Okay, I have returned! I'm going to try and get up two-ish chapters this week because finals are fast approaching… but don't hold me to it. XD But anyhow, I'm interested in knowing how far people would like to see this story go. I have specific plans for it all the way up to Neah's demise, but I'm willing to go as far as the point where Mana is turned into an akuma. If you have any strong opinion on the matter then feel free to say so in a review or even private message me. Anyhow, without further ado here is the last of the Four Last Songs.

The Imaginary Sock

Disclaimer: Yup. Still don't own the rights to D. Gray-man nor am I a famous dead composer or poet (yet!).

Part Four: Im Abendrot

"Let us not lose our way in this solitude."

Joseph von Eichendorff

As soon as the three of them stumbled out of the doorway back into Walker Manor he knew they were in trouble. Rhian stood there with her cleaning supplies from earlier looking down at them viciously over her wrinkled nose. They followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen, Mana trying to wipe away flowing tears in vain. Neah was actually quaking in fear.

When they reached the kitchen Rhian turned on the three of them. "What happened in there?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. Gitano decided for once to let the Walker boys take Rhian's wrath. Heaven knows what would happen to him when Lady Arienne returned home seeing that one of her children had vanished from their very plain of existence.

Mana seemed to be incapable of speech at the moment. Neah began to talk. "I-I-I don't know how it h-h-h-h-happened, b-b-b-b-b-but-" stammered the normally eloquent boy.

Apparently Rhian was impatient for she pointed a finger at him and shot Neah with a jet of light. The boy slumped over onto the floor, fast asleep. "Well?" she inquired. She was looking directly at Mana.

"W-we were playing Hide-and-Seek," he began. Somehow he managed to tell the entire tragic tale without sobbing in the middle (that was not the case at the end). There were many emotions present in Rhian's eyes by the end. After handing her handkerchief to Mana, she began pacing around the room.

"Did Rory really disapper?" she questioned Gitano.

"Yes," he replied. "He's gone. Can you get him back?"

She hit him upside the head. "Time is not something to mess with, idiot," she snapped. "I've told you already that it's not easy to mess with the dimensions of time-"

"Space, life, death, and truth because it will only end badly," he finished. "I was listening, you know."

Rhian gave him a withering look, so Gitano resolved to stop talking. Her eyes then softened and she sat back down. "It could be that this is a punishment," she said.

"A punishment? What kind of a punishment?" asked Mana.

Rhian took a deep breath and looked at Neah. The boy showed no sign of stirring. "I'll tell you both this once, so you better not interrupt," she stated. "And don't ever ask me about it again because it would be disastrous if Adam found out."

Mana was about ready to butt in already, so Gitano gave him a smack upside the head just as Rhian had done to him. God, that felt good, he thought to himself as he watched Mana glare at him and rub the bump now forming on his head. As the two of them nursed the respective bumps on their heads, Rhian began her tale.

oOo

"I wasn't always a cook or a maid for that matter," she said. "For years I told fortunes for a travelling circus. It wasn't a great life, but it was better than living out on the streets. Plus I had noticed at a young age that I was different, so there's no better way to blend in than to live in a huge group of freaks."

"That somehow sounds familiar…" muttered Gitano. He pretended to not be staring at Mana and Neah, but Mana noticed and stuck his tongue out at him.

"Being a fortune teller had its perks," continued Rhian. "I pretty much knew everything about everyone whether they wanted me to or not. Everyone at the circus came to me with their problems or with the latest gossip, the latter group thinking that that was how I gained my great insight. I'm not sure what they would have said had they really known about my abilities."

"One day a young girl came into my tent. The circus had just moved to a site outside of London, but apparently word about my predictions had arrived before I had. I had not opened shop for the day, but the girl was crying most bitterly so I let her stay. I asked what was troubling her, although I could already tell her it was a friendship issue. The girl- she was called Elizabeth by the by- proceeded to tell me the strangest tale."

