Exception

By: Aviantei

75. Song of the Night


Tyki had known he would come to regret the evening; he just hadn't expected it to be so soon or in such a particular flavor. In fact, said flavor was so distinct that Tyki had blinked several times in succession, wondering if he had just been hallucinating things, but nope! That sure was Red's little sister staring down Jasdevi with no sense of fear in her, and the Minomasu one was right there with her.

Were all the girls in Red's life always so ridiculous? The fact that they'd all ended up at a Noah party on the same freakin' night seemed to suggest so.

And so the amount of chores for this evening seems to have multiplied by three…

"Ho? Now you two wouldn't be thinking of having fun without me over there, now would you?" Tyki asked, striding into the conversation as if he belonged there. That was sort of the key to dealing with the type of assholes he'd grown up around: never show any sort of exploitable weakness. If Jasdevi didn't like it, they could only blame themselves for dragging him along in the first place. "What an unusual little party we've managed to gather." Ideally, he would've been smoking a cigarette already and would be able to take a drag to complete the picture of absolute nonchalance, but some things just weren't meant to be.

"Tyki-Tyki, my man," Devitt said, "these Black Order brats came here to pick a fight!"

That sounded like a pretty false assumption all things considered, but Ivy wasn't doing much to refute it. With the arrival of a new person to the conversation, her state of alertness was on an all-time high. Meanwhile, Ari had no such sense of self preservation and, with an innocent air that would've given Road a run for her money, asked, "Can you call it a fight if it's obvious who's going to win from the start? I'm pretty sure that's just what you'd call a beatdown."

Red, you had my sympathies for growing up with a sister like this. Sure, Tyki and Road were cousins, but that had been unbearable enough. Having someone around who knew how to push emotional buttons with ease was always taxing on the soul when in close proximity for so long.

It was also taxing when the ones whose buttons were being pushed had such short fuses to begin with.

"Listen up, you little braaaaat!" Jasdevi howled together. Ari just answered them with a smile. Shit, Tyki was gonna have to explain to his boyfriend-not-boyfriend that his little sister had brought death upon herself and there was nothing Tyki had been able to do to stop it.

Except.

A shiver ran down the collected Noah's spines, enough to give them all pause.

Ivy had leveled them all in a solid glare with an intense aura rolling off of her. Considering that MPHS students were always in a state of giving each other shit and trying to knock others down in the name of their own success, it meant a lot that Tyki and Jasdero all paused at the sight of her. Even Ari, who'd been banking on Ivy being able to pull her own, had to pause to adjust, and Ivy was on her side!

Lesson learned; Ivy-san is super hecking scary!

And then Ivy opened her mouth and said, with an absolute even tone, "We're listening."

It was a challenge in every way shape or form, daring Devitt and Jasdero to complete their tirade. Ivy wasn't stupid enough to think that she could just stop someone from saying whatever they wanted. She could, however, make them regret it if something unfortunate came out of their mouths.

Insulting her friend very much counted as something unfortunate.

"Alright, alright, let's all relax," Tyki said, managing to come back to his senses quick enough to play mediator. Ivy glared at him harder, and Tyki held up his hands in a sign of good faith. "I'm just saying, we're at a party, now aren't we? A place to have fun." And to run around babysitting every child under the sun, but that's what Tyki got for being one of the oldest, now wasn't it? "I'm sure Jasdevi didn't mean to cause too much trouble; they're just enthusiastic when it comes to our little rivalry. I'm sure you can understand?" And I'm sure you're here to keep an eye on that runaway princess of yours, so we're on the same side, dammit!

Tyki wondered if Lavi would appreciate all the messy work Tyki was doing for his sake or if Red Jr. would threaten him to never let her brother know she was there in the first place. Playing cards sure sounded nice about now; maybe he could drag all the Black Order kiddos to play a game downstairs and occupy them until it was time to go home.

Whilst Tyki was trying to find a way to save his own skin, Jasdevi exchanged a glance. On the one set of hands, Tyki was very much underselling their desire to cause trouble, and that just seemed like a crime that couldn't be forgiven. On the other set of hands, Ivy was looking like way too much trouble to deal with when they just wanted to have a good time.

In a glance, the twins had exchanged all those thoughts and more, and they nodded in unison to show each other they were on the same wavelength, as always.

"Fine, fine, no need to get all worked up there, girlie," Devitt said, waving a hand through the air. "It's no fun when you take things too seriously, you know."

"Yeah! Learn to loosen up, hee!" Jasdero slung an arm around Devitt's shoulder, using his free and to point at Ari. "We'll let you off the hook this time, hee, but know that if you come in picking a fight again, we're gonna let you have it!"

