Welcome to chapter 10, lovely readers~ as always, thank you so much for all your support with this fanfic ^.^
Everyone in D Gray-man has problems, and some people worse than others~
D Gray-man belongs to Hoshino Katsura~
Broken Moonlight
Chapter 10: Arise
Neah's lips curled into a frown as he strolled over to the windowsill, eyeing the golem that was struggling against Timcanpy's teeth that were fastened securely into its wing. He stared at it quietly for a moment before carefully taking its free wing between his thumb and index finger.
"You can let go of it, Tim," he reassured, smiling at the golem whose teeth remained firmly lodged within the bat-like wing. After a few moments of remaining stationary, the creature reluctantly unhinged his jaw and released the black, one-eyed golem.
Trapping the man-made creature within his gloved and ungloved hands, Neah stared down at it, a faint air of curiosity wafting through his amber gaze. "I thought that your golems couldn't travel through the ark," he murmured, poking the lone eye of the creature quizzically. "How on earth did you make it?"
Timcanpy fluttered around his partially sealed hands, seemingly intent upon doing harm to the alien creature that had appeared uninvited in his owner's domain. The sight amused Neah, and he reached up with an ungloved hand to poke the golden golem's cheek. "It's all right," he assured, a slight chuckle leaving his throat. "It can't do much harm."
Turning back down to the golem, he smiled pleasantly, although the expression didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm sorry, Order. I can't let you have Allen back. I need him for now, and believe it or not, he needs me too. Please tell Kanda to hurry for me, will you? There really isn't much time left at all-"
He drifted off, pausing as a frown of thought crossed his features. Glancing over at Timcanpy, he smiled as the golem flew over to him and settled upon his shoulder, nuzzling his neck lightly. His gaze meandered back to the device.
"Sorry for all this inconvenience - I'll try and end it as soon as I can. As for Allen, don't hold any of this against him. It isn't his fault. I have a lot to say, including I still despise all you exorcists and your Innocence, but I can't let you gather more information on where I am right now, so I'll have to end there."
Compressing his hands, he allowed the struggling device within his grip to still, before setting it back upon the windowsill, disabled. Promptly, Timcanpy flew over to the sill and latched onto the golem's wing once again with his teeth. Neah could have sworn he had caught sight of a small tick of annoyance marring the yellows that gave the creature its distinct appearance.
Kneeling down to the level of the two golems, Neah smiled. "Would you mind showing me how the little thing managed to get into the ark?" he requested mildly.
Upon hearing his appeal, Timcanpy released the artificial creature's wing and opened his mouth. Neah watched, blinking it slight surprise and embarrassment as he spotted the device fly from Kanda's jacket and through the gate that he had opened to take his leave.
"...my bad," he sighed dryly as Timcanpy's mouth closed. The golem nodded in agreement, provoking Neah to poke his golden cheek and tug at it lightly. "Yes, I know, I should have been more alert," he agreed. "But they can't possibly have a very easy time trying to get through this ark either."
The golden cross-marked creature nibbled at his finger with serrated teeth, evoking a soft chuckle from his lips. "I hope they hurry and try, though. I don't want to keep my Mana waiting; I've left him for long enough." Timcanpy nodded in concurrence.
Neah smiled and cupped the golem in both of his hands, smiling as the creature settled into his hold comfortably, He laughed quietly. "It's probably not natural for a Noah to feel like that, right?" he ventured. "We're supposed to be controlled by the memories of Noah that we have."
Timcanpy nodded once again, nuzzling his hands with the movement. A sigh elicited from his umber lips. "It has to stop somehow," he stated, his eyes drifting over to the unserviceable golem that laid limp upon the windowsill. "It's ruined too many lives."
The golem took flight from his seat within Neah's hands to press close to the Noah's chest. Shifting to hold him with one hand, Neah forged a counterfeit smile. "The more you live, the less you want to die, right, Tim?" he articulated.
The pressure that pressed against the chest of the Noah of destruction increased slightly as Timcanpy attempted to move closer to him. Neah sighed and knelt on the floor before the windowsill, holding the golden-yellow creature carefully so as not to hurt him.
"It doesn't seem like there's much choice though," he breathed. His amber eyes darkened slightly, but still managed to flash brightly in the recesses of his room. "I will destroy everything this time, Tim," he stated with a calm intensity. "I won't fail this time. I'll destroy everything."
Despite the gravity of his words, Timcanpy did not move away from where he was situated between Neah's hand and chest. The Noah's grip around him tightened somewhat, but he remained still within the grip of the white-haired male.
