Chapter 2:
This chapter skips ahead a few hours and, according to the anime, takes place right after Krory was found and convinced to join the Order. Hopefully this skipping around isn't too confusing for you all.
Also, Momo and Clark are the names of Tyki's human friends, however I couldn't exactly find the names of which was which anywhere, so I just kind of guessed. As far as this story is concerned Momo is the one with the beanie and Clark is the one with the short brown hair. I'm not sure if that helps at all.
"How long is this ride gonna take?" Momo complained, his pale face scrunching up into a frown as he leaned against one of the cargo boxes surrounding them, "This place is boring as hell."
"Well what do ya expect?" Clark snickered, one hand waving the other off in a dismissive manner as his eyes focused on the cards in his hands, "These were the best spots we could get, so stop your yapping, would ya?"
The beanie wearing man snickered at his friend's response, his own gaze flickering down to the pile of downturned cards that had originally belonged to him before he decided they sucked and folded for that round.
"If you're so bored how about you play instead of wussing out every time?" Tyki inquired playfully, his brown eyes flashing mischievously behind his glasses as he grinned down at his own hand, "Call."
Wordlessly the two men left in the round laid out their cards, one with a devious smirk and the other with a look of complete bewilderment,
"What the hell, Tyki? How did you get another Royal Flush?!" The man with the short brown hair complained, tching in agitation as he was met with a small chuckle before the aforementioned man scooped up his cards carefully.
"It would seem as though I was just lucky today."
"Lucky my ass. You're cheating again, aren't you?"
The question was met with yet another amused chuckle as his sole reply. Instead the questioned man turned his focus to the red head lounging on a box beside him,
"Come on, why don't you play, Lavi?"
"Please, you know I suck at that game." Lavi snorted, returning the other man's grin with a simper of his own, "That and I know for a fact that you're cheating."
"You know, that's a pretty big accusation you two are putting against me." The Pleasure mused, narrowing his eyes at the other boy in amusement, however the action remained unnoticed behind his large glasses, "I'm hurt that you both think so little of me."
"Whatever…" Clark huffed, crossing his arms as he settled with merely glaring at the unshaken man beside him, "You always win anyway. This game is getting boring…"
"Ah, what sore losers." The Noah chided teasingly as he absentmindedly shuffled the cards in his hands, "Then I take it you three have other ideas of how to pass the time?"
"Eh…"
Lavi shrugged and the other two merely exchanged a glance before remaining silent, answering the other's question indirectly. Currently they were all on their way to a mining town a ways away in hopes of finding temporary jobs, leaving them with a cargo section all to themselves and no real source of entertainment.
Lavi smiled slightly as he watched the Pleasure deal out another hand of cards to each of them, not surprised in the slightest when the two men who had just been complaining about the game readily accepted the decks, obviously finding the game at least somewhat more amusing than staring aimlessly at boxes. Then again, the red head couldn't really blame them as he too finally succumbed to the temptation and picked up his hand. Personally he wasn't too fond of the game seeing as it was a game of luck and infidelity instead of strategy and thinking, making it so it didn't interest him much, although he did play it from time to time when Tyki was especially bored.
As the game began the ginger unsurprisingly found himself with yet another unsavory hand –no pairs and a bunch of random numbers, nothing he really could do anything with. He hummed inaudibly to himself and opted to continue the game despite his worthless deck, after all, it wasn't as though they were really playing for anything at the moment, seeing as in this persona both he and Tyki were poor as were the companions they traveled with. Instead they took to just playing for the sake of winning, though Lavi couldn't actually remember the last time he had won a hand. Tyki was just too good at cheating and getting away with it, the Noah of Memories mused as he laid down two cards before replacing them with two others.
Finally, a pair. I might be able to make something of this…
Making certain to remain emotionless, the red head stayed silent as the others took their turns. Luckily for the red head the other two sucked almost as badly as he did at cards, so he at least had a chance not to outright come in last place.
"God damn it…" Clark muttered in obvious displeasure as he hastily laid his cards face down, folding for that round, "I don't know how you manage it Tyki, but you always give me the absolute worst cards!"
"Ah? That's just the luck of the draw, Clark." The Pleasure smirked, leering at his friend from behind his spectacles, "Maybe you should-…"
Tyki was cut off at the sound of the door to their little compartment opening, causing all four men present in the room to turn around and look at the tall man who had just entered.
Almost immediately two sets of eyes narrowed as the familiar sensation of nearby Innocence flooded the small storage room, automatically setting both Noah's on guard.
An exorcist…Lavi thought idly to himself, his expression unwavering as he willed himself not to react, He couldn't know that there were Noahs here… Could he?
