Home Again

Chapter 4: Neah "Greets" The Family

Neah's POV

Neah opened his eyes and stared up at the white ceiling, coated with darkness. At first, he wasn't quite sure where he was. Things are awfully foggy, in there. The room was almost completely dark as he sat up on the bed, allowing Allen's lengthy white hair to pour over his shoulders.

He was so overcome with excitement once he'd remembered what had happened that he could hardly contain himself. As he dragged himself out of bed, he let his head fall back and a grin stretch across his face. What should I do first? Kill the Earl? Is it not too soon? I'm so close...

He almost drooled with excitement as he slowly made his way out the door. He was dressed in a white button-up shirt - which had only a few buttons buttoned - and some tight trousers with a belt that hung open.

He didn't bother to fix his appearance, not just because he didn't have much time in Allen's body, but because he was genuinely overcome with an overwhelming excitement. Maybe it was the noah in him that made him crave bloodshed so desperately. Whatever it was, he, unlike the boy, loved it.

He allowed his arms to dangle and he swayed with every step, nearly dragging himself along like a drunk person. With each akuma he sensed, he killed it before it could even catch sight of him. We wouldn't want Adam to hear of my appearance before I could "greet" him now would we?

Eventually, he came across a building with a door decorated excessively in pink and butterflies. "What have you been up to while I was away, my family", he said allowed, lifting his palm to it and allowing dark matter to shoot out and break down the door.

Inside was Road, who sat with her dolls, decorating Lulubell's cat form with decorative bows and clothing items. "Pathetic", he spat, though his smile never faltered. He lowered his head and allowed the pale hair and skin to darken. His hair covered his eyes and his hands dangled once more by his sides as he nearly laughed, "This is what you choose to do with your time?"

"Allen", Road asked, worry clouding her eyes as the cat began to hiss violently. As realization hit, she narrowed her eyes. "No... Neah..."

Neah's smile broadened as wide as it could and he chuckled through his teeth before lifting his palm toward her and singing, "Correct~."

Tyki's POV

After dropping Allen off in his room, he'd gone back to his own room and smoked a few cigarettes, scratching his head with agitation at himself, the boy, and the Earl. Why does he still cling to those so called "friends"? They weren't his friends to begin with! If only the Earl hadn't asked me to do that...

He heard the sounds of explosions coming from outside his door, along with menacing laughter. He got up, creaked his door open just slightly, and glared into the ark, expecting entirely to find a general or something. Not that that's the most rational thought, seeing as the humans hadn't yet been capable of finding the noahs' ark...

Outside, he could see Allen walking sluggishly. As the noah crept out and followed the boy from a safe distance, he also noticed that he'd been killing akuma, not with his innocence, but with his dark matter. Why would he do that? Doesn't he know the consequences? Unless...

Allen stopped in front of Road's door and stared at it. The boy moves like a zombie... What's his problem? Is he sleeping walking?

The ex-exorcist lifted his palm to the door and dark matter shot out of it, cutting through it and breaking it down. At this point, Tyki'd decided that it might possibly be best to intervene. So, he casually walked toward the door, as if just passing by, and looked in.

"Neah", Road gasped.

"Correct~", Shounen sang, lifting his grey palm to the girl, as though planning to shoot dark matter at her.

Tyki jumped forward, called out to the boy, and pushed him to the ground. He was too late, though, and Road lay in Lulubell's now-human lap as she cradled the eldest while glaring at the attacker.

When Tyki looked at the one he was hovering above, he made eye contact with... Neah. The noah of pleasure would have known even if it he hadn't had the stigmata showing just by the way the boy laid so calmly and unflustered, seeming to study him with laser eyes and a lack of motion or emotion. Tyki squinted his eyes in a glare but didn't stop when white eyelashes fluttered shut before shooting open again. This time, his eyes were wider and full of surprise and confusion and his skin was pale with no visible stigmata.

Is this a trick?

Allen's POV

Allen opened his eyes to Tyki hovering above him with a furious glare in his eyes. He held his arms roughly to the ground, making it so the weaker one would have to use his innocence to get up. But, of course, he didn't want to cause any drama and, knowing how Tyki and the rest of the noah hated innocence, it would definitely cause drama.

Instead, he blinked his eyes, hoping that his confusion would convey through them, and asked, "Uh...Tyki...? Would you please move?"

The noah's glare only deepened, confusing the ex-exorcist tenfold. Did I do something wrong? He looked about the room, realizing only then that he was in Road's room, and then looked at Road, herself. She was in Lulubell's lap, seeming to be asleep. Lulubell had a similar glare to Tyki's, looking at the boy as though he were the one siding with the Earl.

"What happened, here", he asked, slightly more confused than previously. Why am I here?

"Hah! Don't play dumb, fourteenth. I won't fall for this", Tyki spat.

That pricked Allen's nerves. He's calling me the fourteenth just like the Earl! Is this a nightmare? Has he already abandoned me? What did I do? Or is this truly a nightmare? He kneed the noah in the stomach and squirmed in a sad attempt to peacefully break free. "Let me go, Tyki Mikk!"

"And if I do? Who do you intend to target next? The Earl? Don't tell me you think you can get away with this."

Allen'd had enough. He activated his innocence and pushed the larger man off of him with his crown clown and a furious shout, throwing him across the room. "What are you talking about, Tyki?! You're not making any sense!"

The noah skid to a stop in front of the boy as he stood up, innocence deactivating. He lit a cigarette and stood more casually, lessoning his glare. "So, it's really you, Shounen? That temper certainly sounds like you. However..."

Allen ran to him and pulled at his hair, shouting at him about how much of a jerk he was and making him laugh playfully as he pushed the shorter one off, carefully.

"Of course it's me, who else would it be", the ex-exorcist barked, standing back, crossing his arms, and closing his eyes in frustration.

"The fourteenth, for one. You did just attack Road and Lulubell - or, should I say, the fourteenth did."