Bound Dreams
Chapter two:
/
"Mana, look at me…" Allen pleaded. He was sitting on his bed with Mana on his lap, doing what he could to offer comfort.
Mana flinched again as another wave of pain rolled over him; he didn't seem to register his father's voice. His sobs were being muffled by the white dress shirt his face was currently buried into.
"Mana, look. Watch me" Mana tiredly lifted his head.
Allen rolled up the shirt sleeve of his right arm. He then willed his Noah genes to come forth, the pale flesh easily turning over into grey charcoal. Mana blinked. Allen repeated the action a few more times, demonstrating the process. They've gone over this procedure many times before, but Allen made sure to remind him.
"You have to push it back, Mana. Don't let yourself be consumed by the Noah's anger. Take control, push it back." Mana soaked in his words.
"I-Is too hard!" He sobbed and shook his head.
"Mana, you have to." Allen stressed. "You have to try. Do it for me, do it for your mother. You've done it before, I know you can do it again. Don't worry, I'll be with you through it all."
The dark haired boy hesitated in fear but nodded his head. "I-I try…"
"Here, bite down on this." He complied, accepting the soft fabric cloth. "Now," Allen said. "Take a deep breath."
Mana nodded again, following his guidance. He took a deep breath before hardening his mind to try and repress his Noah. The genes fought back hard as he willed himself to interrupt them, to block them from influencing his consciousness any longer. He bit back a small shriek, a fresh waterfall of hot tears rushed down his cheeks as he gritted his teeth into the cloth.
(1)This wasn't the first time he had to fight his Noah, he was horribly familiar with it… and each fit never failed to strike fear into his tiny heart. Recently, the attacks were becoming more frequent and difficult to endure as the barrier Cross Marian placed on him at birth began to break down over the years. The barrier was placed on him to help suppress his Noah's malicious behaviour and to hide him from The Earl's eye. With the encore of the man's disappearance, the barrier couldn't be regenerated. Allen did what he could to prepare and train the child on how to control his Noah genes with techniques he learned from his own experiences, but the child was still very young, and it proved to be a difficult task for his delicate young mind.
It was never easy for Allen to have to watch. He cursed and blamed the God's above, but most of all himself for being powerless to salvage any of the pain. He was his father; he was supposed to protect him… and he couldn't even protect him from this. It was the hard truth. All he could do was hold him and whisper words of reassurance and pray to the God's that he despised for mercy.
As the minutes passed, the child's skin began to brighten. Mana bit back another scream as he gave one final shove at the genes. He panted heavily with exhaustion from the physical and mental strain the battle had on his body.
Allen smiled sadly. "Good job, Mana. You have no idea how proud I am..." Mana barely noticed the hand brushing mildly and tenderly through his hair. His eyes fluttered before completely closing as his body went limp against his father's chest. Allen maneuvered the small body under the covers of the bed and sowed a kiss atop of his dark hair.
"I love you always, my son."
/
The Earl sat back on the recliner, focusing on the large parchment filled with ink in front of him. Slow days like these called for a good book – even if he was a busy man, he deserved a break every once in a while. Besides, the final act was already prepared, all he had to do was start the play. A few months back, the Noah of Wrath had rose again along with the two Noah eliminated 2 years ago. Now, all 13 original Noah were once again one. They were at their best and nothing could stop them from cleansing this planet of those despicable humans. Even without the 14 Noah on their side, nothing could stop them.
His pleasant musings were shattered by a dull prick at the back of his skull. The spontaneous headaches were back. The headaches had been going on for four years now… Only until lately had they been spiking more rapidly. The ancient man could never pin-point the root of the problem and it frustrated him to no end. The sensation was agonisingly familiar too, as if he should know exactly what was causing it. With each phase the picture was painted more clearly in his mind and he was drawing closer to the answers he needed.
The Earl rested his throbbing skull on his palm.
"You, Akuma. Grab me some pain killers immediately." It was a rare sight for him to address anyone without his cheerful tone.