From the floor below the box he was sitting on the red head could feel Tyki stiffen slightly, seemingly also well aware of the fact that the mystery man was an exorcist.
"O-Oh! I am terribly sorry to interrupt you, gentlemen." The tall, almost vampire looking man quickly stuttered as he took in the scene before him. It seemed as though in his curiosity driven excursion he had accidentally come across a cargo room, – that is, if the numerous boxes lining the place were any hint- where several men were gathered around playing some type of game with a stack of cards, "I'm afraid I got a little carried away, I am truly sorry!"
Lavi blinked, honestly taken aback by the Exorcist's demeanor.
What the… The man looks like he just stepped right out of a freaking Dracula novel yet he's acting so… Timid and nervous… Nothing like how an exorcist usually acts.
No Exorcists were that timid and apologetic. They were relentless killing machines that wanted to end the Earl's plans in the name of their so called 'god', but Lavi knew better than that. The exorcists were the ones against the beloved deities whilst the Noahs were the ones of God's side, the side of righteousness, not that he cared, really. Either way he didn't believe in a god, but that didn't stop him from disliking the individuals that spent their lives attempting to slaughter his kind.
But then again, he was a Bookman… He wasn't supposed to hold prejudice against either side…
"Don't worry about it." Tyki all but purred, thankfully breaking the red head out of his thoughts before they could take a sour turn, "Say, why don't you join us? We're playing poker, I take it you know how to play?"
Four sets of eyes immediately turned to regard the exorcist, imploring expressions on all of their faces as they awaited an answer.
"W-Well, yes, I have… I mean, I know how to play, but I really wouldn't want to intrude…" The white banged man quickly spluttered, a light blush shading his cheeks at the low, almost seductive tone the Noah regarded him with, "And Allen and Kanda already told me not to talk to people I don't know…"
Allen and Kanda…? They must be exorcists too… Lavi figured, a mischievous grin appearing on his face as he sauntered off his box and walked towards the nervous vampire looking man, this could be fun…
"Ah, come on, one little game won't hurt ya!" The ginger persuaded, leaning up to awkwardly drape his arm across the significantly larger man's shoulders, causing him to haunch slightly in the hold, "Besides, you aren't intruding, we love meeting new people on our travels! Isn't that right, guys?"
The Memory Noah glanced behind him at the men who currently sat just as they had been before, staring at the red head in confusion before realization seemed to dawn on them and they all shared a manipulative leer.
"Of course." Tyki agreed, soundlessly collecting the cards before shuffling them once more, preparing for the round that was to come, "We always enjoy playing with new people."
"W-Well, I don't know…" The exorcist mumbled, blushing once more at the close proximity between himself and the admitably cute red haired stranger, "I guess one game won't hurt…"
"That's the spirit!" Lavi cheered, grinning at the stranger before yanking him over to sit beside the box he had been previously sitting on, "So, vampire- man, what's your name?"
The aforementioned man glanced around warily once more, seeming to silently debate with himself over a matter that Lavi could only guess at before his slight frown was replaced with a smile.
"My name is Arystar Krory." He smiled genuinely, his attitude seeming to take a complete 180 from the frowning and untrusting man that he had previously seemed to be, "What are all your names?"
Strange man…
"My name's Lavi, the man over there with the goofy glasses is Tyki, the one with the silly hat is Momo, the blonde kid sleeping in the corner over there is Eeze and the one with the bad haircut looking all gloomy over there is Clark. Nice to meet you, Krorykins!" Lavi finished, ignoring the complaints and glares he received from the others thanks to his less than polite descriptions.
"Krorykins?" Krory repeated, seemingly baffled by the sudden nickname, "Um, it's, uh, nice to meet you all too…"
The recently joined exorcist couldn't help but stare incredulously at the ginger sitting beside him, a strange mixture of happiness and unease filling him as he studied the boy further.
His fiery red hair was pulled up by a green bandana wrapping around his forehead, a black eye patch shielded his no doubt green right eye from view and he wore a simple green shirt and white pants with black boots to complete the attire. He looked like a pretty normal guy and the vampire felt as though he could trust the other despite them having only met moments ago, yet there was also something about him that set him on edge…
Like the fact that when he looked into the single apparent green eye he could see nothing but his reflection. There was no emotion, no hidden message, no anything. It was just like a mirror; blank and projecting its surroundings.
It was… Strange, to say the least.
However he quickly pushed the thought aside, mentally chiding himself for going on about how the nice man beside him looked. After all, he had no place to judge others for their strange features when he himself looked almost identical to that of a stereotypical monster. He personally despised it when others judged him by his appearance and he was not about to become a hypocrite.