"Will you remember all of this, Tim?" he questioned mildly, not wishing to disrupt the tranquil ambience that endured within the confines of his room. "When it's all over?"
He felt the slight shift within his grip as the golem nodded against his chest. He smiled and gently rubbed Timcanpy between the small golden horns that protruded from his crown with his thumb. "That's nice…although if you didn't want to, you don't have to." In response, he could only see the shaking of disagreement proceed from the body of the creature.
"Don't get yourself hurt, all right?" he commanded, not unkindly. "I'm sure Allen would be sad if you did. I would be too." Shifting, he moved the creature onto his shoulder and allowed him to settle comfortably upon himself. Timcanpy's minuscule legs clung firmly through his shirt and to his shoulder.
Neah chuckled and glanced over at the device that lay on the windowsill, no longer fit for any use. Reaching over to it, he grasped it in his hand, staring carefully at it. His eyes drifted over to Timcanpy, and he tilted his head slightly.
"Is this Kanda's golem?" he inquired. In response, the creature perched upon his shoulder nodded. He frowned slightly. The device had been partially crushed when he had compressed it to disable it. He frowned. Even if the Order issued golems at their leisure, they were more than machines to him.
He would be heartbroken if he had lost Timcanpy only for the golem to be replaced by something else. He wondered if that was the case for Kanda. Considering his volatile personality, Neah doubted it, but he still felt obligated to fix the destruction he had caused.
Clasping the creature between his two hands, he murmured over it before opening his digits to free the creature that flew from his grip to land upon the window, Neah laughed slightly at the feeling of Timcanpy tensing and dashing forward to entrap its wing in his teeth once more.
"It's harmless, Tim," he persuaded. "The Order won't be able to track it any more." Even with his guarantee, the golden golem seemed reluctant to release the wing of the one-eyed creature who struggled against him in attempts to escape.
Reaching out, Neah carefully extricated Timcanpy's teeth from the black creature's wing, amusement shining in his amber gaze. "Are you jealous, Tim?" he teased, poking the creature in the centre of his cross fleury. In response, Timcanpy hopped over to the corner of the windowsill, pointedly turned away from him.
A louder laugh escaped Neah's throat at the sight. "Don't worry, Tim. I'd never replace you," he attempted to convince. At his words, the golem slowly turned to face him again. Neah grinned faintly. "I promise," he assured.
Before the word was even completed, the gold-yellow spherical golem dashed towards him, pressing close to his chest again. Releasing the one-eyed creature and allowing it to settle on the windowsill, he hugged Timcanpy to his chest in amusement.
"You're such a child, Tim," he guyed good-naturedly. "Just because I look away from you doesn't mean I've stopped caring about you." He laughed slightly as the golem tugged at his shirt with serrated teeth. Rubbing the pads of his fingers against Timcanpy's head, he allowed the creature to remain close to him.
His gaze drifted back to the black Order-issued golem that stared unblinking at him. He watched it carefully for a few silent moments before reaching out for it with one hand and scooping it into a loose grip. "And you'll have to stay for a little longer," he informed warmheartedly. "I'll see that you get back to Kanda though." He could not even provoke a movement from the creature who seemed as still as a statue in his hand.
Perhaps it was because the creature held no attachment whatsoever to him. After all, it was most likely the first time it possessed a personality, considering its previous identity as a mechanism under the rule of the Black Order. He sat it back upon the window and stood up, still holding Timcanpy to his chest with one hand.
"I hope you'll stay with Kanda when you meet him again. It's not very nice to leave your owner if he doesn't tell you to," the Noah admonished, not unkindly.
He turned his back to the creature and began to walk for the birch door of his room. "But for now, just stay here. You'll hurt yourself if you try and leave the ark, and then even I won't be able to do anything about it."
Laying a gloved hand upon the door, he pushed it open and left the room. Stepping through the halls in silence, he loosened his grip around Timcanpy, allowing the golem to fly up and alight upon his shoulder. His gaze scanned the halls carefully to make certain that no other Noah were present.
He was disinclined to face the other Noah after what had occurred earlier that day, assuming them to be warily hostile around him even now. His features remained neutral as he traversed the length of the hall, passing many closed doors.
A moment of reluctance slipped into his golden gaze as it darkened visibly upon reaching the end of the hall. Lifting his hand, he set it on the handle of the door without bothering to even knock. Twisting the handle abruptly, he pushed the door open.