The Akuma maid located on the other side of the room halted in attending to her daily chores and bowed obediently.
"Right away, Master…"
/
A new dawn, a new day. Mana definitely felt replenished after sleeping like a rock through the night and half the day before. He rolled over to notice his father asleep on the other side of the bed. The white haired Exorcist was still clothed in his uniform, as he hadn't moved from his child's side, not even to eat after his lengthy mission.
Mana had always been affected by his mother's disappearance. The tragedy was so sudden and would always be a blow to his young heart, as he was still completely dependent on his mother. And he always would be, just as he was dependent on his father. If the God's took his father too, he didn't know what he would do. The idea always frightened him and caused unwelcomed nightmares during the night.
He sadly traced one of the bruises printed on his father's wrist.
It was strange to him. He understood the concept of growing up as much as any four year old did. He understood that as he got older, he would become taller and gained more defined features that made him look older, but for some reason his father never showed any of these traits. His mother from his memories of her. Lavi and Uncle Komui told him his father didn't look any older than 17 years. They tried to explain to him that it was because of his Noah that his ability to age to was slowed down to a crawl. Fortunately, Mana himself he didn't exhibit any signs of the same treatment and aged normally.
The little boy felt his tummy rumble, slamming him out of his thoughts.
He was hungry.
"Daaaaaad" He whined, shoving his small fists into his father's shoulder. "Daaaaadddyyy! Up! Up!"
Allen soft snores stifled into a small groan and his lashes fluttered momentarily but ultimately refused to open. Instead, he grabbed his pillow and snuggled it under his chin and returned to his unconscious oblivion.
Mana smirked widely. Time for plan B.
"Daddy, food!" He said the magic word.
Allen bolted upright in the bed, eyes wide and searching the room before landing on his giggling son. He groaned again, rubbing the remaining sleep from his crested eyes. He smiled warmly at the boys hysterics and poked the boy's chest teasingly.
"You learned that one from Lavi, didn't you?" He said knowingly.
"Mhmm!" The boy chirped before giggling again at his little scheme.
"Alright, let's get cleaned up and dressed and then we'll head down for breakfast." Allen said.
Mana nodded eagerly in agreement.
/
"Mana, keep up with me please.' Allen sighed. The dark haired child was playing with Timcanpy on their walk to the cafeteria, twirling and jumping as he made to grab for the golem's tail. Allen was losing his patience as the child kept lagging behind and almost yet again bumped into another helpless person as he was too caught up in his little game.
Allen strolled over to the pair and snatched the child off the ground with one arm and grabbed the golem out of his mock dive with his other. He raised a brow and gave the golden ball an irritable look.
"Stop it Tim, that's enough." He then gave Mana a stern look. "And that's more than enough out of you, mister." He released another sigh. "Let's go, before breakfast is done being served." Mana pouted in his arms, bummed that his fun was cut short.
/
"Allen, over here!" The white haired Exorcist perked at the sounds of his name and took notice of Johnny, Lavi, Miranda, Krory and some of the others grouped together at one of the tables.
Allen and his little tail glided over to them, biding them a small hello. He found an open space at the end of bench big enough for the both of them and placed a pillow down for Mana to sit on so he could reach over the table. Once the child was settled, he took his own seat and launched into his mountain of edible dishes.
Mana was done first as he only had a small helping. He politely waited for the others to finish their own breakfast.
"You full, Mana?" Lavi smiled at him from across the table.
"Yeaah!" The boy replied happily.
"Oh," Allen spoke up, placing down his fork. "Thank you, Lavi and Miranda, for helping watch Mana while I was gone." He smiled gratefully at each individual. "I hope he hasn't caused too much trouble."
Mana angrily stuck his stuck out at him, offended by the remark. "I good! Like I 'omised!" He pouted and crossed his arms childishly.
His father laughed softly at his actions. "I know bud, I'm just messing with you."
Miranda held a smile of her own. "He's not lying," She said to Allen. "He behaved very well. You've taught him well, Allen." Allen blushed a little at her praise.
