Title: First Meetings
Author: Kirin-Saga (formerly known as Cheysuli-Night)
Rated: G
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.
Chapters: 1/4
Summary: When Akira meets Nokoro and Suoh for the first, and second, times. Nightingale 'Verse. Crossover with YnM.
A/N: It's been a while since I've read CCD, and even longer since I've read YnM (and I don't remember YnM as well as I do CCD), so if anything is off, let me know.
_
Nokoro, first meeting
It was the crying that caught his attention. Industrial facilities, whether in use or abandoned as this one was, was the last place Akira expected to hear a human baby. But that high pitched screeching couldn't be mistaken for anything else. There were creatures, of course, who could fool humans into believing they were following the cries of a child in distress, but this lacked the otherworldly harmonics inaudible to mortal ears. This was a real human baby in the middle of a facility marked for investigation as a suspected former crime den.
Akira made his way silently down the darkened halls, reaching ahead with his powers so he knew what was in his path. His telekinesis brushed against discarded equipment and debris, quietly clearing himself a path. The child wasn't crying so loudly now, almost stopping all together, but luckily Akira was now just a locked door away.
Akira stared curiously at the steel door, noting that it seemed to be a storage closet. It was chained and padlocked, but the chain was weakened by rust so Akira had little difficulty breaking it. The sight that met his eyes about broke his heart. A human boy, not even a year old, was clutching desperately at the blood soaked blouse of the woman laying limply beside him. Her vacant eyes and motionless body told Akira she was past saving, so he focused instead on the child.
The boy had turned tear filled eyes towards him the moment Akira entered the room, fearful expression turning curious and confused when he saw him. He didn't appear hurt, Akira was relieved to notice, aside from a small scrape and bruise on his cheek, the blood coating him seemingly from the woman. Akira studied him for a long moment, wondering why they were here. Their clothing looked well made and expensive, and Akira could see some authentic looking jewelry on the woman, so they were probably important. Or at least rich. Ransom seemed most likely if the kidnappers were human, but if so, the deadline for payment was close or passed if the woman had been killed. Which left little time before the kidnappers returned for the child. He hadn't noticed anyone else currently in the facility, but there was no telling how long it would remain so.
Of course, there were many creatures that used abandoned facilities like this, most of which cared little for human money, so it was possible they had been taken for something much worse. In which case, their apparent wealth mattered little. They were likely just convenient, or met a certain criteria. He hoped it was humans. Humans were easier. The investigation hadn't gotten far enough to determine exactly what they were dealing with here.
The baby was starting to whine again so Akira moved closer, hands in plain sight to hopefully show the child he meant no harm. He had no experience with babies but luckily all he needed were a few soft words before he found himself with an armful of crying, snotty baby. He glanced mournfully at the woman, hoping she wasn't the boy's mother, before standing and carrying the boy from the small cell.
He wondered who the boy was, but after he left him at a nearby hospital, he doubted he'd ever see the boy again. So he didn't bother to stick around to find out.