Ending his thoughts with that last decision, Krory smiled once more and looked down at the cards he was dealt, feeling his sense of unease beginning to drift away. He was just being silly, there was nothing wrong with these guys.
Lavi, on the other hand, felt his unease expand further as he discretely studied the exorcist now playing cards beside him. Apparently he was not alone on this train if his previous words had been any hint, making it so there was a high probability that there were currently three exorcists if not more riding this very train at the moment.
That, of course, didn't deter the red head at all. Maybe if he had been alone with three of the Black Order's fighters he would have been concerned, but not when both he and Tyki were there. Between the two of them, he had no doubts that they could easily take down the so called apostles of god.
That aside, he figured that this would be a great chance to get a better idea of just what exorcists were like. Since he was relatively new to the Noah Clan and was still unable to tap into all his newly acquired skills accurately he was yet to be sent out on any assassination missions or really any mission that would result in him coming into contact with an exorcist, which he was actually rather bummed about. He didn't necessarily want to kill the Black Order members, but he did want to learn about the building itself and what it was like to be an exorcist.
Perhaps he would get the chance to learn more about the Order through this guy…
"Why don't we make this game a little more interesting?" Tyki inquired, a sly smirk curling his lips as he looked pointedly at the vampire, who was still smiling happily. They had so far played a total of three rounds, all of which Krory had been the victor. As such it was obvious that the exorcist was becoming more confident about the game and his abilities- or rather luck-, just as they were hoping.
"Interesting?" Krorykins reiterated, a slightly confused expression crossing his face, momentarily reminding the red head of a confused little boy, "How so?"
"Let's make this a game of strip poker." The Pleasure purred, already shuffling the cards, "Each round the loser has to remove an article of clothing and give it permanently to the other person. Sound fun?"
Lavi couldn't help but stifle a snicker at the Noah's antics, knowing full well that he was planning on taking the poor Exorcist for everything he was worth. After all, he was bound to have something valuable on him.
The man in question seemed to pause at the proposal, a look of uncertainty crossing his face as he turned his gaze from the bespectacled man to the red head sitting on the floor beside him who held a look of disinterest on his face as he leaned against a nearby box.
"I'm… Not sure…" He admitted, a faint blush forming on his cheeks and he sent a silent plea for help to the eyepatch wearing boy who Krory had deemed to be the more friendly and reasonable of the group, "I.. I, erm, have never played anything so..." A series of words formed in the vampire's mind, humiliating, exposing, embarrassing, but he finally settled with, "personal…"
This was one big, new experience for the once castle ridden man and, while he was more than open to trying new things, he just wasn't sure if he was willing to do something this foreign to him.
Seeming to notice the unease shifting into the white and black haired man, Tyki lowered his glasses slightly to the side, making it so the corner of one of his eyes would be visible to the ginger. He waited a few moments for Lavi to shift his gaze off of the window and onto him before flickering one brown eye from the stranger and back to the ginger, silently edging him to talk the exorcist into playing.
Lavi, being both closer in age to the apparently early twenties years old man and the self-proclaimed nicest of them, quickly understood the request. Scamming unknowing individuals out of their money and clothes was hardly a new occurrence for the Noah's, after all.
"Don't worry, we're all guys here, and besides, we won't make ya take off your underwear if being naked is what is scaring ya. It's just a game, don't you wanna have some fun, Krorykins?"
Lavi offered the uncertain male a prize winning grin, making sure to add the little nickname on the end to make the man feel at least a smidge more comfortable with him.
"Well…" Meeting one green eye with both of his, the vampire seemed to finally relent, "Alright... I'll play." He offered the strangers an additional smile to assure them that he was thankful for their company and willingness to entertain him.
"Great!" The red head grinned, giving the vampire looking man an affectionate pat on the head before glancing over at Tyki, who seemed to be holding back a simper of his own, "Go ahead and deal'em, glasses."
It didn't take Krory long to realize that maybe agreeing to play under the pretense that he was going to win as he had been earlier wasn't as smart an idea as he believed it to be. Instead he found himself losing virtually every hand with Tyki somehow managing to pull a great hand out of thin air. It baffled the exorcist, yet he continued to play, figuring that he had to win at one point.
But he didn't. First he lost his coat, his shoes went soon after, and his socks were barely a memory now as was his shirt. He must really be bad at the game…
Lavi, opting to take pity on the now scantily clad exorcist –by that point he only had a pair of pants, a belt and hopefully underwear to his name-, folded from the game and instead moved to lean against a box just behind where Tyki was sitting. After receiving several insults from his friends for being a 'wuss' and quitting the game continued and Lavi watched in amusement as Tyki cheated the pants and belt off of the now obviously blushing exorcist.