He winced in displeasure at the creaking of the hinges and stepped into the room, allowing the door to swing shut behind him. Striding further into the room, he made his way towards the bed that rested within the centre of it. His eyes narrowed slightly.
Much to his relief, the figure upon the bed was still fast asleep. Soundlessly, he slipped closer to the man and sat himself upon the edge of the bed. His amber gaze surveyed the sight of the slumbering figure before him darkly, his hands gradually creating the images of fists. Timcanpy hopped down from his shoulder to settle before him on the sheets, facing the Earl.
His hand reached towards the man and almost closed around his neck, but Neah managed to resist the urge to strangulate the sleeping Duke Millennium. Drawing his hand back, he stared at the features that he could only describe as hideous.
The aura surrounding his body hinted bitterness as he gazed unspeaking at the form that laid vulnerable before him. His eyes lidded themselves partially as he attempted to cloak the thirst for vengeance that gathered within his chest, suddenly causing the task of breathing to be much more difficult than it ought to be.
"I hate you," he whispered softly, his words carrying all the malice from his very soul to his tongue and out his lips. His white tresses shadowing the dark complexion of his face. Reaching forward, his hand ran gently along the cheek of the Millennium Earl, careful to not awaken him. "I hate you more than I hate exorcists and Innocence."
His voice dripped liberally with animosity despite the softness of his tone. His fingers twitched vaguely and he combated the rising compulsion to drag his nails down the Earl's face and disfigure it far more than it had already been disfigured.
How it was that he could abhor a person to such an intolerable extent, he wasn't certain. All he knew was that this man was someone who he desperately needed to slaughter. His jaw tightened as he drew his hand back from the Earl's face, his head hanging and his hair falling over his shoulder, nearly brushing the sheets.
"I hate you so much, it hurts… I want to kill you," he hissed softly. "I will not leave this body until I kill you," he continued, his voice aching with bitterness. "I will never forgive you for what you did to Mana. Never…" The words were neither a lie, nor an exaggeration. His body borderline ached with the indomitable urge to utterly slaughter the man.
His head hung so low that it nearly made contact with the sheets spread across the article of furniture. His body shook vehemently as he suppressed the utter rage and loathing that he held for the man who slept so peacefully before him. It was strange, he realized. His response with merely being in the Earl's presence was exceptionally violent.
When he had reunited with the Earl, his bloodlust had been powerful, but the sudden growth of it shocked even he himself. It was becoming more difficult to hold his composure around the man when all he wished was to dye the ground with the man's blood. The vision had become so intoxicating, his body was grappling with itself to the best of its ability to repress his innate fixation with eliminating the Earl.
How he could experience such a bloodthirsty desire against one of his own, he didn't know. It couldn't be natural for a Noah to turn on their own family. And yet, the rancor had somehow limited itself solely to the Earl. A strangled exhale elicited from his lips as he remained bowed at the Earl's side.
His passions raged within him so violently, he was beginning to fight tears from spilling out of Allen's unfortunately weak tear ducts. His nails dug harshly into his hands causing his skin to break and blood to pool from the lacerations.
At the sight of his owner, Timcanpy could only pad close to Neah's head of pristine white hair and nuzzle it in an attempt at comforting the Noah.
An enraged sob tore itself from Neah's throat as he gripped the sheets rigidly, staining the muted neutral colours in crimson red from the open wounds upon his hands that his nails had caused. His eyes squeezed shut with a vengeance, but could not prevent the hot beads of water from spilling down his umber face.
Gritting his teeth tightly to hinder his throat from causing unwanted noise, he attempted to force down the sobs of unadulterated fury and enmity against the man that lay before him. The dull pain pulsated at every inch of his body relentlessly, his instincts screaming at him to put an end to the Earl, but he could not bring himself to.
To move out of turn was disastrous, and Neah could not permit himself to fulfil his desire despite the fact that the sleeping man was susceptible to any attack at any given moment. Another strangled sob extracted itself from Neah's throat as he remained prostrate at the edge of the bed by the Earl's side.
Much to his chagrin, his presence had finally roused the Millennium Earl into wakefulness, and yet, his body could not settle itself into a countenance of self-possession. He was repulsed by the arms that wrapped around his slender body, lifting it from where it lay at the bedside.
"Why are you crying, Neah? Don't cry," that distasteful voice called out to him.
His amber eyes, reddened by tears stared at him with animus that he attempted to hide. Watching himself, he pushed the Earl away from his form, swiping a gloved hand over his eyes and staring downwards, namely at Timcanpy to hide his wrathful visage from the man.
