A Piano's Requiem
Ch 04 – Lost But Never Found
A small sigh escaped the redhead's lips as he gave a heavy slam onto the wooden counter on his mug of some alcoholic of… well, at this point, he couldn't remember what he had ordered, but it was mildly strong. He needed to cool down, he thought before, with all the shock and distractions, he needed a small break in between the action.
Surprisingly, he appeared in the busy streets of London, just enough to find the nearest bar in the next few hours he spent wandering about. He had no plans at the moment, but he kept thinking to himself that he was going to come up with one as soon as he finished his drink.
Nothing seemed to have happened since he had landed in London. No urgent telegraphs of demons raiding the forsaken seas near Naples. No alerts of high massacres in the mainland of Europe. Just a fine smoggy morning in the industrialized heart of Britain. But, it was understandable, since it has only been just a day since he had escaped from the Earl's place. The Earl must be trying to mobilize the Akuma to different parts of the world to take out humanity all at once. Yes, that was good food for thought.
The hairs on his back the stood up as he felt a haunting presence approaching him from behind. Stiffly, Lavi set his glass down, careful to not let a single utterance of clinking ice reach his newfound opponent's ears. The bar was still half-packed like it had been when he first came, so he had to act subtle against this person. He made a motion to check for his pocketwatch, when he was really reaching for his hammer…
"Fancy meeting you here, Bookman Junior."
The voice was familiar to the redhead's ears, sultry to make women swoon, but very chilling to one's spine [1]. The relaxed tone this man carried was enough to make Lavi feel inclined to just slack in his shoulders and turn around, his eyes set on a lightly-skinned man with brown curly hair. He was dressed sharply in dark frock coat, not a single speck of dust on his shoulders. He must have been on his way to a tea party, if it were not for the oddly displaced newsboy cap he must have picked up on the way. As great as he looked, Lavi wasn't going to return the "let's just talk" gesture.
"What are you doing here," the redhead asked, his voice descending to a low growl. He received a small chuckle from the Noah of Pleasure.
"I've heard you've made it out," Tyki mused, completely ignoring Lavi's unwelcoming impression as he pulled up a chair beside the Bookman apprentice. Lavi continued to mentally shoot strings of curses at the man until he noticed how the Noah slumped as he sat down, exhausted, fatigued. He didn't seem able to pull out any more jokes out of his hat, especially when he could hear a small wheeze from the man's lips. Lavi could almost pity the solemn expression on Tyki's face, and then looked at the bartender.
"Another one, for this lad," he spoke almost like a command, and the bartender merely nodded, sliding a glass over to him. The Bookman apprentice caught it and then gently placed it in front of Tyki's face. The Noah's small hint of heavy breathing stopped as he looked at Lavi questionably. The redhead merely shrugged.
"You looked peaky," he explained, even if there wasn't a reason. "You might've needed something to drink a bit heavier than water… Look, you're even shaking in your hands. Just drink it."
Tyki gave a small nod before lifting the glass to his lips. A small gulp, and he set it down, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. It was inevitable that he was ill, Lavi thought as he watched the supposedly well-collected man crumble before his eyes. The man's disguised white form was deathly white as a sheet, and his eyes were swollen from having shed tears for a family of fourteen.
"You can feel it, can you?" The words immediately rolled off of Lavi's tongue, earning a visible shudder from Tyki. It was understandable. The last time Skinn Bolic had supposedly died, Tyki and Road had spent a good hour weeping for no particular reason with small pangs in their rising chests. It was only one family member, but now that ten of them perished at the same time… the results were unimaginable.
"I understand," Lavi continued, turning away from the broken Noah, and staring at the countless racks of wine, beer, all kinds of alcoholic beverages. Tyki took another shaky sip, and he continued to remain silent as Lavi gazed at the entrance of the bar, wondering if the screams of terrified citizens would rise soon enough.