Things weren't going to last long now.
As it was, Tyki, Momo and Clark were all completely dressed and on their last round with the thoroughly embarrassed exorcist. The three miners were grinning from ear to ear at the fact that they had, thus far, literally beaten the pants off of the poor loser that managed to get himself caught up with them. The round was just about up with Tyki the no doubt winner when the game was interrupted by the sound of the door to their little area being opened.
Immediately five sets of eyes transferred from the unfair game of cards to the doorway, which now housed a short white haired boy and a taller, long haired, scowling male standing behind him –two more exorcists, he noted absentmindedly as his gaze met the taller male's irritated one.
"Sorry, this area is currently off limits to little boys." Tyki dismissed immediately, seemingly not daunted in the slightest by the appearance of two more exorcists. These two, unlike the first, wore the customary black order uniforms which made identifying them much simpler.
"Krory? What are you doing here?" The white haired teenager questioned, ignoring the bespectacled male's words, "We've been looking all over for you."
"Oh, I'm sorry to make you worry." The vampire apologized sheepishly, his face growing a brighter red at his current state of undress, "I got a little distracted and ended up playing a card game with these gentlemen…"
"What the hell are you doing, idiot?" The taller of the two growled gruffly, his dark eyes shifting from the red head he had been engaging in a sort of staring contest with before landing harshly on Krory, "How many damn times do we have to tell you not to interact with strangers?"
The red head raised an eyebrow at the irritated male, amused when he saw both the white haired boy and the Dracula look alike shiver outwardly at the hostile tone.
"Calm down already, BaKanda." Allen scolded, tilting his head to glare over his shoulder at the grouchy male.
"Shut up, Beansprout."
Shoving the smaller boy aside, the exorcist named Kanda pushed into the room, his arms crossed as he glared down at the cowering boxer clad male.
"Get up and put some clothes on."
The vampire nodded swiftly, seemingly terrified of the male-not that Lavi could blame him- and made a move to gather his discarded clothes when a hand got to them instead. Confused, Krory looked up to see the glasses wearing stranger grinning maliciously down at him, a finger held up in the air shaking side to side,
"Ah, uh, uh, not so fast vamp. We won these fair and square in the game."
Krory's eyes widened at the words,
"But… But I-…"
His incoherent stuttering was cut short by a hand on his shoulder coaxing him to silence. Surprised by the sudden contact, Krory glanced up to see the white haired boy staring down at him, a reassuring smile on his face,
"Don't worry, Krory, I'll win your stuff back for you."
"Hm?" Tyki hummed, a slight smirk curling his lips as he lit another cigarette, pausing to inhale deeply from it before breathing out a small cloud of smoke, "And just what makes you think that a brat like you can win against us? Beat it boy, this is a game meant for adults."
The boy with the strange red tattoo's smile didn't waver in the slightest at the insult. Instead it seemed to only grow wider as he switched his gaze from the three men sitting on the floor to the red head lounging on a nearby box, whom seemed amused by the show,
"Your friend over there can't be much older than me and he's here." The boy pointed out innocently, "Won't you let me play?"
The red head couldn't help but snicker softly at the albino's statement, his one uncovered green eye closing,
"Nice try kid, but I'm 18; a technical adult. This place really isn't meant for kids like you two."
His last sentence was uttered playfully, as though he was just challenging the two exorcists to fight with him.
Luckily for the playful ginger his jests were met with a response, this time from the definitely pissed off Japanese man.
"Shut it, idiot, I'm eighteen too. I'm not a damn kid."
Lavi had to admit that he was amused by that statement and he opened his eye once more, not surprised to find the scowling samurai now only feet from him, a challenging glint in the long haired man's eyes.
"Oh, my bad, BaKanda." Lavi jeered, using the nickname he recalled the white haired boy had used earlier.
"Don't call me that, idiot." He growled, his gaze meeting the grinning redhead's unwaveringly.
What an interesting Exorcist.
"Anyway…" Allen cleared his throat, hoping to prevent Kanda from murdering an innocent civilian who didn't seem to know when his life was in danger, "How about it? Will you let me play?"
Before a response could be given the boy removed the exorcist jacket he was wearing and held it out to the poker players,
"Here, this jacket is lined with real silver. I'll use this as my wager."
The oldest three of the travelers shared a measured glance at the question and bribe for a few moments before the beanie wearing man finally relented, shrugging his shoulders slightly,
"Eh, it's fine with me. The kid's gotta learn about life somehow anyway."
