Chapter 21

Of Blushes and Idiocy

Sheryl, Tyki, and Lulubell occupied the study in which Ash had decided to stay in. The Noah of Pleasure was reading a book (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, if you must know). Sheryl was at his desk, overlooking several documents that he had not been able to at the office. Ash sat on the Persian rug with a black cat in his lap, Lulubell. For any stranger that could possibly walk in, they appeared to be a normal family.

"The Earl came to see me not an hour ago," Ash said softly. His voice almost seemed to be contemplative. "He said that the meeting had news concerning me. Do you know what he was going on about?"

Lulubell's eyes opened. She did indeed know what the Earl meant, although the conversation had been between her and Sheryl alone. It included a decision that neither one entirely approved of.

I can't tell him anything, since I'm in my cat form, she mused. The Noah of Lust looked over at her relatives. Sheryl didn't even seem to acknowledge the question. It doesn't look like he will say anything.

All rational thought fled from Lulubell's mind as skilled fingers scratched the sweet spot between her ears. A deep rumble of pleasure erupted from the depths of her chest. The only thing that she felt would make the bliss even more enjoyable was if Ash took off his blasted gloves.

Lulubell nipped at the hand, snatching off the offending material.

"What are you doing? That's my left hand," Ash informed her. His youthful face appeared amused.

"Shounen, you don't have to hide it," Tyki pointed out. "Just touching us will not hurt us."

The boy looked down at his deformed arm. He supposed it was not grotesque enough in appearance to disgust the Noah of Lust. The Innocence itself would not likely send a negative vibe if it remained inactive. He tentatively touched Lulubell's fur once more, smiling when he received a purr in return.

Sheryl looked up in time to see his adoptive son's smile. He watched the genuine warmth as it grew. Suddenly it vanished completely. Ash's left eye suddenly changed, gaining gears and a lens. An Akuma was approaching somewhere nearby. The Noah of Desire did not wish to see the ugly soul that always seemed to follow the Akuma. Ash said it was the soul, but how he knew such a thing was beyond Sheryl. Either way, it was disgusting, disturbing. Ugly. However the boy's eye...he had never seen the boy's eye in person. Sheryl found the sight eerie and unnatural. And he also found it intriguing. Road had told him Allen Walker's story: the boy who turned his father into an Akuma and then destroyed him with the bane of his existence. There was irony there. Irony that an Exorcist had summoned the Earl. Irony that the boy sent his father to oblivion using the curse he had been born with. Irony that an Akuma—which was the Earl's servant—could love enough to curse his son. Sheryl didn't understand where love was in that curse. He only saw punishment. The only thing he did understand with clarity was the fact that Allen Walker had exhibited a rare type of love that transcended a 7,000 year war. It made humans a little less pathetic, in Sheryl's view, the act of one child and his resurrected father. The reason? Because it represented the hope that alone love is eternal and could conquer any obstacle that stood in its way.

If someone found it shocking that Sheryl admired Ash, then they would be appalled by another thing that he was loathe to admitting: Ash had grown on him. The boy was astonishingly sweet and thoughtful. Intelligent, kind to the point of cloud-gentleness. The Prime Minister also loved the dark side his son possessed. He found it endearing and humorous to watch his brother be frightened by a twelve-year-old boy. Sheryl would almost say that made Ash's annoying traits tolerable, but he found that for the most part he rarely could stand being in the same room. Unfortunately for the Noah of Desire, at the end of the day, he looked forward to the time he spent in the library with just Ash by his side.

"Father?"Ash asked. When he had the Prime Minister's attention, he continued on. "What did the Earl mean, the thing concerning me?"

"Aww, Shounen, you're as curious as a kitten." The Noah of Pleasure yelped as a shoe flew into his face and again when the other hit him in the chest.

"Don't call me that!" the boy snapped. This was the first time any of them had heard him raise his voice or exhibit any kind of anger. It shocked the Noahs. Even worse, he had a bright blush on his cheeks as if he were-

"Ash, are you embarrassed?" Sheryl wanted to know. The blush deepened. "Why are you blushing like that?!"

"N-No reason," he stammered out, averting his eyes. Lulubell gave in inward snort and shifted into her human form. It startled everyone, and scared Ash for life. The boy fainted as soon as he caught sight of the naked woman that was now in his lap.

The Noahs all stared at the inert form on the ground.

"Lulubell, why did you do that?" Sheryl asked in a disapproving tone. "You know how easily embarrassed he is."

"You asked why he was blushing," she replied simply. "A messenger came to the mansion while you were gone and tried to seduce Ash."

The brothers' jaws dropped. "Whaaaaaaaat?!"

"Yes. And when he saw me, he started to call Ash 'kitten'."

Tyki's eyebrows twitched. "How despicable," he growled.

"How dare that lowly human try to seduce our family," Sheryl put in without hesitation. As soon as he realized what he said, he felt stupid and like an over-protective father. Ash was supposed to be a 'puppet', not his real son. He shouldn't be feeling like this. When he saw that the others did not disagree with his claim, Sheryl relaxed.

"Only a pervert would say something like that to twelve-year-old," Tyki agreed. He moved to crouch down next to Ash, studying the features by youth. "What do they see in Ash, I wonder. He's simply a child; far too innocent to think of love beyond the familial kind."

"He's naïve," supplied Sheryl. Tyki ignored him and carefully scooped Ash into his arms. He marveled at his weight, or rather the lack of it.

"Are you taking him to the Earl now?" Lulubell asked. The Noah of Pleasure shook his head.

"We might as well let him sleep," he answered. "After all, Ash will have a difficult time adjusting to life with the Earl."

Lulubell's eyes wandered to the unconscious boy in Tyki's arms.

When did we stop thinking of him as a tool? She wondered. She knew that she was supposed to fully support the first apostle yet she found herself wanting to stray from this one request. And she knew that it was the same for the rest of the Noahs. Even the Earl felt the attraction to Ash. Yet he was cruel towards the boy. Lulubell figured he was merely distancing himself from someone who used to be his enemy.

Soon even the Earl will love Ash, Lulubell finally predicted. I think then we will soon call him family.