"I saw Road before I escaped," the Bookman added. "She had a few words for me. That I was a good opponent… and that He is going after Walker in the final hour."
He received no answer. Tyki was not getting any better, especially from hearing mention of his favorite sister. The Noah of Pleasure was very close to that of Dreams, and the siblings were a good pair in the midst of a battle. They got along quite well… didn't that also include his other brother… almost his own twin…
"They're going after the boy?" He asked to confirm, his head turning slowly to the redhead, who was tugging at his green bandanna.
"Indeed," the young man gave a small snap, and he whipped out a map of the England. "He's currently in Liverpool with 'relatives.' Time can only tell if we'll make it in time."
Hope. Both of them. They needed this. A small smile crept to the Noah's face as he rolled back the map and placed it back into Lavi's hands.
"That's only if we leave at this very moment, Bookman Junior."
Surprised by the sudden comeback of the clearly tired man, the redhead could only nod and watch as a Noah set out to recover the remnant of a blood-bound family. It was fine with him, he decided to trail along, too. They both were in the same predicament, so there should be agreement on both sides. Or, perhaps, they had already agreed on this a long time ago. [2]
-*-awieufahw
A horrible mess was unfolding in the skies above the last piece of a tattered inn. Fragments of foreign metal were raining down in all directions, and the shrieking of terrified demons resounded the heavens, away from the true demon himself.
"Sawada!" Ryohei screamed, leaping off of the back of a subdued Akuma and taking out another with Maximum Ingram. His kangaroo was joining in the action, clearing the way for him to reach his battle-crazed friend. Clearly, the Vongola Tenth was not listening to anyone's pleas at all.
Yamamoto ducked under a stray fireball that flew right towards him, catching an unsuspecting Akuma behind him. He rejoined Ryohei, who was seething at the bruises that Tsuna had done onto his wrists.
"No use!" Yamamoto shouted above the din. "We can't get ourselves hurt in this Akuma raid!"
"Allow me."
A streak of white and black flashed by the two Guardians, directly at the rampaging Vongola Tenth.
"Hibari!" Ryohei shouted after the prefect as he ran forward.
"You are becoming more of a herbivore every minute," The prefect stated as he dodged under a swing of an arm that could have hit his face. "Despite the power you possess…"
A foot connected with Hibari's gut, and the prefect was sent hurtling away in the air. Roll [2] caught him and sent him flying back. Tonfa collided with metal gloves, and a roundhouse was sent at side almost too quickly. Tsuna then went for another haymaker, but Hibari countered with a tonfa.
"Herbivore, you fail to see what's wrong," Hibari murmured, actually straining himself against Tsuna's own strength. He had not expected Tsuna to be able to hit with such strength, and that there was high chance that Hibari could lose.
"You are not by yourself," He continued. However, his tonfas were ripped from his hands and were sent hurtling to the ground below. Weaponless, the prefect attempted to resort to fists, but Tsuna gave a good punch to the stomach again. Having been injured there just a moment ago, Hibari could swing his arm forward to swat Tsuna away. What a fool he was, the prefect thought, to throw away his humility for something as silly as helping a mere weakling from losing himself.
But then he felt a pair of hands grasping his shoulders. Tsuna was panting heavily, the Dying Will Flame still burning. He seemed willing enough to listen now, after so much fighting, or perhaps he finally realized he was running himself raw and was finally feeling fatigue?
"Why…?" Tsuna's voice quivered. Hibari kept his expression as blank as possible.
"You are not the only one who's lost something precious to you," he spoke, almost quietly, but he could tell that Tsuna could hear him. "You are not the only one who feels the pain of having lost something that you love so dearly you'd die because you no longer have it."
-*-aweiufhaweh
Hibari wasn't sure why he was caught off guard something other than a monster. He remembered sitting about on the rooftop of his beloved school when Kusakabe came strolling in from the door, a full report in hand. The vice-president was aware that his superior wasn't going to read it, so he began reading it anyways. The man with the pompadour hairdo began to talk, and Hibari merely listened, hearing nothing out of the ordinary (besides destruction of certain warehouses that the baby used for training herbivores), while Hibird nestled in his hair.