Clark nodded his silent agreement and Tyki merely sighed, removing the cigarette from the corner of his mouth,
"Yeah, alright, sit down then, kid. Ya know how to play?" He was met with a nod, "Good."
The pleasure shuffled his deck again, preparing it for the next game as his gaze drifted to the red head still staring intently at the long haired male, who seemed to want nothing more than to murder the cheerful ginger,
"Lavi…" Brown eyes hidden behind large glasses narrowed his eyes discretely at the close proximity between the stranger and his fellow Noah before continuing, "Care to join us again?"
"Nah, I think I'll have to sit out again this round. I suck at card games." He chuckled softly, walking away from the deadly samurai to instead sit back down on the box beside where the Noah sat on the floor.
Tyki nodded slightly at the response, the smirk reappearing on his lips at the irritated look the long haired man had due to Lavi all but brushing him off,
"How about you, princess? Wanna play?"
"Don't fucking call me that." Kanda snarled, moving to lean against the wall the red head had previously been occupying, "I have better things to do than waste my time with you bums."
"Suit yourself."
Without another word the game began, surprising Lavi by how swiftly the white haired male won the first round.
At first the red head at simply placed it as beginner's luck, however that theory was swiftly shot as the boy won the next two rounds, resulting in Tyki, Clark and Momo being left in nothing more than their pants, socks and undergarments.
Oh yes, this was definitely an interesting boy.
As the next round began the Noah of memories discretely shifted so he was standing a little ways from the tattooed boy, unsurprised and actually rather entertained as he watched the boy win yet another round by cheating. Hell, this kid was something if he managed to make a Noah –especially Tyki- strip down to his underwear during a game of poker.
"Damn kid…" Tyki mumbled as he begrudedly kicked off his pants, Momo and Clark following his lead and the red head couldn't stifle a soft chuckle fast enough, thus earning a glare from the now half nude pleasure.
Krory seemed fascinated as the white haired boy won back his belongings, whilst the samurai seemed confused and angry, but then again it seemed as though that particular exorcist was always in a bad mood.
Another game quickly followed the last and Kanda couldn't take his eyes off of the cards, inwardly bewildered by how the hell the beansprout was managing to win every round. After all, he was considered one of the unluckiest people in the order, so just how the hell was he winning so many games?
His black eyes closed before he crossed his arms and scoffed, muttering under his breath,
"How is the damn beansprout winning…?"
"Well, that'd be 'cause he's cheatin'."
The voice that replied to his rhetorical question resounded from beside him, causing the exorcist to swiftly reopen his eyes and turn towards the red head now standing beside him defensively. He hadn't even heard the man come close to him!
The ginger, seemingly unperturbed by the death glare he was now receiving, glanced away from the other male to instead regard the game going on, a leisurely smile on his face,
"Just look at his movements that kid knows exactly what he's doing. I gotta say, I'm impressed. I've never met someone who can out cheat Tyrone."
Kanda studied the red head for another moment before deeming him as no threat and returned to leaning boredly against the wall, his gaze shifting to see just what he was talking about.
"So then the idiot with the glasses is cheating too?"
"Yeah. The other two are tryin' ta cheat, but they're no good at it, so they usually rely on Tyki to beat any tricky opponents. Looks like your friend there is too good for even him."
"Che, whatever, stupid rabbit."
Lavi blinked and glanced over at the Japanese man, surprised by the sudden and rather random nickname.
"Huh? Rabbit?"
"You're too god damn cheerful." Was the only explanation the long haired male gave, not willing to inform the other that his name 'Lavi' in Japanese was called Rabi, like the English word for rabbit. That would imply that he actually gave some thought as to the strange man standing beside them like they were best friends.
"Ya know, you're a strange man, Kanda." Lavi laughed good naturedly, folding his hands behind his head.
"Whatever."
Before the red head could antagonize the slightly shorter man further the exorcist moved forward, watching as yet another round passed, resulting in Allen's victory.
"Aren't you done yet, Beansprout?" He huffed, not bothering to acknowledge the three underwear clad elder men sitting in front of him, "This god damn rabbit won't stop talking."
"Aw, that's mean Kanda-Chan." Lavi pouted, remembering what the white haired male had called his partner, "And here I thought we were having a great conversation…"
Lavi just barely managed to dodge a sword sent at him from the long haired male, feeling a bead of sweat fall down his temple at just how close his strike had come. Damn exorcists…
"Annoying the public again, Red?" Tyki teased, his head tilted in the red head's direction the only hint that the pleasure was now looking at him.