Ari offered a smile. "I do hope you look forward to losing again despite all your best efforts, Jasdevi-san." Just her sing-song tone was enough to make veins pop on the twins' heads, but they didn't take the bait. Once Ivy was out of immediate danger mode, she was going to lecture Ari so hard—or maybe just shake her in hopes that it would sink in. That enmity was enough for Jasdero and Devitt to take a step back and make a retreat. "Bye-bye, now~!"

"You owe us one, hee," Jasdero hissed to Tyki, and Devitt echoed the sentiment by flipping the bird before the two disappeared into the crowd.

Great. More favors owed to people. Running a hand over his face, Tyki let out a sigh so long-suffering that Ari felt compelled to give him a reassuring pat on the arm. Tyki gave her the side eye. "Does your brother know you're here?"

"He won't if you value your life."

"Can you stop antagonizing everyone in the immediate vicinity?" Ivy asked, her patience fraying at its already very worn-down edges. Yeah, I feel you, sister, Tyki thought. Ari looked unrepentant. "If I'd known you'd be like this, I just would've come here on my own."

That seemed to be enough to cause Ari to gasp in indignation. "That would defeat the purpose of going on a life changing adventure together!"

"Well if you keep making a mess of things, I'm going to change your life so hard you won't have one anymore!" It was a clumsy insult at best, but Ari was too busy being fascinated by Ivy letting her calm slip to mind. That pause was enough for Ivy to take a few deep breaths to compose herself—and that was enough for her to turn her attention to Tyki. "Are you also going to make my life awful, too? I'd like to know sooner rather than later."

Ivy didn't want to stab anything or anyone, but it sure was sounding a hell of a lot easier than navigating the situation like a rational person. All things considered, Ivy wasn't sure a rational person could navigate the situation without crying, so maybe stabbing was going to work out better.

Tyki pushed back his hair, though his smile was just a bit strained. "That's one way to thank someone that just helped you out, but I also guess I can't blame you," he said. Tyki didn't trust most of the people at the party, and he knew most of them. Of course Ivy would be wary in the midst of nothing but a bunch of strangers. "But, no, I don't want to cause trouble. As far as I'm concerned, you've just made my night a bigger disaster than necessary." Ivy scowled, but Tyki just shrugged. "If I say I also want to keep an eye out for your little runaway, does that help?"

"He's also dating my brother," Ari added.

"I wouldn't say dating, per se…"

Considering that Tyki had given the exact same response as Lavi, neither Ari nor Ivy was convinced, but there was no point in arguing with people who were in denial. As far as Ivy was concerned, she had way bigger problems than figuring out her friend's messy love life. "Whatever," she said. "If you want to help Lenalee, I'm not going to complain." She could, however, make Tyki regret it if he was lying, but it was just a teensy bit hypocritical to threaten him after scolding Ari for doing the same thing, so he'd just have to find out the hard way, we guess. "Any chance you have an idea of where she is?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be standing around with you two right now," Tyki said, which was fair enough, but also Ivy felt like pulling her hair out. If it weren't for the fact that she knew it'd be a pointless endeavor, she would just call Lenalee and see where she was to save them all the trouble. "But tell you what. I'll have a way easier time of things if I don't have to worry about you two on top of everything else on my plate. So you two give me some time to get a smoke in, and then I'll help you find our runaway princess. Deal?"

"Deal," Ari said without even taking a moment to think about it. "I've been meaning to go and check out the guy that my brother's dating-not-dating, so this is a perfect opportunity for that!"

Ivy's first nonsensical thought was, I thought that this was supposed to be your life changing field trip with me, followed by the much more logical, Well, it's not like it's a bad deal. Having more people on the growing Lenalee Protection Squad meant they could keep even more of an eye out once they found her, plus there was the benefit of having a Noah on their side, which should keep any more troublemakers at bay.

So Ivy said, "Deal," thus bringing yet another awkward alliance into play.

"Good," Tyki said, wondering how he always ended up being in charge of brats. "Now let me get a cigarette in me before I lose my mind, and then we'll talk strategy."


The pool was, in fact, heated.

Of course, it wasn't like Lenalee had come to the party with a drip into the pool in mind, and even if she had, her shopping spree hadn't involved picking up a new swim suit due to the season. Road was in a similar situation, so while going wild and jumping into the pool (like many other partygoers had already done) sounded fun, it also sounded way less fun to be running around in soaking wet clothes in the aftermath. Thus, the girls had compromised by finding a spot that they could dip their feet in and enjoy the atmosphere.