After the report was finished, Hibird began to sing its usual song, and Hibari merely closed his eyes, enjoying the music. It was no longer enjoyable when the little bird began to squawk rapidly.
"Hibari! Hibari!" It cried, and the prefect stood up, his feet on guard. He felt nothing, but his attention turned to the sky. It was blood red, far too rich for the afternoon, yet he felt no sinister presence.
"Hibari!"
For the first time in years, the prefect felt himself shoved aside for the sake of protection, and Hibird was left off balance, falling off his shoulder. When he had regained his senses, a demon was staring at his face, and his vice-president had been gunned down all too cleanly. His precious bird was nowhere to be found, besides the monster's taunts of what happened to the poor thing.
The school began to tremble underneath him, and Hibari could only gaze almost indifferently at the cracks forming on the roof, eyes glazed over in hate.
-*-aweufahweo
"Like I've said before," Hibari spoke, almost in a snarl, as he tore away one of those hands grasping his shoulders. "You aren't the only one."
He could see the slack in the boy's hands as he lightly swung the prefect away from him. A Cloud Hedgehog caught Hibari and they watched as Tsuna went drifting off, still facing the new line of Akuma, but a pair of arms wrapped around him. Yamamoto was holding back his boss, hoping that
"Tsuna, we all have something to fight for, don't we?" Yamamoto pleaded. "Please, just come back to us."
Tsuna muttered quietly. "Come… back…"
"Yes," Yamamoto said reassuringly. "Please… come back."
"Back…" the calmed mafia boss muttered under his breath. "I… can do that…"
The Dying Will Flames began to die out as the Vongola Tenth fell to his sleep. Ryohei swiped at the boy but missed by centimeters. Everyone gasped in horror that a friend was going to plunge headfirst to the ground hundreds of feet below.
"Tsuna!"
Just before Yamamoto could go speeding after his friend, a certain redhead made it in time, and caught the fallen Vongola Tenth with one arm, another to the handle of his massive hammer.
"Ah, that was close," he laughed nervously. He then looked up at the three Vongola Guardians, all bruised and injured in some form or another. He wanted to place his hands on his hips and "scold" them, but his hands were full. Specifically, that Cloud guy was quite the nuisance, not listening to his opinion.
"Now, little Hibari," The innkeeper mused. "You look like you've been mauled by a cat. Now do you see why you should have listened to me?"
The Cloud Guardian didn't answer, and merely muttered something insulting before launching off to another cluster of Akuma, his Vongola weapons activated once more. Yamamoto and Ryohei wanted to tell him to stop, considering that he was injured, but Bookman came across them and pointed at the other Akuma that were still around. There was still half an army left to get rid of, and they had no time to heal themselves.
"We can't leave little Hibari by himself, can we?" the man teased. "Now, Ryohei, catch."
"Wha-"
The Sun Guardian nearly screamed when the innkeeper literally tossed Tsuna at him like a baseball, and he quickly caught the poor unconscious boy. He returned with a small glare, wondering if that man had any respect for other humans at all.
"Send him down to Reborn and the others," Bookman suggested to the boxer. "It won't do for us to be fighting with a load on our backs."
As much as Ryohei did want to pummel that man for hurting a friend of his, he had to comply. This was no time for petty scuffles.
"Gotcha!"
He hefted the limp form of his best friend and began bounding down to the ground, feeling Tsuna's heavy weight flop against his own back as he jumped down from each demon that was still fluttering under the sea of monsters above them. He took once glance back before speeding away down to the ground. Hopefully, Reborn and others were faring well with the muscles of the party fighting above.
"Now," Bookman looked at his only companion left and pointed at a large group of Akuma. "Why don't we take this side of the Akuma? They're quiet some easy ones, thankfully."
