Disclaimer: I do not own the Dgrayman characters, they belong to Katsura Hoshino. This is done solely for the sake of fan-girlism.

Forewords: I'm sorry if I screwed up the ending! (LizluvsSpongebob~ I hope you enjoyed this story! XDDD)
As always, feedbacks and comments are welcomed and appreciated. :)

Father of the Child

by Sceaduw

{Part XIII}

Tyki picked up his pace, gliding across the cold stone corridor. He could see the twins didn't have a care in the world. Devit and Jasdero joyfully followed him close behind, joking and making fun of him all the way. It would be troublesome if they happened to come across any exorcists, especially the Generals. This was, afterall, the exorcists' headquarters. Tyki hated to come across any more troubles, he had had enough of it.

"Look, I can handle this by myself, you two really don't need to come with me," said Tyki, stealing a glance at the twins. The boys were too noisy and Tyki wondered why no one was aware of their intrusion so far. Oddly enough, there didn't seem to be anyone around. The place was too quiet.

"Oh, don't mind us! We're here for the fun!" Devit laughed, "And to keep an eye on you!"
"To keep an eye on you! Heh heh!" Jasdero echoed.

"I'm not going to run away again, not when Sheril is so angry now." Tyki sighed. He inwardly cursed as he recalled how Waizurii told Sheril everything when Sheril finally woke up. It was a pure miracle that his brother didn't burst a blood vessel from discovering their little scam.

Without the twins tailing along, Tyki could have walked through walls and get to the girl in no time. Now he couldn't do that. He, on the other hand, had to keep an eye on the two teens. Bloodshed was not wise at this delicate moment.

"Yeah, Sheril's mad!" "Yeah! Mad, mad, mad! Tee-hee!"

"Well, he sure is if he really wants me to take Lenalee as my bride-"

"Do you really love her Tyki?" "Hehe-"

"That's not the point! She's married, you dumb asses! Besides, what do you two know of love?"

"Oh, we don't, but I bet Road knows!" "Eh-hehehe! Road knows! Road knows! Hee!"

Tyki grumbled and walked faster. Sheril was furious but the man was still sane. Whatever Sheril had in mind, Tyki was sure it had nothing to do with love. Now that they all knew Lenalee was not pregnant, he bet Sheril wanted revenge on the girl for humiliating him earlier. Tyki just hoped his brother would not kill the girl when he brought her back. Although he agreed to bring Lenalee back as his apology for lying to Sheril, he didn't really wish to see the girl getting hurt. Did he like Lenalee? Well, maybe. Did he love her? No. At least, he wouldn't want to suffer the wrath of Sheril for her sake. Anyway, it was good to know Sheril had finally decided to stop pushing him into marriage. That was the only benefit Tyki got from this whole fuss.

If Allen Walker finds out the Noahs were going to kidnap Lenalee again, Tyki wondered if Neah would reappear. Maybe, maybe not. Still, Allen alone would be a handful for him. Tyki gave a long sigh. Speaking of Road, they all noticed her special affection towards Allen. Who knew if Sheril was trying to eliminate Lenalee for Road's sake? Yeah, right, not in the next seven thousand years. Tyki was certain Sheril would strangle Allen if the boy ever laid a finger on his precious little daughter. So it would be pure revenge that Sheril wanted on Lenalee. Where was Road anyway? She was gone again along with Allen when they realised it.

"Hush! Someone's up front!"

Upon hearing Tyki's warning, the twins snapped into silence.

"No, lower your guns! No fighting... yet!"

Tyki hissed and heard the two whined in disappointment. It would be wise to avoid conflicts and steal the girl as soon as possible. Tyki really didn't want to spend any more time and energy on this matter. He further listened to the voices around the corner.

"She'll be fine, the Head Nurse said it's not anything life threatening. You should take some rest now. Otherwise, you'll be ill too. Your wounds are not yet fully recovered!"

"But I'm so worried. What if her symptoms persist? What if-"

"Calm down, Komui, Bookman is helping her now. I'm sure he can cure her in no time with his acupuncture treatments."

"Reever, I didn't know she was this worn out. It's all my fault! I was too obsessed!"

"Well, Lenalee deserves a nice quiet holiday. She did well in the past missions."

"Yes! I'll send Allen out and away immediately!"

"Komui, haven't you learnt your lesson yet?"

"Yes, yes... alright, I'll leave them alone. For now."

Tyki hoped these two men would walk away in another direction. If not, he would have to kill them. He waited until the voices faded as the men walked away just as he had wished for.

"I remember that voice! That's the funny guy in the wedding dress!" Devit whispered and Jasdero nodded in concordance, trying hard to suppress a giggle.