Mana was getting ready to speak again, so Gitano poised his hand hoping to get in a second slap (he was sure it would be more satisfying that the first) when Rhian held a hand up. "Before you ask, Mana, this Elizabeth is the same Lady Elizabeth that is holding the ball tonight. She was your mother's best friend at the time, and I'm sure Elizabeth still counts your mother as her most trusted friend. They grew up together much like you and Lady Road have. Lady Arienne's mother had passed away in childbirth while her father had succumbed to pneumonia when she was fifteen. She spent much of her time with Elizabeth at her family's manor and even lived with them for the two winters after her father's death. Anyhow, Elizabeth told me about how your mother had married a strange man who had come to town about a year ago. She had only ever seen Lord Walker at the wedding reception since only his family was invited to the ceremony, and she had not gotten a good look at him. Hardly anyone in town had bothered themselves about the entire state of affairs and months later people were excitedly anticipating the birth of her first child."

"At the age of eighteen her first child was born, a son whom she named Mana- yes, that was you, boy," said Rhian to the very attentive Mana. Gitano was trying very hard not to seem interested in the story, but there was something… off about the whole thing that he was sure Rhian knew about. He really wanted to know what it was. "Elizabeth was happy for her friend and came to see her after the child was born. He was a handsome child with thick raven-colored hair, definitely a child that people would describe as beautiful. Then the baby opened his eyes. You can imagine that Elizabeth was more than shocked to see such bright golden eyes staring at her like they were judging her very soul."

"Needless to say she was very worried about her friend and the child, and when she asked her nurse about people with golden eyes the old woman had responded that golden-eyed people are people who have made deals with the devil himself. Elizabeth did not know who to turn to after that for she was sure that her friend would not want to hear this, and she knew that the townspeople might go after the baby if they heard about his eyes. That was what brought her to my tent."

"I'm not saying that you made a deal with the devil, Mana, but I'm sure you've noticed by now that golden eyes are not normal amongst the everyday populace. Your mother, for example, has gray eyes. But back to Elizabeth: she wanted me to use my foresight to see what I could about her friend and the child. As I gazed into my crystal ball, however, I could see nothing. I didn't want to worry the girl, so I told her to come back the next day so that I might have more time."

"I looked into my crystal ball for the entire day, but still I could see nothing. So that night I pulled out… certain items for stronger magic. Gitano, I never want you to try what I did, for spirits can be temperamental. Truly, I was lucky that they did not devour me as I called upon them for they were in an uproar. I learned that something was stolen from their realm, but they couldn't tell me what. I learned, though, that the child was not a demon, which put my thoughts at ease. However, they gave me a special duty as a fellow magic user. I was to watch over the child and its mother, for they spoke of misfortune if they were left alone."

"Elizabeth returned the next day, and I told her that they child was perfectly normal. She was happy with that answer and left. I left the circus that day and sought employment at Walker Manor. I discovered that the entire household staff had disappeared over the past year, which was greatly concerning. At first, Lady Arienne was wary of me, but the baby took to me, so she hired me immediately."

"Not much happened over the next year except that Lady Arienne was with child once again. She was often tired, so I was left with the task of caring for Mana. Mana was greatly fascinated with my magical abilities, so on nights when he would not stop crying I would cast spells that would make flowers bloom or create little multicolor light baubles. This was how your mother became aware of my abilities, so she would often ask me about the child she was with. It was when she first asked that I realized that she was to have twins- identical twins."

"She was greatly pleased by this. So was her extended family. In this time I came to know the Camelots, Lady Lulubell, Lord Skin, and all the others. I noted that they truly were an odd family and that every one of them had golden eyes just like Mana. One day Lord Camelot came by with a baby of his own- Lady Road. This was certainly peculiar seeing as Lord Camelot did not keep a wife or a mistress. It is still just him and Road living in that old manor."

"The long awaited day finally came and the twins were born. I helped with the birth, for Lady Arienne refused to have anyone else there. The first child looked very similar to Mana: golden eyes and raven hair. The second, however, was different. I could feel that something was wrong, for my foresight had told me they were identical twins. Despite this fact the second babe had reddish-brown hair and gray eyes that shined like silver. I could feel a lightness in my heart as I held that child. Your mother asked if everything was alright. I didn't know what to say, so I told her the first looked just like Mana. She asked about the second. I told your mother that he had her eyes. There was a slight look of displeasure in her face at that mention, so I did not have the heart to tell her that he had her hair color as well. The woman mentioned something about him not having awakened yet, but she fell asleep soon afterwards seeing as she'd been up most the night."

