'll only make him depressed thinking about it. And whatever you do, don't mention Mana around him."

Hit turned his gaze over but couldn't quite make out Road's features in that moment. It was hard to miss just how serious

"Promise me that you won't, okay? Because, if you do, he might just…" The girl paused, and Hit could feel some anxiety coming from her. "Lose it…"

"Alright. I promise." Hit replied earnestly after a small moment. Inwardly though, he wondered why that name in particular, was the last thing he should ever say around their apparent patriarch. He would've thought it'd be The Fourteenth himself and not his brother. Unless of course, the Earl blamed him for The Fourteenth's turn? If so, then it was likely, given how raw his reaction to killing Nea was by Road's account, that he hated Mana with a burning passion. In which case, he guessed it made sense then that the Millennium Earl would 'lose it', if that man's name was said.

"Teehee! That's good to hear." Almost like clockwork, Road's mood seemingly shifted in the blink of an eye, returning to her more jubilant persona as smiled back at him. "Now," Suddenly moving forward, the elder Noah girl almost tripped Hit off his feet as she yanked him behind her by the hand "time to go back for some dessert! Trust me, baby brother, you've got to try Lord Millennium's home-made cookies. They're absolutely to die for!"

Hmph. And there she goes, right back to being childish. He wouldn't hold it against her this once, seeing as she was probably relieved to be done with their conversation.

"Ooh! How about I feed you today too? I'll bet you'd just love to sit on your big sister's lap again!"

Hit could practically feel another migraine setting in as he glared at her harsh enough to pierce through her skull. "Don't you even try it…"

"Seriously, you don't have to be so grouchy Hit. I know you secretly love being babied by me. There's no need to be embarrassed about it."

"I'm not… ugh. I give up."

AND CUT!

That's the end of this one. For those of you wondering where the spar is, I've moved that to the start of the next chapter. I did have it finished prior, but Word decided to suck the wind out of my sails, and after a quick reboot of my laptop for some updates, the whole thing was gone. Couldn't find it anywhere, and I don't have the energy or motivation right now to write it again. Sorry about that, and if this chapter seems more filler-ish because of it. I also originally wanted to write out the tea party sequence but kept getting stumped on how to fully write it out, so I scrapped it in favour of a hopefully brief description of it. Something you all can have your imaginations working for as to just how bad it really was for Hit.

Next chapter will still be the final chapter where Hit's like this though, as we get into time-skip territory. It'll also definitely be the longest chapter I've ever done for this story, easily. Talking over 10K words here at minimum. Quite the big boy indeed.

Anyways, I hope you all got some enjoyment out of this chapter regardless, and look forward to the next one, which I'm hoping to get out at the end of this month or in early July depending on how my other stuff goes.

See you all then!