Hello once again, wonderful readers~ I'm sorry - this chapter falls way short of my expectations -.- It's terrible *sigh* Involves a lot of interaction with the characters~

A shout-out to the wonderful jy24 and 16code for their reviews~ especially to jy24 for all their encouraging words that really make me think and motivate me to write ^.^ I'm really glad that I can hear your thoughts - it sometimes makes me think about things I wouldn't have without being prompted to.

D Gray-man belongs to Hoshino Katsura~

Broken Moonlight

Chapter 6: Revelation

Amber eyes fluttered over to the trinity of exorcists, drifting over them for a few short moments before resting upon the one that had uttered the contemptible alias. Neah's expression remained unreadable as he stared, almost transfixed by the shocked stare of the second exorcist.

The plethora of bewildered emotions that surged over his body caused a wince to leave his figure. Sitting up carefully, he rubbed at his head. His previously white shirt was now near thoroughly dyed with blood, leaving him feeling somewhat light headed and lethargic.

"It would be best for us to leave," Tyki murmured under his breath, watching the white-haired boy push himself to his feet.

Neah ignored him, his gaze still fixed upon Kanda, who seemed frozen in his state of unexpected disquiet. Testing his footing, he staggered over to the older male. Neither of the three moved, merely following him with their gazes as if they didn't dare make any movement.

Standing a rough foot away from Kanda, he regarded the taller male with a blank gaze. In turn, the raven stared back with a matching indecipherable expression painted upon his immaculate features.

It was not often that Allen's gaze lacked antipathy when it met Kanda's, but that was the case this time, much to the astonishment of both Lenalee and Lavi. Then again, that golden gaze and dark skin was not characteristic to Allen; it was only unmistakably not Allen that stood before them.

"You…" the somewhat raspy word left Kanda's lips as his eyes narrowed subtly.

"Me," Neah agreed, his tone neither hostile, nor pleasant. The slight tilt of his head caused his white hair to cascade over his shoulder as he fixated Kanda within his gaze. Reaching up, he gently took the exorcist's head in both hands, holding him there as a faint frown of puzzlement crossed his ashy lips.

Whatever voices screamed furiously at Kanda to pull away and attempt to do harm to the Noah that had the audacity to touch him, but he found that he could not move, practically spellbound by the horrific evidence of Allen's nonexistence staring him quite literally in the eyes.

Neah tilted Kanda's head slightly in his hands, his gaze not leaving the long-haired male's eyes. After a few moments of silence, he lowered his hands with a mild sigh.

"I'm grateful that you've returned," he finally stated peaceably. "I think that I can trace a few of my problems to you, though," he added as an honest afterthought. His hand lifted itself once again to run umber knuckles over Kanda's jaw, his amber eyes glued onto dark orbs.

"Come to terms with yourself before you lose another," he advised enigmatically. His hand dropped back to his side and he shifted away from the exorcists. "They say that you've been constantly running after something, but it's always been there, right? And now it's slipping out of your grasp."

Turning, he slowly made his way back to Tyki, a slow exhale leaving his lips. "You had many chances before, but now you have only one left. Decide what you must do and follow through with it."

As he stepped somewhat unsteadily over to the taller Noah, Timcanpy alighted on his shoulder and opened his mouth to reveal the shard of Innocence upon his tongue. Delicately taking the substance between his thumb and index finger, he stared at it, a wave of disgust flowing over his body. Without a second thought, he crushed it within his palm, a sharp light radiating from his clenched fist.

Not bothering to see the expressions of distress masking two faces and the narrow-eyed gaze of the last, he summoned the gate of the Black Ark. Motioning for Tyki to enter first, he paused for a brief moment.

"Hurry, Kanda. Time is running out," he urged before stepping through the gate and disappearing before they had the chance to capture him. In his state, there was next to no doubt that he could not fend off all three of them at once.

Breathing out a faint groan, he allowed his legs to buckle beneath him as he pressurized his side, which had yet to stop bleeding. Kanda had been aiming to kill - that was indubitable. In this body, Neah had no hope of withstanding the attack, had it been truly directed at him.

"You shouldn't have troubled yourself to follow me," Tyki admonished once again, slinging his right arm over his shoulders and carefully wrapping an arm around his waist. Neah winced and smiled.