"I took the two boys to clean them. As I washed the first I realized something that I hadn't noticed before. In my mind eye when I had first held him I had seen nothing but darkness. As I washed the second the darkness faded and a brilliant light filled my mind. I felt very protective of this child and the goodness that I could see in his soul. I remembered the look on his mother's face after hearing that he did not look like his brothers, and I began to fear for his life. It was because of this that I first dyed Rory's hair. I felt that if Lady Arienne still had hope she would love the boy just like her other sons, which was correct. I think after time she grew to love his eyes and his gentle nature just as I did."

"There was still the question of why they were different, so after leaving the babies with their mother I went to my quarters and called upon the spirits again. If the first time was bad, then the second time was even worse. They howled about how a hole had been ripped into their dimension, and that this hole would cause the destruction of space and time itself. I was very frightened. Somehow I knew that this hole had been ripped open by the birth of those twin boys, but I couldn't fathom why."

"It was after a few years that I began to understand the whole situation. While Mana could brood, the first twin whom Lady Arienne named Neah had something in him that was truly evil. When he threw tantrums it was practically impossible to calm him. Rory, on the other hand, would never scream or bite or throw things like his brother. This was because they were identical twins. When they had split in Lady Arienne's womb they had split along polar halves: everything that was the darkness of their souls went to Neah while all of their goodness went to Rory. That is why Rory would never be a Noah because he was completely human while Neah has caused a rift by creating a 14th Noah."

oOo

Gitano was very confused. He had never heard Lord Camelot or any of the others refer to themselves by a number. Mana, however, seemed to know what Rhian was talking about. His golden eyes were wide with horror just as they had been when Rory had fallen through the nothing door. "Won't Neah be unstable then?" he asked Rhian after a brief moment of silence.

"I can't be certain, but this could cause some sort of instability," she replied. "It depends on whether Rory died or not."

"Rory did not die," asserted Mana. He clenched the kitchen counter with both hands. "He'll come back."

"You seem certain of that," stated Rhian.

"I am certain," he responded.

She turned to address Gitano. "What do you think, Gitano?" she inquired.

He didn't notice the glimmer in her eye until after he spoke. It was the glimmer that said no matter what he thought she had made up her mind already. "Well, if Rory had died then his goodness would either die with him or it would latch onto Neah, and in that case he'd be experiencing some odd behavior. For instance he would be running a temperature or trying to scratch his skin off-"

"So you think Rory is alive, too?" she questioned.

"Yes, I do," he said.

"Very well then," declared Rhian, standing up from her chair. She looked out of the dark kitchen window. "Someone is going to have to wait for him."

"We're waiting already," scoffed Gitano. He was pretty sure that was obvious.

Rhian hit him upside the head. "If you'd stop making snide comments then things wouldn't seem so obvious, idiot. I meant that someone is going to have to wait for him outside- away from Walker Manor," Rhian snapped.

Mana and Gitano looked at her with wide eyes. What was she implying?

"I'm not certain what Lady Arienne will do once she discovers what has happened, and Adam may very well destroy everyone here. We need someone to leave this house to wait for Rory," she continued. She turned to Mana. "Rory will want someone he feels safe with when he returns. Are you willing to do anything for your little brother, Mana Walker?"

Mana screwed up his face in disapproval. "You want me to leave home and live on the streets while waiting for Rory to return?" he asked in disbelief.

"That would be the general idea," said Gitano. He ducked as Rhian's hand came close to his head again.

"I don't think Neah is willing to do it, so it might as well be you," replied Rhian. "We don't know when the child will return, so it must be someone who is young waiting for him. I may very well be dead by the time he comes back."

"This is completely mental," grumbled Mana. He rubbed his temples.