"What?" Tyki raised an eyebrow. A guy in a dress? A wedding gown? It seemed he had missed out something fun at Allen's wedding.

"That's the girl's brother! Let's follow him!" "Follow him! Tee-hee!"

"That's Lenalee's brother? He wore THE dress?" Tyki hissed. Thank the Earl he didn't get involved in this family. He might just end up in THE dress too if that man became his brother-in-law. Tyki shivered at the haunting thought and tried to snap out of it.

"No, we should go look for Lenalee!"

"Oh, come on! The girl's no fun!" "Yeah! No fun! Hee-he!"

Seeing the two refused to follow his orders, Tyki made a terrifying statement. "The longer we wander around in this place, the higher the chance we will bump into Exorcist General Cross Marian."

That did it. Tyki saw Devit and Jasdero's faces turned pale in horror and then flushed up with panic.

"Then what are we waiting for? We have to get the girl quick!" "Hee-hee! Quick! Quick! Quick!"

Tyki smirked and led the two into another corridor. His instinct told him he should go in opposite direction to, and as far away from, the man who had worn a wedding gown.

.

Lavi withdrew his hammer and waited for any movement from the cloud of dust. There was none. Allen held his breath. He couldn't believe Lavi just attacked Lenalee! Road was giggling with excitement. But when the dust settled, Lavi froze. Lenalin was not there.

"W-where did she go?"

"She's right here. What are you doing Lavi?"

Everyone turned towards the voice. Allen had never felt so fortunate to see Kanda in his life. Although Kanda was holding to his wife, he did save her life.

"Lavi! What was all that racket about? Are you trying to destroy headquarters?" asked Kanda as he shot a nasty look at the exorcist. He released the girl from his arms and observed the damages done by Lavi's hammer. Then he spotted Road. "And what's a Noah doing here?"

Kanda brought out his Mugen and pointed it towards Road. He took no notice of Lenalin as she strolled back to Allen's side.

"Kanda! Why did you save that thing? You're supposed to be on our side!"

"What do you mean? Why should I fight against an exorcist instead of a Noah?"

"NO! That's not Lenalee! That's Lenalin for crying out loud! Don't you remember?" Lavi was close to screaming but Kanda just made an irritated tsk sound. Obviously, the swordsman didn't recall anything as Lavi did.

Lavi had no chance to attack Lenalin now that Allen was shielding her protectively with his Crown Clown. Allen was shooting daggers at him too. He felt frustrated and had a bad feeling the robot would strike them down any time soon.

He was right. Lenalin's eyes glowed faintly as she smiled.

"Look at her, you guys!" Lavi swirled around his hammer and pointed it menacingly at the girl. "No, wait! Don't look at her! Get away from her!"

It was too late. Lavi found himself flying. Before Lavi lost consciousness again, he thought he heard multiple shrieks and screams.

.

Devit and Jasdero looked up as Tyki stopped suddenly. The wall at the end of the corridor collapsed and a body was being thrown out through the rubbles. Tyki narrowed his eyes, his golden orbs piercing through the obscurity of flying dust. He spotted his target.

"Hey, wait for us!" shouted Devit as Tyki sprinted towards the commotion. Tyki moved too fast for them and he disappeared into the cloud of dust. The twins struggled through the barrier of heavy dust. They were coughing and tears streamed down their eyes. Their bodies couldn't pass through physical substances like Tyki's, and they had a tough time trying to get through without suffocating themselves.

Devit and Jasdero found themselves accidentally treading onto a body lying face down on the ground. "He's... an exorcist?" They could barely recognize him, he was badly beaten. "Hey! Allen Walker!" Then they recognized him by his white hair. Who on earth did that to him? The twins made no attempt to help the exorcist but advanced forward and tried to look for Tyki. It seemed someone powerful was up there.

Tyki was way ahead of the twins. He got past the rubbles and found more people on the ground. One of them was Road. He leapt over to her and gently picked her up in his arms.

"Hey, Road! Wake up! Road!"

Tyki gave a weak smile as Road's eyelids fluttered open. He gently placed her down onto the ground. Road was weak and limp but she managed to look up at him.

"T-Tyki? What are you doing here?" asked Road. She looked around, dumbfounded. "What... where am I?"

Tyki grimaced. This didn't look good. He then turned to the girl. She was the only one standing in this battlefield. He could not believe Lenalee had done all this. Maybe she was pissed that Road was with Allen? Women... mysterious and dangerous.

"Road, can you manage to open an ark portal? We need to get out of here."

"Yes, sure..."

"Hey, Tyki! What's going on? ... Road?" "Road! Road's here too! Hehe!"

Road stood up and summoned a portal with a slow wave of her arm. A huge colourful door appeared at the other end of the corridor.