"You shouldn't have left without me," he responded simply.

"I had my reasons," the taller of the two responded succinctly. "I'm certain you're aware of what they were."

"Unfortunately," the white-haired Noah responded wryly. "I may have spoken too much back there."

"You do realize that I haven't decided to trust you yet, no?"

"I know." The two fell into an abrupt silence, not meeting each other's gazes.

Neah had not paid much attention to where they were headed, merely allowing Tyki to lead him wherever. It was not as though he was in any position to retaliate. His eyes were glazed over in thought as he pondered upon what the long-haired exorcist had taken from his words.

He was, however, completely certain that he would once again face Kanda, although under what circumstances, he had yet to discover.

"Allen!" The distressed cry pulled him forcibly from his thoughts, and he found his neck dragged down by the weight of the sudden arms that were thrown about his neck. His eyes met those of Road who stared at him, visibly upset.

"What happened, Allen? You're hurt! Go to your room - I'll go get bandages…" she prattled before running off. Glancing up at Tyki, he found the taller male's elegant features adorned with vague amusement.

He was then led towards his room and laid down upon his bed. Tyki moved over to the wall of the dark room, opting to sit on a chair that furnished the sparsely decorated room. Turning to observe him, Neah found the older Noah to be attempting the same.

"It's perplexing," the taller male suddenly spoke. "The little that we know of you does not add up to your persona."

"A person has three faces, Tyki," Neah responded patently. "The first is for the public eye to behold, and often not representative of the true personality. The second is for family and friends, and shines with a more true light. The third is the one that only one person will ever completely unveil." To that, Tyki had no response.

Neah's head turned once again, his eyes staring up at the dim ceiling. It took him a few minutes to regulate the many thoughts that whirred through his mind into an understandable order. His own words tended to confuse him more often than not, primarily due to the fact that he did not fully understand himself. What of himself he was conscious of tended to bear negative connotation.

The door to his room was abruptly thrown open, causing his gaze to fly over to the short figure standing just outside of it. Road's hands gripped a bowl of water, a cloth, and bandages. She immediately stepped over to him and set her materials down beside him on the bed.

Untying his shirt from his body, he flung it distastefully towards Tyki, who caught it and allowed it to drop to the floor. She frowned at the sight of the coagulating blood that took the appearance of an eight-petaled flower upon his torso.

Dipping the cloth into the water, she began to clean the wound, causing a faint hiss to elicit from Neah's umber lips. Her frown deepened. "How did this happen? Who did this?" Her gaze darkened. "I'll find the person that did this…"

"There really is no need to do that," Neah quickly interjected, a strained smile directed her way. "It's my fault this happened."

"Actually, I believe it was mine," Tyki called from where he spectated the scene.

"It's mine," Neah insisted, glancing over in his general direction. "But I don't regret it." The taller man frowned, but did not respond to his words.

Road watched the exchange curiously as she proceeded to lay aside the bloodied cloth and begin to bandage Neah's abdomen. Almost playfully, she tugged sharply at the bandages, causing a sharp gasp to leave Neah's lips as he winced. She giggled slightly.

"That's what you get for going and hurting yourself, Allen," she informed before securing the bandages with a knot.

Sitting upright, he watched her ruefully. "So I get more pain because of my pain?" he ventured. She nodded.

"Basically."

"Lovely." He raised his gaze imploringly to the ceiling. "I'll try my best to not get injured again, then."

"Good," she responded, pushing herself up onto the edge of the bed.

"We did succeed in destroying the innocence," Tyki stated. Road cocked her head slightly, spiky hair poking at her shoulder.

"But obviously you ran into some trouble," she countered.

"In the form of Allen's friends," Neah clarified. The older girl grew glassy-eyed in thought a frown present on her lips.

"You mean they're the ones that hurt you?"

"Well….not….exactly….?" Neah offered. She frowned.

"He protected me," Tyki finally admitted with a sigh. "That was meant for me."

Golden eyes drifted from one to the other. She sighed and tipped over so that her head rested on Neah's lap. Her arms encircled his waist and she sighed. "Boys will be boys - stop getting yourselves hurt, seriously," she sighed.

