So Tyki hasn't fallen in love yet. Of course not! Allen is still just a baby!
Chapter 20
Unexpected Disclosures
General Cross sat at his desk, Timcampy resting in his hand. His eyes smoldered behind his glasses. They burned with an unidentifiable emotion that he could not care to acknowledge. Without regret the man ignored the sirens' call coming from beneath the floorboards. Voluptuous women's laughter. The pop of a fresh bottle of wine being opened. The scent of a heavy gambler lighting his cigar. There were more important matters on this man's mind.
It had been almost six months since he had discovered Allen missing, and the signs of a violent struggle: broken glass, tables, blood spatters across every surface. The blood itself was no shock, but the fact there was far too much for it to have been an Akuma was. No, the boy would never allow himself to lose that much blood from a mere Akuma attack. Something else had attacked him. Something far more vicious and powerful. General Cross had suspected it was the Noah. Timcampy's recordings only confirmed that.
The red-haired man lifted up his golemn. "I think it's time we pay a visit to the Black Order Tim. They were supposed to find the brat, yet they haven't said anything except that Yeager died."
Things had been cast in motion. Even Cross was unsure of how he was supposed to act, how much he should cooperate with the Order.
Which pulled the General's predicament back to attention. He was impatient, worried even, for the return of his apprentice. He had a pen and paper on his desk before him, ready for the letter he was about to send to the Black Order. How much should he tell them about the Noah? Would he say anything about the Fourteenth, or his animosity with the other Noahs? Should any of that be mentioned at all? Cross very much doubted that the Millennium Earl knew about Neah's host. The first apostle probably only knew that Allen's adoptive father was Neah's relative and merely thought that Mana Walker had been a carrier of the wall.
A sudden thought occurred to General Cross. He sincerely hoped that Allen wasn't the Heart. Only his apprentice could be moronic enough to become the host of the Fourteenth Noah and the Innocence's Heart.
Cross shook the idea from his mind and picked up the pen. He had the perfect thing to write.
::+::+::+: ϒ :+::+::+::
Komui looked over Lenalee's report calmly. His eyebrow twitched repeatedly. Finally, the European Branch Chief lifted his gaze up to pin the Japanese Exorcist with a glare.
"You incapacitated eight Finders without valid reason," he said blandly. Kanda crossed his arms and scowled.
"They were in my way, sniveling and cowering because of an Akuma," he growled. The Chinese man pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You can't keep doing this, Kanda," he said in exasperation. "The Finders are your comrades. Your allies."
The youth rolled his eyes. "And I treat them as such. Until they get in my way."
The door to the office opened, allowing a girl of about thirteen to enter. Neither male was surprised to see her, for Lenalee often came to visit her brother. Usually with a cup of coffee.
"Komui, I have a letter for you," she announced as she set the cup down and handed over the epistle. She was unsurprised to see the beginnings of a headache in her brother's face.
"Who is it from?" he wanted to know, looking over the envelope. There was no return address. Only the address to the Black Order and Komui. "It doesn't say."
The sound of tearing paper ripped through the hair. Kanda and Lenalee watched as the man read over the letter's contents. His expression changed from being too tired to becoming astounded.
"What is it? Who is it from?" Lenalee asked. The Branch Head scanned over the letter again before setting it down.
"It's from General Cross," he finally replied. "He will be coming here to review our report and whatever information we have on Allen Walker. He is not pleased by the fact that we have told him nothing about our search for his apprentice. Apparently Timcampy has returned to him, with information about what has happened to Walker. He will be joining your search, Kanda."
Kanda remained impassive. Lenalee did not.
"Nii-san," she began uncertainly. "Is it possible for Allen to become a Fallen One?"
"It isn't impossible," Komui admitted. The girl looked away, shuddering. She remembered the boy that had Fallen. But she never learned what had happened to him.
"General Cross...he's never been concerned about an apprentice before," said Lenalee. She was hesitant to change the subject. "I don't want to see him should he find Allen..."
Komui sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "You're correct. Every other accommodator that he has come across has said he simply gave them the Innocence and sent them on the way. That man is quite scary when he is angry. It would be even more terrifying to see him lose someone precious to him.
"Although," he added, "Allen Walker only became his apprentice because the Order hassled him into taking one."