"I'm fine, he responded with an unusual sharpness. He needed to leave. Promise to spend time with the Earl or not, he could not enable himself to endure the man's presence for much longer. Sliding off the bed, he started for the door, not looking at the Millennium Earl. "I'll see you later," he muttered under his breath, quickly leaving the room.
His hand reached up to his head as he hide his face from sight. That performance was loathsome to the core and disgusted him. He wasn't certain of just how much more he would be able to endure before he bluntly snapped.
Feeling a weight press against his cheek, he lowered his hand to sight Timcanpy nuzzling his cheek worriedly. He smiled unconvincingly and wrapped his hands around the golem, holding him gently to his chest. "I'm all right, Tim," he attempted to say, his voice cracking mid-sentence.
He winced at the sound, his faux smile dissipating within seconds of having been fabricated. His gaze drifted down to Timcanpy, who nuzzled against him once again in attempts to console his raging soul that refused to give him quarter once stirred up.
"That wasn't very pleasant, was it?" Neah rasped, a humourless chuckle passing his lips as he began to stroll down the hall, headed back for his room. His grip around the golem tightened slightly, but Timcanpy made no complaint.
The sound of erratic footsteps rang throughout the eerily silent hall, none of the other Noah present to witness the delicate state of the 14th Noah as he leaned against the wall tiredly in his excursion back to his quarters of the ark.
Allen winced. The chains that bound him almost burned causing the self-induced welt on his skin to only grow redder. He undoubtedly was not doing himself any favour by struggling to escape from the gilt prison that was the chain-swathed throne he sat upon.
How long it had been since he had last spoken with Neah, he didn't know, but he couldn't bring himself to mull over such a banal matter; not when there were other more pressing matters at hand that needed to be dealt with promptly.
Physical strength would do nothing, he had discovered, after exerting himself on multiple occasions for the purpose of at least loosening the binds that constricted his body, restraining him from almost any movement. It was almost as though the more he struggled, the more inextricably entangled he found himself.
Allowing his body to slacken in resignation, he surveyed the barren land around himself. There had to be some way to solve the oblique situation. He sighed.
He wondered just what Neah was up to in his body. No doubt his fellow exorcists had developed animosity against him due to the awakened presence of the 14th Noah in his body. Especially Kanda. His lips curled into a faint smile of amusement.
Kanda would probably be all for the unusual turn of the situation, merely so he could have an excuse to hurt him. The thought, regardless of how amused he felt due to it, pained him somewhat.
He had sent the raven away with the hope that he would finally be at peace. It was the least he could do for the dark-haired exorcist. After all, Kanda had suffered so much heartbreak under the Order because of his selfless and indirectly subservient nature. If not more, Allen wished to grant the second exorcist his own desires.
However, Kanda had turned the purpose of the execution on its head and returned to the slave-driving Black Order. Allen couldn't fight the slight feeling of betrayal that crept into his chest. He had become aware that Kanda was the character that would not betray his loyalties, but Allen had assumed his loyalties laid only with his first friend and lover.
Now that Kanda had reassumed his position as an exorcist, the white-haired teen felt strangely hollow. Perhaps he had always experienced that strange emptiness, but for the life of him, he could not pinpoint its source. He frowned.
If only the long-haired exorcist could learn how to be selfish for once! His frown transitioned into a faint scowl. He had freed Kanda only for the male to imprison himself once again. The situation was so ironic, he could laugh.
His lips parted, but no sound elicited from them. The very thought of the dark-haired male caused a dull throb to pulse at his chest. It was bizarre. He could not claim to completely hate Kanda, and yet, for some strange reason, part of him wished that the second exorcist had followed Alma into the realm of eternal slumber.
Even those thought were contradicted by his mind. A pang squeezed at his chest as he imagined just how it would have been if Kanda had not returned. Perhaps then the raven would have finally been able to smile with Alma once again; even that thought caused a tinge of resentment to sneak into Allen's heart.
He found Kanda's mind to be inconceivable, but his thoughts concerning the long-haired male were equally perplexing. A sigh passed his lips. Maybe he was just hungry. He hadn't eaten in how long, and he doubted Neah was eating enough to suffice his appetite.
Dryly, he tugged at the chains again, a soft grumble passing his lips. That settled it. He needed to get out of here and find something to eat before he starved to death.
Allen is always a slave to his stomach. Even if he's thinking about Kanda.