"Let's go now!"

Devit and Jasdero watched as Tyki dashed forward and grabbed 'Lenalee' by the waist. He turned and then came back to catch Road, throwing her onto his back. Road clutched onto Tyki as the man carried them both towards the door. Even when carrying two more people, Tyki ran like a gush of wind.

"I'm not waiting for you two if you don't follow closely!"

"Oi! Wait for us!" "Tee-hehe!"

The group made it out safely through the portal door, just in time before more exorcists and supporting staff came to investigate on the commotion. Among the group were Cross Marian and Lenalee.

"W-what happened here?" Lenalee looked around worriedly. Then she found Allen. She rushed over to him and nearly burst into tears. Why couldn't they ever find a moment to spend together peacefully? Why must one of them get injured? She wished she was the one being hurt instead of Allen. Now that Bookman had healed her, Allen was wounded.

"Excuse me, Lenalee." Cross Marian gently pushed Lenalee away from Allen. Before she could stop the General, the man picked Allen up and shook him like a rag doll. He then hurled the teen hard across the corridor. Allen smashed onto the ground with a painful wail.

"Are you awake now, stupid disciple?"

"M-master?"

Allen struggled to his feet. He stammered in fear as he saw the huge man stormed towards him.

"What happened here? Speak!"

Allen gapped open his mouth but he didn't know. He whimpered as he saw his master raised his fist. Luckily, Lenalee came to his rescue.

"Stop please! General Marian!"

"Lenalee? Lenalee! Are you alright?"

"Yes, Allen. I'm fine now. What happened to you? You look terrible!"

"I... I don't know, Lenalee. But I'm all better now seeing you! I -"

Allen was silenced by a cuddle. Lenalee held onto him tightly, burying his face onto her shoulder. She wept and refused to let go. Allen patted her on the back and tried to calm her down.

Seeing Lenalee stepping in-between himself and the boy, Cross snorted. His idiotic disciple had really got himself a fine woman. There was no use in questioning Allen. Obviously the teen was like the other exorcists, being attacked and not remembering anything. Cross turned and picked up another exorcist from the ground. He shook him several times but the swordsman was deep in exhaustion. He dropped him back onto the ground without mercy.

"Get up, Lavi! Lavi!" Bookman called out to Lavi. Getting no response from the fallen exorcist, the old man took out a sharp needle and pricked the youth on his temple. The result was satisfactory, Lavi jumped to his feet.

"Panda old man!"

"Don't call me that, brat! What happened here?"

"Huh? What happened? Didn't I just return from the mission?" Lavi scratched his face but then he felt the dull pain on his back. He thought he heard his bones just crackled. "Argh! What have you done to me, panda old man?"

Bookman turned to give Cross Marian a shrug and a hopeless look. Seeing there was nothing more they could do there, the two left the injured to the medical team. They hoped the science team could identify what happened to the youngsters later on.

"Aren't you going to clarify anything?" Reever muttered and gave Komui a little nudge. Komui and Reever were hiding behind a corner while witnessing the whole incident. That was the first and last time Komui ever set eyes on his beloved creation in action. His highly functional Lenalee Protector No.1! Komui suppressed a sniffle. He just realised he hadn't even given his baby a name yet.

"We must go save her!"

"What? You should be glad the Noahs took it with them!"

"But... what if they're going to do something pervert to her?"

"Please, Komui! That's a robot for God's sake!"

"B-but- "

"No more buts! You have done enough! Let's just keep this in silence. Everything should be fine after a while. No one will need to know what happened today."

"B-but... OH! LENALEE! MY LENALEEEEE!"

Reever applied a wrestling Master Lock technique to Komui just in time when the man saw Allen giving Lenalee a peck on her cheek. And Allen thought no one noticed them while everyone was busy tending to Kanda and Lavi.

"Come on! Back to work! Some real work! And leave everyone alone!"

Komui was pulled away in despair, leaving behind a trail of tears.

.

Tyki knocked on the door to Sheril's chamber. He inhaled deeply as he heard a low growl, permitting them to enter. He held onto the girl's hand gently. Was she too frightened? She was acting too unnaturally calm. Tyki tried not to look at her. He didn't know what he could say to her, not after he had shown her such affections before. Now, he was drawing her to her doom. The girl followed him without any resistance. He suddenly felt heavy. He believed this girl trusted him. The door swung open by itself and Tyki cautiously walked into the dark room, careful not to tangle himself in the near-invisible threads.

"Welcome back, my dear," smirked Sheril, his lips curled up into a sly grin. He sat like a king in a throne-like chair at the center of his chamber. His eyes shone of malice as he gestured Tyki to leave them.