Again, Lenalee had watched enough tv shows and movies to know the way they make things seem on the screen was usually an exaggeration—and yet something about the moment felt pretty damn magical. The sky was stretched out above them, showing off an impressive number of stars, and, with the party lights set up outside, too, it added an almost dreamlike atmosphere to the whole thing.

The night sort of felt like freedom, and that was something Lenalee had been craving for the longest time.

"I swear, if you start spouting some philosophic shit at me right now, I'm pushing you into the pool," Road said, not even joking. After several days of sharing a room together, Lenalee was beginning to think that was part of her charm, if you squinted at it long enough. "This isn't the time for introspection; it's the time to throw your inhibitions out. So stop looking so damn serious."

Lenalee laughed. "Sorry, sorry." It seemed that she would keep her philosophic thoughts to herself for now. "I swear I'm having fun, though. I thought going to something like this might be scary, but it's way more freeing than I imagined." Feet still hanging over the edge and into the pool, Lenalee laid back and spread her arms out, almost looking like a starfish that happened to be stuck to the side of a rock. Up above, the sky seemed infinite. "I'm glad I came. Thanks for inviting me, Road."

"Hmph, don't blame me if you get stepped on like that." Lenalee laughed again, the sound light. Compared to the anger and stress she'd been expressing for the past week, it seemed like she'd at last managed to push that all out of her. Road leaned back on her hands so it was easier to look at her companion. "You know, you'd get to feel like this a lot more if you ditched your school and came to ours."

She wasn't kidding. MPHS valued freedom (some might even say a bit too much, but, meh, details), and the prestige of the place was enough to secure almost anyone's future. And though getting in was usually a matter already settled long beforehand, Road had the Kamelot family fortune behind her—and even more important than that, she was already a favored Noah. She'd already been planning to use that influence to get Allen at Millennium Private High, but it wasn't like that was a one-time trick, not when she was one of the Chairman's favorites.

Lenalee hummed, understanding that the offer was, in fact, serious. "Yeah. I guess so."

That wasn't the kind of answer someone gave whenever they were convinced of the idea, and Road knew it. Despite everything, Lenalee still felt like she had a home where she belonged, a place to return to. Running away wasn't going to be permanent.

Well, it was just something I said on a whim. Not like I was invested or anything.

Road hopped up to standing, managing not to slip with her still wet feet. "Well, you can do whatever you want," she said, "but I'm gonna go get some drinks. Try not to trip someone over there, Starfish, Girl."

Lenalee's lips quirked into a wider smile. "I make no promises."

Snorting, Road set off through the crowd towards the closest refreshment table. Most people recognized her, and thus got out of the way within the space of a few seconds, making it easy to ignore the forming line and grab what she wanted. Playing it safe, Road swiped up a few soda cans, along with some cake for herself. When she spun around, she almost bumped into someone; lucky for them, both the stranger and Road had good enough instincts to get out of the way, preventing what would have become a very violent collision. With a quick apology, the stranger slipped off, their blonde braid trailing behind them.

Road squinted after their back. I don't think I recognized them…

Her line of thought was interrupted by a massive splash, which dragged her attention to the pool whether she liked it or not. It seemed just a bit ridiculous that Lenalee could get into trouble in such a short span of time, but it wasn't impossible. A few seconds later, Road was poolside, though, finding that, sure enough, Lenalee had managed to end up in the pool, her head popping out of the water a few seconds later.

Road crouched down at the poolside. "What the fuck happened to you?"

"I got splashed a little bit and decided to jump in!" Lenalee's grin stretched from ear to ear, and her laughter was kind of contagious. Road had already thought Lenalee was pretty enough to be a doll, but watching her lit up was almost enough to put her on par with Allen, though of course he would win that contest. Lenalee pushed her bangs out of her face. "Whoa, I forgot how different it feels to swim with short hair."

There was a smile on Road's lips that she wasn't aware of, but she was in a good mood, and that was what mattered. "You need help getting out of there?"

"At this point, I might as well stay in for a while!"

Well, it wasn't like Road was going to argue with that. And if her party companion was gonna go for a swim, there was just one thing to do.

Setting the cans and cake aside, Road grinned as she jumped right on in.


[Author's Notes]

Bit of a later update than usual, brought to you by low energy and being trapped under my cat on the couch for several hours.

Can you tell I was writing this chapter while Call of the Night was airing? Because I was so writing this chapter while Call of the Night was airing. I also like putting Tyki through it, whoops.

Gonna have a bonus update today for one of my Blue Exorcist fics, Ordinary Life, as I try to revive projects I've left untouched for so long. Something, something, check it out.

Next Time: "76. You Haven't Changed." Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[20 July 2024]