"At least I'm not almost naked." He scoffed back, grinning at the scantily clad forms of his companions as he slowly backed away from the still armed, volatile man, "What, lost your touch already, old man?"
"It's the boy's fault for cheating."
"Because you definitely weren't."
"That's not important."
"I swear I'm surrounded by idiots." Kanda grumbled, placing his innocence back into its case before leveling his eyes back on the smiling white haired male.
"Anyone want to play another round?" The boy asked innocently, wielding the deck of cards in the air to emphasize the question, causing the three gambling men to sweat drop.
Lavi just laughed.
TLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTL
The loud, shrill sound of a train whistle flooded the train station as the Noahs and their human companions exited the train, only one clad in something other than their underwear.
"We've arrived at Birdmine station! We've arrived at Birdmine station!" The announcer called and Lavi just grinned brighter as he glanced over at Tyki, who looked as though he was already freezing in the cool winter air.
They had just moved to stand on the side of the temporarily still train when a familiar, childish voice called out to them.
The white haired boy who managed to cheat the three men out of their clothes and dignity was waving them over from an open window, holding a few bags out to them,
"Since I won back my friends things I really don't need these." He explained, that innocent smile of his contrasting significantly with the unhappy scowl that seemed permanently plastered on his friend's face, who was standing beside him at the window, "You guys look pretty cold, you might want to put something on."
Tyki stared at the man for a moment before snickering and removing the cigarette from his mouth, settling with holding it cautiously between two fingers as he and the two other half nude males scoffed at the boy,
"Look kid, we don't need your pity."
The boy merely blinked at the other's words, slightly amused at how they contrasted so greatly with their actions. All three men were already leaning over, their hands claiming the items that they had very nearly lost to the cheater.
"Well explain this." Allen chuckled, happily handing the suitcases back to their rightful owners.
"Oh, yeah…"
The freezing travelers wasted no time in redressing, leaving Lavi and Eeze to laugh at their hasty scrambling for warmth. Unlike the other three the red head was smart enough when to know to cut his losses when it came to gambling, especially since he never was very good at it and Eeze, well, Eeze was still much too young to get into that bad habit just yet.
The Noah of Memories watched as his companions pulled back on their clothing, only pulling his gaze away at the feeling of eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.
Curiously, Lavi turned back towards the window to find three sets of eyes watching him, all belonging to the exorcists who still hung by the window.
One by one he met each of their gazes, just barely managing to suppress a wince as their memories played in the back of his head, however he quickly muted them, not wanting to pry into the privacy of the men who had been at least somewhat pleasant to them. Unfortunately he was a bit too late in blocking out the memories for he managed to gain at least some knowledge about the traveling exorcists. Luckily it was nothing too personal.
He learned that the cheating boy A, as Tyki labeled him, was named Allen Walker, the apprentice of Cross and was a parasitic type exorcist. The other male who constantly looked constipated was named Yuu Kanda –A funny first name that he figured would be a great way to counter the other's rabbit insult- and he wielded a sword named Mugen for his weapon – which he had already had the displeasure of meeting several times during the card game. Lastly, the vampire looking male who they had originally managed to persuade to play with them was named Arystar Krory –though that was also nothing new, seeing as he had openly given them his name when they first met- and he was also a parasitic type exorcist, however his ability was to drink the blood of akuma. He just barely managed to suppress a shiver at that thought, amusing the idea of just what akumas tasted like for a moment before swiftly erasing it with a 'I don't even want to know'.
"You know, it's not too polite to stare beansprout." He kidded softly, grinning at the white haired boy who blushed for a moment before frowning slightly, no doubt at the nickname.
"Don't call me that."
"Ah, but you let the constipated man over there call you that." He complained childishly, giving himself a mental pat on the back for the death glare to managed to pry from the stone cold exorcist, "besides, he himself said that we were the same age, so that means I can call ya that too."
The parasitic arm exorcist still didn't seem happy with that response, although he seemed to allow it to pass as he instead took to studying the red head again,
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" He inquired, almost certain that he had seen the other somewhere before in the past, he just couldn't quite recall when.
"Nah, can't say you have. I would think I would remember seeing a kid with the hair of an elderly man."
"I guess…"
You've never seen me before…He mused to himself, one green eye lingering on the tattooed male, But I can guarantee you that we'll meet again, exorcist. Or rather, the fourteenth.
As the Noah of Memories Lavi was able to see things that others were not and that included the ability to know the entirety of the past of the Noah's, including the part in time where the fourteenth betrayed the earl. He was, after all, the tangible host of all of Noah's personal memories, making it so he could recall everything Noah himself saw, thought and wanted. That also meant that he could alter people's memories at will, taking out what he wanted and even crafting an entirely new scene to fill the empty void.