The Rain Guardian replied with a hesitant nod, and they flew towards the demons that strayed from Hibari into their own little group. Yamamoto went first, increasing the power of his flames to propel himself towards the demons. With Shigure Kintoki, he made a clean slice through one round ball of a demon, and a second slice through another. He swerved to the side to avoid the flying chunk of metal. However, he looked around, and grimaced at the sheer number. He could only eliminate a few at a time, and who knew how long that would take?
"Having some trouble?" The Bookman yelled, and only after a blink, the Rain Guardian could see the back of coarse jacket and a handful of scarves blowing into his face.
"Mr. Bookman!"
Yamamoto then noticed the lack of one short sword, and glanced back at the Bookman's hand. Why was it still activated when the man was holding onto it? Shouldn't it be unusable to anyone else but the wielder of the Vongola Rain Flames?
"How are you able to-"
"I know a lot of things, kid," Bookman grinned. "Step aside, kid."
The man held onto his Hammer, and let it sweep aside, creating a large gust of wind flying to the side. Two giant seals appeared before him, both of which Yamamoto couldn't really read, and the innkeeper swung his hammer forth, slamming the head of iron into the combined seal. Yamamoto could hear the redheaded man chanting under his breath as the force of the hammer began to build up thunderclouds and sparks.
"Konbo Ban: Gouraiten!"
Instantly, a whirlwind of fire swept across the army of Akuma, followed by a dragon, completely adorned with lightning and a tail of electricity. The newly-made creature flew about the sky, burning away a great miles radius of demons. When it ran out of its energy, it disintegrated away, and left the entire area almost barren.
The innkeeper looked back at the gaping Rain Guardian, and he gave a wide grin.
"What, did you think I was some little bookworm who owns tea shops?" he teased. A demon was approaching him from behind, and quickly, the man swung his large hammer around, bashing the demon on the side of the face so badly, it merely tore to pieces upon contact.
"That was very powerful," that was all Yamamoto could say in awe. He really had no point of laughing at it at all.
"Well, it's probably not as effective as your friend a while ago," Bookman grinned. "But really, how many can your friend take out? He was a hurricane just a while ago."
Yamamoto increased the flames in his short swords and held his longest in poise for another Akuma attack.
"I really don't know, Mr. Bookman. I really don't."
-*-awefiuoahw
The Vongola Tenth was running in the direction of aimless destinations, his head wildly turning to see anything else other than this mass of white clouds and pastel blue skies. Holding his hands out in front of him, he swatted uselessly against the clouds, under the precaution he didn't run into anything.
The fog eventually dissipated, and Tsuna found himself standing in the city of white. Every house had a different feel to them. One had a balcony, and another had two stories. One was actually a coffee shop, and the other was a town hall. The cobblestone path that snaked around the entire city was almost spotless, and the greenery that sat in porcelain white pottery was well-tended to.
However, there was not a single soul who took residence here, Tsuna noted. The doorknobs were virtually untouched, and the paths and roads were not even close to run down. No children's fingerprints were pressed against the windows that housed unpackaged toys, and no faint hums of the baker from the nearby coffee shop could be heard. Where were the bustling town and the cheerful flocks of people that should be strolling in these steps? Where were the children who marred the streets with chalk and played hopscotch? Where were the elderly who took refuge under the patios of their homes to witness the progressing of time? Where was everyone?
Tsuna heard a small shuffle behind him, and he literally jumped at the small interruption of silence. Miffed, he broke into a dash down the streets, disregarding who it could have been. He let his feet fly before him, and carried the rest of his body with him. The rest of his vision was white as he heard his own mouth scream in horror from the footsteps that seemed to follow after him.
A small bump in the road, and the boy toppled over his own two feet, his face hitting the pavement. Ignoring the searing pain in his forehead, he pushed himself up and watched the approaching figure of a man. Was he the one who has been following him?