Lenalee was saddened by the idea that the boy had to live thinking like that. To be raised knowing you were only wanted for a purpose and not because you were wanted for who you were.
But she wondered about the accuracy of Komui's response. Why would General Cross choose a child? An adult would have been a more logical choice. Perhaps it was a question that would never be answered.
::+::+::+: ϒ :+::+::+::
The Earl looked at the present members of his family, all conversing and eating at varying levels.
"I see you are missing one of your children, Sheryl," Lulubell observed. She carefully nipped off the morsel on the end of her fork, maintaining her aloof demeanor. The Prime Minister stiffened, still not happy about having another child.
"Ash is staying home with Tricia in case the state officials become a little unruly," he replied disdainfully. "That boy is so troublesome, especially since Tyki introduced him to gambling."
The Noah of Pleasure gave his brother a wide grin. "He's a natural at deception," he put in. "I only showed him how to harness that gift."
"More like you corrupted him," Road muttered bitterly. While seemingly angry, her eyes were alight with amusement.
"So Ash has reverted back to Allen Walker?" the Earl asked. He sounded disappointed.
Sheryl rolled his eyes. Tyki snorted.
"As if," they said in unison. The two brothers eyed each other warily a moment after realizing they had synchronized.
"He certainly has the personality, some traits are even similar to Allen Walker before the erasure," Lulubell admitted. "Overall however he is a very different individual. Ash is...tolerable."
Skin Bolic did not look up from his platter of cake. "I like Ash. He is like us, both light and dark."
Road scrutinized him. "You only like him because he gives you his desert whenever you ask for it," she pointed out. And it was the truth. Ash had the appetite of a parasitic accommodator as well as a genuine love for food. Upon discovering Skin's love for sweets, he offered his deserts to the Noah of Wrath, even sharing it when asked to. Ash never shared with anyone else (willingly).
"If he is still of use," the Earl mused. It sounded like he was thinking to himself. Tyki heard the words and frowned inwardly. Something wasn't right.
"Why did you invite us to dinner, Earl?" He asked curiously. "It couldn't have been to talk about my nephew. The bulbous Noah touched a finger to his chin thoughtfully.
"Oh!" he shouted cheerfully. "I just wanted to tell you l that I miscalculated the timing of the war. I wanted to kill the Generals and make everyone panic once our other relatives were about to awaken."
In the silence, the Earl giggled.
"They won't wake up for another year or two~"
Everyone groaned, cursing the first apostle for his foolishness. Only the clown-like Noah could make such a monumental mistake and remained unconcerned.
"I suppose this means going back underground."
"There goes our element of surprise," Tyki agreed. He frowned suddenly. "Why did you want me to kill the boy anyways?"
The atmosphere changed drastically. A mad glint lit the Earl's eyes. Road's face became harder, grim even.
"Let me tell you all a story," the Earl said in a sweet voice.
"Noah left his will to thirteen apostles, seven thousand years ago. They have diligently carried it out, searching for the Heart and fighting the Exorcists. They were reincarnated every time they died, into a stronger force each time. However, something changed in the generation before this one."
The Earl took a knife and used it to cut into his steak. A dark aura rolled from him, barely constrained.
"Another Noah was born, the fourteenth member of our family. We welcomed him as we welcomed you and he became a dear member of this family," he continued. Every Noah in the room clung to his words, nostalgic dread curling in their guts.
"What happened?" Skin asked quietly.
"He betrayed us," Road answered. There was a haunted look in her eyes. "He gave the power to control our Ark to a human." Her eyes swept over her brethren. "And then he tried to kill all of us. Only the Earl and I survived."
The notion for them to try something like that was foreign. None of the Noahs would say they were particularly close to one another. But there was that familial bond that they could all feel. One that treated the members of the Noah clan as blood. They wondered what kind of man could go beyond that instinct and commit such an atrocious attack.
"This Noah's name was Neah Walker," announced the Earl. His voice became deeper. "His brother adopted that troublesome waif of an Exorcist. It is possible that he possesses the ability to control the Ark."
"Does he?" Lulubell asked. Her eyes were emotionless, her intentions unclear. Nevertheless the Earl's smile widened.
"Who knows?" he replied. "It makes it rather exciting, does it not?"
With that, the Noah family fell silent and went on to finishing their meal.