"Thanks, Miranda…"
Lavi raised a thumbs up in agreement. "No Noah problems either. How was he last night?" From the obvious presence of the lively child at the table, it was easy to assume the boy was alright after his fit. But they always worried, worried for their littlest friend who held a spot in each of their hearts.
"The fits are starting to become worse… it won't be long till Master's barrier is gone," Allen replied grimly. "But Mana is strong… We just have to believe he'll overcome this and take control of his Noah genes. He will not become one the Earl's puppets." His last words were bitterly hissed out.
Beside him, Mana nervously fidgeted with his left hand. The boy had always been fascinated by the parasitic weapon and picked up a nervous habit of playing with it. He played with the fingers, bending them to rubbing the green shard on the back of the black, rough hand. In his earlier years, he used to bite n gnaw on it. Allen never minded, since he never caused any real damage and it seemed to relax the boy, like a favourite stuffed animal. He also used it as a method to teach the child resistance against the Innocence. The more he was around it, the more he was able to learn how to ignore the building malicious feelings born by his Noah. Because of this, he never had any problems being around synchronised Innocence. Raw Innocence was another story though…
"Mana, try some of this." A fork filled with a piece of ham omelet was offered to the four old. He accepted the bite… instantly brightened in bliss at the delicious flavour it held.
Allen laughed. "Good, huh?"
Mana nodded, happily accepting another bite. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
"Link's fell into a coma…" Lavi sliced the calm and bright atmosphere with his words. "The injury he sustained to the head on the mission was too severe… Komui notified me about it this morning."
Allen stared heavily at his now empty plates. The news troubled him. The constant surveillance always did tick him off, but he never blamed Link for it. The man was just doing his job, and after spending so much time around each other, Allen knew they developed an understanding and could possibly call the other a friend.
"That's horrible," The white haired Exorcist voiced softy. "I really hope he comes around… As much as the surveillance bugged me, I don't wish any harm on him."
"Least you'll receive a break, unless they send in someone else."
The thought scared Allen, he was used to dancing around Link with Mana's Noah fits. The man might've been smart, but he wasn't very perceptive as he played himself to be. He and Lenalee played the role better than him and had barely any problem hiding Mana from him. The new stranger would pose a threat as he didn't know anything about them, and what if they were more insufferable than Link?
"If you hear anything else, please keep me updated Lavi."
"Of course," The red head waved away his concerns. "You know you can rely on me. The Bookmen follow you now, but also because I'm your friend." He winked, or at least Allen thought he did. It was difficult to tell with the eye patch.
/
Ilee here,
(1): I'll try to explain in more detail about Mana's Noah, as I feel I'm not doing a very good job of explaining it in the story. He is a full Noah, he's just having trouble controlling his Noah's hate towards humanity and the Innocence. If he lost the control, he could possibly cause harm those around him. Even if he is four, a Noah is nothing to underestimate, especially one with little control (e.g. Tyki…). It would obviously just blow his whole secret too. The barrier Cross prepared over him just helps him gain more control of it and hide him from the Earl's senses. Now that it's withering down it's becoming increasingly harder for him to control, and now the Earl is starting to gain notice. And I know it hasn't really been addressed, but Mana IS the 15th Noah, an abnormal Noah just like the 14th.
And yeah, I made Cross fly away again… Lol.
Here's a list of those who currently know about Mana's Noah: Allen & Lenalee(Obs), Komui, Cross, The head Nurse(She was there for the birth), Lavi, Bookman, Miranda, Krory, Marie, Johnny and Reever.
"/" Are line breaks. I hope people are picking up on that.
I NEED SOME HELP! I have absolutely no idea what kind of abilities or title Mana's Noah should hold. I'm struggling with this, like agonisingly so. I can't seem to be satisfied with any of my ideas, so I'm reaching out to you guys to lend me any ideas you might have! I would greatly appreciate it!
Thank you for reading my story, I hope you're enjoying it so far!
Please leave a review as it motivates me to update faster!
Thanks!