The stranger was reasonably fast, though, as he was literally sprinting towards Tsuna in just a few seconds. By the time the man was in close proximity, Tsuna could see the silver locks of hair that he knew all too well.
"Gokudera…?"
The silver hair was not easy to miss, and neither were those uniform blazers that his school wore. There was no mistake. This was his Storm Guardian, Gokudera Hayato! His friend was here! He wasn't dead! He was here!
However, before Tsuna could take another step, a red hot arrow flew past his cheek. Gokudera was trying to move his lips but no sound came out. He couldn't speak. He was mute. Was the silver haired bomber trying to convey a message to him? But why does he want Tsuna to stay away?
"Gokudera!" he shouted, and continued to run forward despite his right hand man's warnings. He had to make one more side step to dodge the next arrow, and when he finally got to his friend, Tsuna grabbed a hold onto the arm that was drawing back an arrow. The Storm Guardian was horrified by Tsuna's nerve to not listen (not like a subordinate could order his boss around), and the husky voice finally broke through the surface.
"T-Tenth!" He sputted. "Don't come here! It's dangerous!"
Before he could say any more, Tsuna flung his arms around his lost friend, and both their eyes were watery from a short reunion. Gokudera gave his boss a reassuring pat on the back as the brunette continued to mutter incoherent things that bordered on "I thought you were dead," and "Thank goodness." He stopped his nonsensical ramblings when Gokudera pulled away from the hug.
"Gokudera?"
Tsuna watched as his friend looked sharply from where he had run, and both of them were taken aback by the premonition of bullets coming their way. Tsuna wanted to come forth and fend them off, but he was tossed over onto the sidewalk again.
A grunt of pain echoed in the empty city, and a small puddle of blood was forming from the dripping source. Tsuna was horrified by the satisfied expression on Gokudera's face. He was hurt, so why was he smiling! He was pulled back to reality as he heard shouts of "Run!"
"I'll be fine!" The silver haired bomber grinned, but Tsuna could tell with his intuition, the young man was lying through his teeth.
"But-"
"Leave him be." A mysterious voice coaxed Tsuna into suddenly relaxing. Another pair of footsteps was trailing him closely from behind. Just as Tsuna turned around, he saw white hair and the pale face of a young boy, a poker face of a smile drawn on his lips. His silver eyes were brilliant, and made the alarming feature of an irregular scar stand out: a star, followed by several lines running down the side of his face. All Tsuna could do was gape at the sudden appearance of this newcomer.
The strange boy held his arms in welcome to Gokudera, as if he hadn't seen the boy in such a long time. Gokudera was thoroughly miffed as he limped towards the boy, slightly grateful that he came. He muttered a small apology to the stranger before collapsing to the ground, unconscious. Tsuna wanted to crawl over to Gokudera and help him, but the piercing gaze of the strange albino boy made him stop entirely.
"You'll see him another time, but only once the hourglass is stopped and flipped over again," the boy mused to Tsuna, earning only a small gasp from the Vongola Tenth as he suddenly felt like he was falling down an endless abyss, and the hole to the surface was gradually getting smaller and smaller. Tsuna made a futile attempt to reach back, but numbness washed over his being and he saw and felt nothing.
-*-awoefhaw
"Chrome, take my hand!"
The purple haired girl thrust her hand forward, and Yamamoto caught it quickly. Lambo clung tightly to the girls' shoulders as she was pulled quickly up to the next ledge and followed after by Hibari, Ryohei with an unconscious Tsuna, Reborn, and Mr. Bookman with Fuuta in tow. Yamamoto kept his sword drawn as they ran around the hill onto a dirt-ridden track, occasionally looking back to see if the demons were getting any closer. The evening was making sight very difficult, it seems.
"Ambushed!" Mr. Bookman shouted, and by reflex, he slammed his hammer into the face of the nearest demon he could find. Reborn launched a barrage of shots at another one. There were at least four more, and Hibari went tearing through two of them.