It was an invasive ability that the Earl seemed rather fond of for some reason.
"Well kid, you saved us." Tyki finally said, cutting the red head from his own inner thoughts as he finished redressing in his ragged outfit, "I was about five minutes away from frost bite."
The train whistle sounded once more and within moments it began to move again, leaving the travelers to say their final –well, not all that final- goodbyes.
"Here, take this! Catch!" Before the train pulled away too far the Pleasure quickly removed the deck of cards from his pocket and tossed them to Allen, who easily caught them, "They're yours! Consider this a token of my thanks!"
"Will do!"
The red head grinned slightly at the sudden gesture before cupping his hands around his mouth, leaning forward to shout his own farewell,
"It was nice meeting you Krorykins, Beansprout and Yuu-chan! See ya!"
AS the train sped away Lavi could just barely make out the head of the now infuriated swordsman as he leaned out the window, brandishing his sword as he no doubt cursed at the boy in both question and irritation, but the red head wasn't certain for his voice was quickly consumed by the noise of the train.
"Heh… Interesting guys." The ginger chuckled, watching the train disappear down the tracks before turning back around to face his comrades. They had similar smiles on their faces, apparently also amused by how the events of the day played out.
"Well I'll be darned. We would've thought that a kid dressed up in such nice clothing would be such a heartless cheat." Clark chuckled, staring off down where the train once was.
Momo laughed in agreement, sending a side long glance to Clark,
"He was a pro; he had us conned all the way. Kids these days."
"Looks like Tyki has finally met his match." Lavi jeered playfully, gently ruffling Eeze's hair as the boy laughed at his comment, "I've never seen someone beat you that bad."
"Yeah…" The bespectacled man grinned crookedly. He actually wasn't as annoyed as he thought he would be by that fact.
"Anyway, Lavi, Tyki, Eeze, come on. If we leave now we might be able to weasel come free food out of that factory owner." Momo pointed out as he turned to walk away from the tracks.
"Yeah, sounds good. I'm starved." The black haired male agreed, about to turn around and join his friends when the sound of a phone ringing caught his attention.
Wordlessly he walked over and answered it, bringing the receiver up to his ear for a moment before sighing softly and hanging back up.
"Looks like Lavi and I are gonna have to decline that offer after all."
"What? Do you guys have another secret job?" Clark complained, "I was hoping you were done with that."
"Heh, afraid not. We'll catch up with you again later, alright?"
Begrudedly the two men and children agreed, bidding the two men goodbye before walking off in the direction of the factory.
It was only once the Red Head was certain the others were out of hearing distance that he turned to face the pleasure, a curious look on his face,
"What's up, Tyki?"
"The Earl called another Family dinner." He replied nonchalantly as he carefully dropped his cigarette onto the floor, "Come on, he's waiting not far ahead."
The Noah of memories nodded slightly and began walking with the pleasure, silence filling the air before Tyki broke it again, his hands slipping into his pockets as he looked down at the red head,
"So, rabbit, huh?" He smirked, recalling the nickname that the Japanese exorcist had used on the ginger earlier.
Lavi groaned good naturedly and shrugged his shoulders,
"Hell if I know. Yuu was strange."
"Yuu?" The pleasure repeated, scratched at his head, "'Thought I heard cheating boy A call that guy Kanda or something."
"He did. It's his last name. I kinda found out that his first name was Yuu and it seems like he doesn't like it much." He shrugged again.
"You and your nicknames…"
Lavi grinned and the older of the two couldn't help but smile. He never could stay irritated or exasperated at the other for long.
Their conversation faded as the figure of a large male looming in the shadows appeared not far in front of them, signifying that the Earl was indeed waiting for them
As they approached the overhang ahead, Tyki ruffled his messy hair slightly,
"Mind If I get some grub in me first? I'm famished."
"Yeah, me too." Lavi agreed easily.
"I have no problems with that." The smiling man replied readily, his cold eyes watching the two Noahs intently.
"Good, 'cause I could eat my own foot at this point." The pleasure snickered as he and the red head made their way into the shadows of the arch.
"Just put something nice on instead of those rags the two of you have on. No one would ever let you into a five star restaurant dressed like a hobo."
Tyki laughed as he removed his glasses and allowed them to dissolve into thin air, Lavi doing the same with his headband as he listened to the conversation in amusement. Personally he wasn't too comfortable around the Earl just yet, though he did enjoy the little conversation hobo Tyki would have with the formal Earl.
"I suppose you speak from experience then, with that weight of yours."