"If you think that is mental, then you haven't heard the half of it yet," stated Rhian. "Whoever leaves will have to take the entire fault with them. Your family cannot know what happened here tonight. They cannot know that Rory became an accommodator. That means that whoever waits for Rory will be at fault for the missing Innocence in the basement and Rory's 'death.' They will never be allowed to return to Walker Manor and must remain wary of the clan of Noah for the rest of their life."

"Now that's asking too much!" shouted Mana. He let go of the counter and walked toward Rhian. "You want me to give up my home, my family, and my duty?"

"No," responded Rhian, "I want you to give up everything. It means you will no longer be a lord of the Walker Estate."

Mana glared at her silently, his fists tensing and relaxing by his sides.

"It all comes down to who you love more: your family or Rory," said Rhian. She turned to face Mana. "I never said it was going to be easy. Your mother and the others will probably never forgive you. I'll give you time to think it over. If your answer is still no by witching hour, then I'll wake Neah and force him to leave. That will be a bit of a messy affair, though."

Rhian walked out into the back hall where her quarters were. Gitano was stunned to say the least. One of the brats was going to have to leave to cover this whole thing up. "Oh, and no matter which one of them go, you're going with them, Gitano," said Rhian from inside the hallway.

oOo

He lay on his back on his room's floor. Sophia was still sleeping soundly in his cot, only occasionally rolling over in her slumber. His eyes turned soft as he watched her sleep on. Gitano wondered what she would say when he was gone in the morning. Rhian would probably never tell her why he left and force her to remain quiet about the whole basement affair.

He had packed an old canvas bag that Rhian left in his room without much thought about her words. It was strange to think he was finally leaving this place of torment, but it had not seemed to hit him in its full reality yet. Perhaps it was because he'd been so used to wandering aimlessly all of his childhood. Gitano smirked to himself. He didn't really have the right to think such things, for he still was a child. He was pretty certain he had not reached ten years of age yet.

He looked at a coverless watch that he had pilfered from the garbage several years back while traveling through London. The glass plating over the hands had broken long ago, but the clock still worked. It was a quarter to three.

He was startled out of his thoughts by a light rapping on the door. Whoever it was opened it without him even waiting for his consent.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," grumbled Mana Walker. Gitano sat up to look at him. Rhian had apparently dug some of his things out of the wash and given them to Mana. Despite being slightly shorter than he was, the clothes still looked better on the golden-eyed boy. "Let's just get going."

Gitano nodded his head in agreement and grabbed his bag. They had made it to the kitchen door when he heard a small voice behind them.

"Where are you going?" asked Sophia. She stood in the doorway of his room looking at Mana and him as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes.

He really wished she had stayed asleep. "Sophia, we must go," he said. "I know it sounds abrupt, but we really must."

"You're leaving?" she inquired.

"Yeah," he replied.

Her gray eyes began to fill with tears. "I want to go with you!" she cried.

"Sophia…" he began to say.

"You should go back to sleep," interrupted Mana. "It's our problem now, so try not to get too involved."

"Gitano, please!" she sobbed. "I don't want to be alone!"

He looked away from her to stare at the door frame beside him. "Mana is right, Sophia. You need to stay here," he said. "But remember that you'll never be alone. You've got Rhian here if you ever need her."

Sophia cried even harder and had to grip the doorknob behind her to remain standing on her spindly legs. "But then you'll be alone," she bawled.

"Hey, as grumpy as Mana here can be, he's still company," he chuckled. Mana gave out a huff of annoyance. "Plus, if I'm ever alone I'll just think of you and Rhian. I'll always have company."

He walked over to Sophia and enveloped her in a hug. Gitano picked his crying friend up off her shaking feet and carried her back into his dark room and laid her on the bed. He pulled the thin covers up to her chin. "It might be best if you forget me, though," he stated sadly. "If Rhian asks you to do that, then you should."

"I'll never forget you, Gitano," sniffed Sophia. "You're my best friend."

He smiled and patted her on the head. "And you're mine," he replied. Sophia stopped crying and smiled at him. It was the sweet sort of smile that was impossible to forget- the kind of smile he still remembered years after he left the house of the dead golden wheat. Gitano stood up and walked out the door, closing it lightly behind him.

oOo

They arrived in Rhian's room as the clock struck three. "You have decided to go," she said to Mana.