"Sheril, what are you going to do?"

"That will be all, Tyki. You may leave."

"Sheril!"

"Leave us now Tyki."

"Sher-, my dear brother, tell me what you have in mind."

Sheril's face lit up upon hearing Tyki calling him 'dear brother'. It had been too long since Tyki being affectionate to him. He thought Tyki hated him for pushing him into a setup marriage.

"Oh, my beloved Tyki! I'll tell you everything! Anything you wish!"

Although Tyki felt goosebumps crawling all over him, he allowed Sheril to come up to give him a hug.

"I'm going to torture this girl and then turn her into an Akuma! Then I shall make her suffer even more! Finally, I will have her self-destruct!" Sheril purred, "And then, PUFF! Her soul will be forever beyond salvation!"

Tyki stole a glance over to the girl. The girl was looking at him. She smiled. Tyki saw a shimmer in her eyes and he pushed Sheril away.

Is this it? Is this love? She loves me! She trusts me! She chooses me over Allen Walker!

"No, Sheril!"

"Huh?"

"I'm not going to let you do that!"

"What are you talking about Tyki? Don't be afraid, you are forgiven, my beloved! I will not hurt you! You did well, you even bring back Road!"

"No, Sheril! I will not let you hurt her!"

If this is love, then... I must protect her!

Tyki grabbed the girl into his arms and he felt the threads surrounding them began to tighten. He shielded the girl in his embrace as the threads began to cut into his flesh. Still, Tyki refused to give in.

"Oh, Tyki, Tyki," Sheril shook his head and gave out a chuckle, "is this the woman you want? After all the troubles, you eventually choose her back?"

The threads cut in a little bit deeper. Blood soaked out from beneath Tyki's clothes.

"Give up! Let the threads go through! I only want the girl! It hurts me to shed your blood, Tyki! Stop protecting her! NOW!"

"NO!"

The girl observed as the two Noahs stared at each other in silence. Then she rested her head against Tyki's chest. She heard his heart beats loud and clear. Snuggling up against him, her eyes gleamed as the final set of programs began to activate in her head.

"Tyki, let her go. I will cut through you-"

"I will do everything and anything to protect her! Sheril, please let her go!" Tyki gritted his teeth as he tried hard to fight back the threads. He was holding onto the girl with only one arm now, his other arm was being pulled away from her by the threads.

"You do realise I can snap your arm off if I wish to, Tyki?"

"If that is what you wish for! I will not let you harm her! Over my dead body!"

"Tyki, why are you doing this? Stop this nonsense!"

"No, Sheril... I-I... I love her!"

Sheril blinked. What was that Tyki blurted out? He tried not to look too surprised. But really, he was utterly shocked. Tyki's face was now lit up like a tomato.

"Tyki, you mean it? You love this bit-, I mean, this sweet darling?" Sheril forced out a loving smile. "Then... are you ready to duel with Allen Walker?"

Tyki felt the threads loosen around him. He looked down at the girl and smiled. "Yes, I will challenge Allen Walker and I shall claim this love." He then leaned in, eager to plant a kiss on her head.

Before his lips touched her hair, the girl headbutted him hard. Tyki fell backwards but she caught him and pulled him back. She whispered softly into Tyki's ears and Tyki's eyes widened in terror.

The last thing Sheril remembered was the girl tilting her head and giggling sweetly. Then everything was left to be dug up from their minds by Waizurii much later.

.

They were hanging out in the local park again. It seemed this was their favourite spot to spend intimate moments together. Komui observed from behind the bushes as Lenalee took the baby back from Allen. The baby giggled and tugged on Allen's white hair. Lenalee laughed and caressed Allen's head, trying to soothe the pain. Komui did well to suppress his urge of barging in and sitting in-between the two. Suddenly, the image of the the couple and the baby formed a beautiful family photo in Komui's mind.

It was... sacred.

Komui sniffled and turned to leave. That would be the last time he skipped work to spy on the two.

"Oh, look! Mama's back!"

Lenalee pointed at a lady approaching them. The baby turned his head towards his mother and babbled in excitement. The woman retrieved her child and thanked Lenalee and Allen for looking after her baby. Allen waved goodbye to the child but the little devil paid no attention to him. Instead, the baby waved bye bye to Lenalee with his tiny hands.

"The child's so adorable. I wish I could be a mother soon too!" Lenalee sighed dreamily as she watched the woman exited the park with the baby. Hearing no response from Allen, she turned to him and found his face wonderfully bright red. She chuckled as he tried to avoid eye contact with her. He looked up at the sky above, pretending not to hear anything. Lenalee felt his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. She leaned onto him and gazed up at the sea of blue too.

It was another beautiful day.

-The End-