Yamamoto went barreling forward with his sword in tow, but he had set his timing all too late when he looked up to see the barrel of a gun pointed at his face.
"Yamamoto!" Ryohei shouted, but his shouts were cut short when a dark figure ran past them and charged at the demon that was about let another barrage of bullets.
"Get the big one!" Someone shouted from behind. Their voice was not familiar to any of them, but it was eminent whose side they were taking.
The dark figure roared as he landed atop the head of the demon and plunged a sword right through its head. The demon screamed as Yamamoto savior ran the blade down the whole side of the demon's face, and landed before the Rain Guardian, his back shielding the teen from the explosion that followed.
The last was dealt with a large bear pouncing atop the monster, its jaws ripping and tear at the wires and organic material that was once the demon's head, and the Akuma fell down in a crumpled heap of metal. The bear came down from the hill of poisoned metal and approached its owner, a tall buff man with brown claw mark tattoos over his face. A third, still hooded, ran after the two fighters up ahead, a lantern in hand.
Everyone paused in fright at the newcomers, mostly Yamamoto. The stranger was wearing a hood, with silver trimmings, a silver crest emblazoned on his chest. He held out a hand to the Rain Guardian, who could only stare at the newest surprise that came his way today.
"More survivors?" The stranger spoke, a high voice of a teenager. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Ah," Mr. Bookman was relieved. "You made it on time. I thought I was a goner."
"You! Goner?" The young man pulled back his hood, revealing a mass of messy black hair and black beady eyes that could only be seen by the lanterns. However, Yamamoto was still surprised at the young man who pulled down his hood.
"Kensuke Mochida?!" [4]
"Hm?" The boy looked at him questioningly. "Yeah, that's my name. Does it mean anything to you?"
Before Yamamoto could ask anything more, the unfamiliar boy was approached by his friend.
"Lord Mochida!" The one with the lantern approached him. "I sense the approach of several more. We need to head back to the outpost. Lord Nigella and Lord Bookman are with the rest of the party already."
Mochida nodded while the lantern carrier dashed away. He quickly held out a hand to Yamamoto, who gazed questioningly at the offered help.
"What are you waiting for?" the boy asked impatiently. "We've got to run, unless you want to be behind?"
"S-sorry!"
The two Japanese teens were now sprinting down the road, all intent on catching up with everyone else. Even the boy with the lantern was so up ahead already. Yamamoto looked at Mochida, who was running with little sweat, sword strung across his back. Some reason, Yamamoto was sure this was not the Kensuke Mochida he knew. Was this some alternate universe?
"Dive!" Mochida commanded, and Yamamoto did so, and he found himself falling down a long way before hitting water. Caught off guard, he flailed in the deep for a moment before quickly stroking upward to the surface. He joined everyone at a lighted stone platform, who was breathing heavily from the unexpected drop. Even Lambo and Fuuta were completely unconscious from nearly drowning. Tsuna was still not awake, and the swordsman wondered how the boy managed to not wake up from hitting cold water. Much to Yamamoto's surprise, he could hear Ryohei raging at Mr. Bookman for putting the children at risk, but he was tired to listen very well.
"You okay, man?"
The Rain Guardian peered up at the unfamiliar face of Mochida. For once, the young man was not wearing a face of a delinquent, but one of a concerned soldier. All these changes were beginning to make Yamamoto confused.
"Fine." There came his curt reply, and Mochida merely nodded before approaching Mr. Bookman, who was in conversation with the newcomers.
"Lord Bookman [5]," The boy with the lantern spoke. He had pulled his hood down, revealing dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes. "You should have told us sooner."
"Well, no communication," The innkeeper shrugged. "My golem broke on the way back, and I had some people to bring back to the underground city."
"Well, nice to see you, captain," Mochida said wearily, and Bookman returned the salute the teen swordsman gave to him.
"Good to see you kids are in one piece," the redhead smiled. "I was wondering if any of you lost an arm yet, Kensuke."