"Yes," he replied shakily. Apparently he looked braver than he felt. "I will no longer be Lord Mana Walker."

Rhian cracked a grin at the boy. "You always had a heart. It could be eclipsed very easily, but it would always return," she stated. "I have a gift for you two."

Both boys looked at her inquisitively. She took a bottle out of her apron pocket and gave it to him. "Drink this potion. I made initially for Gitano should he ever desire to run away when he was older, but I think you both will need it now. Despite all of Adam's threats he can't truly find people at a whim. His senses rely on Innocence and Dark Matter. The potion will block your presence from the clan of Noah as long as you do not call upon them, Mana. They could search the earth for seven thousand years, but they will never find you and Gitano," Rhian said.

"Really?" inquired Mana.

"How come you never gave that to me before?" asked Gitano, outraged that he could have escaped long before then.

"You weren't ready then," stated Rhian. She gave Gitano a pat on the head. "Mana has no idea how to live on the streets. You'll have to teach him everything you know because I cannot help you two from now onwards."

He nodded and gave her his best grin. "Mana will be a regular street rat in no time," he declared.

They both drank from the bottle. Gitano could feel a slight tingling sensation, but it disappeared soon after. "I feel… strange," said Mana.

"Your head must feel light after that," responded Rhian. "You'll get to know what it's like to have your own thoughts. Maybe it will change your opinion on the human race."

Mana glared at her and scoffed, but this only caused Rhian to laugh. Although Mana was nice to his youngest brother, he doubted the boy would be capable of such kindness to others, especially strangers. That might be better in the long run, he thought. At least he wouldn't have to go looking for him up chimneys or down dark alleyways. Being too trusting was a weakness the outside world shamelessly exploited.

"You better go now," said Rhian. She handed them coats to put on over Gitano's raggedy clothing. "I'm sure Lady Arienne and the others will be arriving at any moment. Go!"

Mana wrapped a muffler around his neck while Gitano picked up his bag. "Make sure Sophia doesn't get too lonely," he told the old magician. She smiled at him.

He heard a hoofbeats on the front driveway and shot a look at Mana. The boy picked up his bag and they bolted for the back door. "Don't look back!" hissed Rhian.

Gitano crept around the side of the house, Mana following close behind. He knew that the closest property line was unfortunately in the front, so they'd have to wait for the adults to go inside before making a run for it. He'd have to trust that Mana would follow him wherever he went after that.

He heard Lady Arienne laughing as she stepped out of the coach. The front door opened. "Lady Arienne!" cried Rhian. Gitano was impressed. He'd never heard her sound like the average crying person in a disaster. "Come quickly! There has been an accident!"

Lady Arienne's laughter stopped and he heard her heels move hurriedly up the front stone steps into the house.

"I've got to see this," drawled Lord Tykki's voice. "Anything that can upset that old hag must be good."

Lady Arienne's voice screamed out into the night. "MY RORY! MY DARLING RORY!" she shrieked.

"This sounds bad," stated Lord Camelot. "We better go inside and see what happened. Perhaps you should call the Earl, Tykki. If there's been some sort of accident he may want to know about it, especially if it concerns his favorite Noah family. Though I don't know how those boys could beat Road in popularity."

"Maybe you should check on Road then," said an annoyed Lord Tykki. "She could have been involved in the accident."

He heard Lord Camelot's footsteps running up the front stairs. That left only Lord Tykki.

"HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED TO MY SWEET LITTLE BOY? RORY! RORY!" Lady Arienne screeched.

"This is sounding bad," remarked Lord Tykki. His feet moved slowly up the front stairs and into the manor.

As soon as the door slammed Gitano looked out into the front yard. The coachman was driving the carriage into the back yard on the path on the other side of the house. He motioned to Mana and they ran out from their hiding space past the dead golden wheat onto the main road. They ran for cover in the fields on the opposite side. Not once did they look back.

Alright, that was longer than I predicted. I got really into Rhian's story considering at what was hinted in Chapter 213 about Neah somehow being a rift from the Holy War. Please Review!