"My apologies," the Noah of pleasure responded with a noncommittal shrug.

Neah ruffled her hair fondly and smiled somewhat distantly. "I'll try," he promised. A short silence progressed after he had spoken as Road watched him intently for a few moments.

"How...is he?"she finally questioned tentatively. He blinked and stared down at her, tilting his head slightly. Her eyes remained trained expectantly on him.

"What do you me-"

"You know what I mean."

Neah raked dark fingers through his hair a slight frown present upon his lips. "I don't know," he admitted. "He's there, but I don't know for how long…"

"And just what is it that you intend to do?" Tyki ventured, his arms crossed over his chest. "The way you speak of him makes it seem as though you care, and yet you take control of his body." The skepticism was vaguely present in his tone.

"I have my own work to finish," Neah responded simply. "And now is as good as a time as ever since he's in no position to regain control of his body."

"Is he hurt?" Road inquired worriedly, pushing against his legs with the palms of her hands to lever herself up slightly. Her voice was audibly dismayed.

"He's fine," Neah assured calmly. "He's trying to regain his control, but I don't know if he'll be able to do it in time…"

"What do you mean?" she interjected with a prominent frown. "He won't disappear just like that. He can't!"

"Of course he won't," Neah concurred. "I don't intend for that to happen."

"Then pray tell what you do intend," Tyki interpolated. Neah smiled apologetically at him.

"Sorry, but that's for me to know," he responded with a slight shrug. "It's just….there's something I must do."

"Such as?"

"I'm sure you're in a position to stop me if I do anything reckless, so I'll let you find out on your own."

"I'd still choose Allen over you!" Road inserted needlessly. Amber eyes drifted over to her, a smile present within them.

"Don't worry," he assured, but refused to elaborate as to what he wished to convey in that simple pair of words.

The room fell into a languorous silence once again as words were either left unsaid or escaped the minds of the three that occupied it.

Road's arms had somehow managed to wrap around Neah's waist while Tyki watched the two with a faint hint of calculation in his gaze. This did not go unheeded by the fourteenth Noah, but was not mentioned either.

The silence lasted much longer than previously as neither of the three spoke a word. The atmosphere was unbearably heavy to Neah, but his fellow Noah did not seem to be bothered by the fact. Perhaps it was just him; he would not be surprised. After all, his mentality was unique for a Noah, and not necessarily in a good way either.

"Neah! Oh, Neah, I heard you were injured! Are you all right, Neah?" The sound of a familiar voice which caused the white-haired Noah to tense filled the room long before the Millennium Earl ran into the room, clownish garb discarded leaving his human form stark for all to see.

A smile curled onto Neah's lips as the smallest hint of madness crept into his amber eyes. Gently, he pried Road off himself as a new pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders. His eyes met those of the Earl and he laughed.

"I'm fine, Mana," he responded, stressing the name with an almost sinister subtlety. "Don't worry over me; I'll heal." The unkempt appearance of the Earl repulsed him somewhat. This...this

had destroyed Mana's beautiful visage to replace it with this hideousness. He couldn't even recall his own identity.

"I think you should worry more for yourself," he added, with a manic grin, his urge to do harm to someone rising rapidly. However, being well disciplined, he hid his bloodlust well enough for it to only be hinted in his gaze.

"Thank goodness you're all right - I don't know what I'd do if you left again…"

Pathetic. The man seemed to be forgetting that he was the one that had ended Neah's life. Neah chuckled, a microscopic hint of bitterness in the sound.

"I love you, Mana - I'd never leave you," he responded. He couldn't abandon this because Mana was still there. Within this grotesque shell was the last remains of his beloved twin.

His arms reached up to wrap around the Earl's shoulder blades, disguising his movement well enough so that neither Road nor Tyki would catch sight of the fact that his fingernails were digging savagely into the man's flesh. Considering the man's reaction, it didn't seem as though he had noticed either.

"I'm glad you've returned," the Millennium Earl muttered softly. "I'm so glad…"

"I'm glad too," Neah responded. Whether anyone caught the insinuation of threat laced within his words, he didn't know. What he did know was that if he had to tolerate this for much longer, it would drive him mad. He loathed this man; more so than Noah and Innocence combined.