"I'm not little anymore, old man!" The black haired teen said defensively. "See? I've gotten a few more inches before I beat you!"
"It's only been a year since you've seen us, captain," Nigella replied. "We've gotten better, too, so no injuries for the past few months."
"That's good," Bookman grinned at the three boys. "So, status?"
"We're not too far from Headquarters, actually," Mochida smiled slightly. "We didn't know you'd try to make an outpost out here. Now you've done it all, captain."
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Bookman nodded, his green eyes glinting as he looked back at the wreck that used to be his inn. "They were good folks, though."
Something small and fast whizzed right past his nose, and his mouth was left hanging open as he glanced sideways at a disgruntled hitman baby, his green and black gun poised at his head at a good distance.
"Hey," Reborn snapped, considering he was completely soaked and disgruntled. "Don't speak of us as if we're dead."
Mochida raised an eyebrow at the baby's ability to be such a good shot, let alone hold a gun properly, or speak. That was a baby, was it? Well, certainly, he had seen man-eating Akuma on a daily basis, so a gun-wielding baby shouldn't be so surprising.
"Good shot," Nigel whispered under his breath. The man was visibly more scared than everyone else in this cavern.
"Who are you, then?"
"I am the humble Bookman [6]," The man smiled. "Founder of the Neo Black Order. Or, co-founder, if you count everyone else."
-*-aweifuawh
The Earl had waited on striking the small city long enough, and by the end of his raid, there wasn't a single human being who could step out and call for help. If the town square was completely destroyed beyond recognition, the same could be said for the once prided Cathedral of Liverpool. The windows were all smashed, the bits of stained glass collecting into piles of dust on the pockmarked carpet. The pews were sliced and chopped into kindling, and the altar was cleanly dismantled.
Lavi hadn't cried so much for a long time. In fact, he hasn't really remembered crying at all for the past few years he's lived as a Bookman's apprentice, before he stepped foot into the Black Order. War was war, and there was no use in crying about it if atrocities happened all the time. But the Black Order was different when it all started because of Lenalee, Allen, and Kanda. He and Bookman were aware of their growing softness for the worst of a war, and it took their toll on them far too many times. Abstinence's rule was broken, and only one of them could stand now.
"A-Allen…" The redheaded exorcist muttered as he knelt down before the corpse of a dear friend they failed to save, his fists itching to punch the floor in frustration. Why hadn't they come faster? Why hadn't they decided to refuse a stay at that inn and waste one night? It was only a few precious seconds they had wasted, and had they come earlier, their mission would have been accomplished.
Lavi wasn't the only one crying, either. Tyki, who had accompanied him, was just the same. The loss of a supposed family member caused unintentional tears to spring from the Noah's eyes, as he stood beside the crouching Bookman in silence. They had been like this for an hour or so, ever since they heard the last explosion in the cathedral and the discovery of the remaining limbs of their acquaintance. It didn't take long for them to recognize who the single deceased was, and for some reason, they were expecting failure.
Soon Tyki finally decided to approach the corpse, earning a questioning gaze from his companion. They had already used up a lot of their time mourning, and now it was time to do something else.
"I'm burying the body," The Noah said quietly. "You can help once you're done washing your face."
"U-um… right…" Lavi nodded, and he watched as the man lift up what was left of a body into his arms. Tyki departed from the cathedral, the bloody limbs and body wrapped and folded under the sheet of torn curtains. A pale Lavi soon returned from the washbasin sitting out in the back of the. The two men then drowned in work, digging the hole, laying the remains, and burying it again. Their task concluded with a cross-shaped marker, entirely unmarked, with no name, date of death, or indication of status. This will be the grave of an unknown warrior who died far too soon.
Sunset was approaching, and the Exorcist and the Noah watched as the sky began to erode into a roof of red and purple clouds, those that resembled the world of a demon who had resurfaced to the world. Lavi noticed the thin line of Tyki's lips as the Noah gazed at the sky worriedly. He must have realized something.