"I am not over weight." The Earl's voice was cold and Lavi, not for the first time, wondered just how Tyki could so leisurely make fun of the creator like that.
As they walked further into the shadows the Noah's began their subtle change, both their skin shifting from a pale color to instead a dark gray. Within seconds the pleasure's grubby hobo clothes disappear, an expensive, form fitting suit taking its place, a sight that the ginger was always amused by. It always amazed him by how drastically the man's appearance could change.
His own clothes shifted from the almost pirate looking clothes he was wearing into a mid-thigh length Black coat with a fiery red undershirt. His boots, like the pleasure, changed into dress shoes and his white pants morphed into tight black pants. His red hair framed his face attractively and his eyepatch changed from the almost gauze looking fabric that he wore as a hobo to a black leather patch. Since he was put under Tyki's direct care from the get go of being a Noah he had really no choice but to adapt to the male's usually formal fashion sense, making it so the Earl expected him to also look presentable at all times.
The earl, watching the change passively, nonchalantly tossed Tyki his typical top hat –which after numerous refusals and arguments Lavi was thankfully exempted from.
"Well, I'm so hungry even a pig's feed bag would work for me."
"If I were you I would start choosing my words more carefully."
An elegant white gloved hand easily caught the hat before Tyki pushed his bangs from his face and put it on, a sly grin on his face as he emerged from under the shadows of the bridge, the red head following soon after.
"Got it, Earl Tyki Mikk? You too, Earl Lavi Bookman."
The pleasure smirked at the words and rested a hand on the rim of his black hat, his tuxedo clad body looking stunning in the bright light overhead.
Blinking at his sudden thought, Lavi barely managed to hide a blush as he nodded at the Earl.
"All right. As you wish, Earl Millennium."
Tyki glanced over at the red head, amusement glinting in his gold eyes as he met the other's equally gold but not quite as amused eyes,
"Of course, Earl." Lavi finally voiced in agreement, brushing his bangs out of his good eye.
"Very good. Now then, we have a dinner to attend to."
TLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTLTL
Kanda stared irritably at the window he was sitting beside, his hands clenched tightly onto the cloth of his coat as he regarded the surroundings whizzing by with disdain. It hadn't been more than twenty minutes since the travelers had left the train, yet the Samurai's blood still boiled in barely suppressed rage at the audacity of the red headed hooligan who managed to irritate him to no end.
His teeth gritted together at the mere thought of the odd teen, who seemed to have no qualms teasing the samurai as though they were old friends. He treated him like he was a friend and that was something foreign to the long haired male, making it so he saw it to be a threat.
But it wasn't only the prospect of friendship that irritated the ill-tempered man, however he had to admit that it was a part of it. Instead what really rattled his chain was what the eye patch wearing boy had called him as the train pulled away- the beansprout and vampire had just barely managed to stop him from jumping out the window and attacking the stranger with Mugen in retaliation for the insult.
The red head had called him by his first name. The name that he didn't allow anyone to know let alone use.
But then, how the hell did he even find out about that? He was nothing more than a miner, if the clothes were any hint, and a cheat, yet he still somehow managed to figure out his true name.
How the fuck did he manage to do that?!
He had not the slightest idea and he could feel his annoyance only rise at his own incompetence.
His anger seemed to radiate off of him in palpable waves, causing the two individuals across from him to shift uneasily. Even Allen, being the more willing to annoy the long haired male out of him and the vampire, knew when to back off and not antagonize the exorcist like he usually did.
Nervously, the white haired male glanced over at the white banged, elder man sitting still beside him. The curious vampire hadn't moved an inch since they had returned to their seats in order to appease the grumpy Kanda's threats that, if he dared to leave the god damn seat again, he would kill him with Mugen without blinking an eye. That threat, backed up with the murderous glint in his dark eyes, seemed to effectively quell Krory's desire for adventure for the time being and the tattooed youth had to admit that for that he was thankful.
While he was happy that his new friend was having so much fun exploring the land so unknown to him he had to admit that even he was growing tired of having to constantly track down the childish male and save him from whatever scam he was falling victim to. Next thing you know he'll willingly give up all his money and clothes to a little girl claiming to need to help feed her many brothers and sisters and thousand year old relative or something…
Heaving a soft sigh, Allen closed his eyes and resigned himself to a ride full of silence, fear, and anger from the still fuming Japanese man.
I haven't had the time to completely go back and edit this because of a so far hectic summer, so I'll probably end up going back and doing that later on. I apologize in advance for any mistakes made.
Also, I kept some of the same lines from the episode in this story, but for the most part I changed it around a bit as to keep it interesting and not just rewrite that whole episode. Hopefully it is to you guys liking!