"Millennie, get off Allen!" Road groused with a pout, her own slender arms snaking carefully around Neah's waist. Finding himself sandwiched between the Earl and the Noah of dreams, Neah cast a glance at Tyki, his gaze pleading silently for aid in his predicament.

As their eyes met, he realized that it was hopeless to request help from the taller Noah, or so the amused smirk upon his dark features stated. Neah bit his inner lip and glanced up at the Millennium Earl, who did not seem intent on releasing him.

"I need to hold my dear Neah," the Earl argued, staring down at Road. "I love you too, Road, but Neah needs me." Neah could have gagged, but he hid his disgust well.

Road pouted and tightened her grip slightly, causing him to wince. "I love him more!" she argued.

With a sigh, he gently pushed the two of them away from his being, digging his nails into the Earl's arm. "Yes, but I need my rest, and I doubt I can get any with you two clinging to me," he countered. Road pouted and sat a small distance away from him.

He smiled once again at the Earl. "Would you leave me for a bit? I promise I'll spend some time with you later."

"You will?" Neah was revolted by the childishness of the grown man, but nevertheless maintained his pleasant smile.

"I will," he repeated.

With that, he managed to rid himself of that Earl that incensed him to no end. As the door was shut, a long sigh drew itself from his lips. Wiping off his body with faint disgust, he rubbed his hands on his sheets as if trying to rid himself of the contamination that had befallen him courtesy of the Earl's touch.

"You don't seem to like Duke Millennium very much," Tyki stated.

Neah stared at him, his eyes uncharacteristically deadpan. "I hadn't noticed," he responded sarcastically before smiling faintly. "Sorry - it's like how you feel about me. You can't really trust the person that killed you."

"That, I can understand," Tyki responded with a shrug. "Although his abnormal attachment to you is rather unsettling."

Neah winced. "Agreed."

"Did you lie to him?" Road suddenly butted in staring up at Neah. The Noah of destruction chuckled sheepishly.

"Maybe about ninety-eight percent?" he offered "I did lie when I said that I needed rest."

Road's arms encircled Neah's waist once again. "Great; that means I don't have to leave!"

"Why are you still so attached to him even though he isn't Allen?" Tyki broke in, seeming genuinely curious. Road poked her tongue out at him and prodded Neah's arm.

"Allen's still in here somewhere and I at least want him to hear me," she replied in a matter-of-fact manner, as though the answer should have been obvious.

Neah smiled. "Maybe he can hear you. Maybe that will make him realize things that he didn't know before."

Allen groaned tiredly and pulled at the chains once again. Why was it that he could not escape? This place only existed within his mind after all. He should have authority over it. Yet, he could not budge even a single link, much less activate his innocence.

Neah's enigmatic words drifted into his mind once again. He had bound himself? What was that supposed to imply? He had no intention of relinquishing his power of the manipulation of his body to the Noah, and yet, somehow, it had occurred.

The pale skin of his arm was beginning to redden under the pressure that was being exerted upon it. His breath left his lips in light pants as he tugged stubbornly once again. A faint hiss of pain passed his lips as the movement only served to worsen the welts on his being.

He couldn't allow a Noah to control his body; who knew what destruction would unravel in due time. Neah was the Noah of destruction, even if his actions towards Allen himself were infused with nothing but apparent kindness.

The chains seemed to tighten around his being the more he struggled, and now, he would go as far as to state that they were beginning to constrict him. He gritted his teeth. If he ever escaped this predicament, he doubted that BaKanda would ever let him hear the end of it.

His frown had begun to allude to a smile at the thought. When he freed himself from these strangulating chains, he would eat. Then he would fool around with Lavi and Lenalee and earn himself Kanda's annoyance. He'd argue with the long-haired exorcist for a while before stomping off somewhere in a fit of anger to cool himself off.

The thought sent an ache through his chest. There was a small chance that he'd fail to make it out of this place, and were that to happen, he would disappear. He'd disappear and no one would be aware of it.

Resuming his struggling with a newfound passion, he frowned. He wouldn't let that happen. He couldn't afford to. He needed to return.

Thank you all for reading this chapter despite its lack of quality...I'm sorry - I promised I'd do better but that didn't work out too well -.- I'll see what I can do for the next chapter.