"Adam is long gone, now that he is been consumed by madness himself," The dark skinned Noah mused. "It's really only the two of us."
He heard no response for a while, and he was nearly sure that the man had decided to cry himself mute until a croaking voice cracked the silence.
"No. You're wrong."
Tyki glanced at the redhead in question, eyebrows raised.
"There's still others," Lavi reasoned. "We could find them, and we could keep fighting. It's the best we can do."
"I doubt there's a single soul out there that's still alive, Bookman Junior," the Noah retorted, pulling the newsboy cap over his eyes. He didn't like being optimistic. It really wasn't his way of living. He always thought of the worst thing that could happen and never the best that could. He never considered chances, and he would never do that.
"There's still a possibility," Lavi shot back, with a small smile on his face. "I can find them very quickly, but only if I can get to that place."
"That place?" Tyki was even more skeptical. Now the Bookman Junior was saying things even he himself couldn't understand.
"It's hidden," The redheaded Exorcist explained. "Only those who belong to the Bookman Clan know where it is… well, only if they're certified."
"That excludes you," The Noah pointed out. "Doesn't it?"
"Well," Lavi laughed nervously. "The whole point was that I figure out where the place is myself… but I guess the old panda was in such a hurry to make sure I become the next Bookman now that he's passed on. I know the general location of the place, so we should hurry. If we get there, I might figure out how to counter these Akuma."
"Well, aren't you the rash one," The Booman apprentice's companion smiled. "Isn't it against the rules of the Bookman clan to be involved in courses of history?"
"Good question," the redhead shrugged. "But look at me now. I doubt there's any more history for me to record, now that nothing more is left. If not, I'm not the first one to break the code, from the looks of this."
"Oh, I see," Tyki then pointed out to the plains that were virtually devoid of demons and humans. "Then lead the way, Bookman Junior."
The Bookman apprentice couldn't help but agree, "To a new goal that we have set ourselves."
"Agreed," His companion nodded. "Let's go, deep into this new world of black and white." [7]
-*-aweiofahw
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Um, no this isn't going to be yaoi, or any intentional pairings. I really don't plan on pairing anyone officially. Even KyokoxTsuna isn't really true. Oh, and purple prose for the win (I fail at avoiding it).
[2] … I'm sorry Tyki is out of character… but what would someone feel if their entire family was wiped out? That wouldn't feel too good, would it? Also, I remembered that Noah cry when a family member dies, even when they don't want to (I really didn't understand it that well).
[3] Roll is the name of Hibari's Box Weapon: Cloud Hedgehog
[4] Mochida! I'm sure everyone remembers that guy!
[5] Basil still speaks in Keigo, but I'm minimalizing the use of Japanese in this story, so technically, Bookman-dono almost literally means Lord Bookman. Another meaning is master, but that doesn't really makes sense for me because Basil is not Lavi's apprentice.
[6] An official Bookman probably disposes of all the names he has from before and merely calls himself Bookman. I only assume it runs this way because Lavi's master was merely addressed as Bookman and nothing else, and they are part of the Bookman clan (I don't believe it's anything like a clan, but still). Anyways, there will be more guesswork regarding how Bookmen work (since a lot of the story will focus on Lavi becoming a fully-fledged Bookman while rebuilding the Order).
[7] This is ironic, because Lavi wasn't supposed to be too involved in the war. Oh, well. Too bad he's breaking every code of Bookman in here.
-*-aweifuawh
A/N: Hm… Yeah, I sorta offed Allen, too (you are free to kill me if you want to now). Also, I felt like breaking tradition and portraying the people who were jerks to Tsuna as people who are more… nicer. However, I can reassure you that Gokudera and a majority of the -Man cast won't be dead for the entire story, and yes, this story has a happy ending, with some bittersweet endings to it (for example, the villain is very unlikely and out of the blue). Just bear with me, please, despite the much trolling I will do with this story.