Ungodly Fruit

The rain stopped some time after the party ended. Long and late night cabby rides home were almost to their destinations and most of the attendants of the house had gone to sleep. The only ones who were still up were Tyki and Cyril, his older brother and a fellow Noah. They were sitting in an upstairs drawing room, sipping at some after party drinks and talking for a bit. Tyki was just waiting for him to go to bed so he could leave without being questioned. Cyril was talking about some minister business of his that he had done earlier that day, and Tyki found himself day dreaming away from the conversation frequently. Still, he found he was able to pay attention and answer him with the appropriate comments and laugh at the jokes that were funny, scoffing at the ones that weren’t and laughing it off anyways. All the while, his mind was on Allen, and he hoped that the younger boy wouldn’t leave just yet, and that he would at least stay until Tyki came to his room at the Inn. Looking at his half finished glass of wine, he acted as though to suppress a yawn and stood. “Well, Cyril, I think I should retire to bed.”



Cyril checked his watch and nodded. “That sounds like a good idea, little brother…” He answered and smiled. “Are you planning on going out again?”



Tyki shrugged. “I’m not sure. The Earl has been wanting to keep an eye on me since the incident at the ark.” Among other incidents that have made it nearly impossible for me to have any freedom…



Watching his brother look at his gloved hands, he sighed. “Now that you are a formidable opponent towards the 14th and the Innocence, you are no longer expendable.”



“You make it sound as if I were a weapon…” Tyki couldn’t help but laugh mirthlessly at the upsetting feeling that came with that ugly word. Was this what he had become to the Earl and to this war? Nothing more than a weapon?



Cyril smiled too when he mistook Tyki’s laugh for amusement. “It’s better than being useless I say…”



Tyki nodded and put his gloved hands into his pocket. “I agree. I have this feeling that the Earl will no longer waste his time with those he doesn’t feel useful…”



Giving his brother a sad look, he began walking with him to the door of the drawing room while saying, “The Earl thinks of us as his children, Tyki. He would mourn the loss of one of us even if we were no longer useful.”



Tyki gave a small smile and looked at Cyril. “I guess. I’ll see you tomorrow Cyril. Sleep well.”



Tyki headed for his room and Cyril watched him go with a forlorn feeling inside of him. There was something different about Tyki. Ever since his Noah had awoken to it’s full potential, he had acted strange and even the Earl had acted strange towards him. Still, the only thing that worried Cyril was his younger brother, and how the change had distanced him further from the Noah family. “Tyki…” He called and his younger brother turned. “Is everything alright?”



Tyki smiled more. “Sure. Everything’s fine. I’m just tired that’s all.”



Cyril nodded and held his hand up in a departing gesture before going to his own room, leaving Tyki to go to his. There was a feeling in Tyki’s stomach that made him uneasy about making this decision to go out that night and do what he was about to do, but there would be no other time to do this. It was now or never. That was what he had decided. An old warmth that had been dormant for so long had rekindled and caught light, leaving him with a burning sensation that drove his desire and his need. Allen had appeared and from the first kiss he had with him up against the bookcase to the moment he left, he knew that this young boy was the very reason why he felt it. Tyki knew that he was why he felt a tingling sensation from every nerve in his body, and he also knew that this warmth would either continue to burn, or go out and he would not like the latter to happen. He felt more alive now than he had ever felt and he never wanted this feeling to fade.



Tyki quickly undressed, changing into a simple pair of pants and a white shirt before pulling his hair out and grabbing only what he felt he might need, and only what would fit into his pants pockets. Once he was done, he went to the French doors and opened them, stepping out onto the balcony into the light of the moon in the now clear sky. He breathed deeply and inhaled the fresh smell of the air cleansed of filth by the rain before stepping onto the railing and bolting off into the night. The Earl usually kept a few akuma around to keep the place sort of protected from Exorcists, but with their whereabouts so well hidden, Tyki wasn’t sure they were necessary. He slinked past them, not wanting to be seen or heard by anyone, and ran down the road towards the inner part of the city. The place was becoming more and more familiar to him the longer he lived there and slowly, the small town was beginning to grow on him. Passing along the butcher shop and the local dress, suit, and hat shops was easy, but it was a little bit past the shopping district into something that looked like a small neighborhood. Tyki slowed a little here so he wouldn’t miss the town square as he ran, and it wasn’t until he realized he had gone in a circle that he was sure he had missed it somewhere.



Cursing at his foul luck, he doubled back and took a turn down an alley, sprinting up on the air so he could reach the rooftops and hopefully get a better view from higher ground. It helped a little and he spied a familiar city landmark towards his right. The fountain was hidden by many rooftops surrounding the one he was standing on, but he could see where there was a clear spot absent of tile and chimney and he began leaping from rooftop to rooftop towards it. It took him only a few minutes due to his hurried steps and he surveyed the area, looking down for the familiar sign reading ‘Gentlekeeper’s Inn’. He saw it and also saw a small hooded figure running quickly down the road. Waiting until they were gone so he wouldn’t be seen, he lit a cigarette he had in his pocket and watched them go before hopping down towards the ground, using the air once more as his stepladder. On the ground, he looked at the small Inn and then walked up to the door. He knocked, and an old man opened a panel in the door to see who it was. “Gentlekeeper’s Inn…”



“Yes, I’m looking for someone who may be renting a room here…” Tyki said and smiled brightly. “His name is Allen Walker…”



The man frowned and answered gruffly with a slightly cockney accent, “No one \'ere by that name, guv’nor.”



Tyki paused a minute. He wouldn’t ask him to lie to me, would he? The boy has good reason to, but he was at my home, challenging me…he thought. Smiling once more, he said, “Well, the one I’m looking for has white hair and a scar down his left cheek…he doesn’t look a day over sixteen…”



The Innkeeper looked at Tyki suspiciously a moment as if to discern if he was dangerous or not then answered. “Yeah, only his name wasn’t Allen. It was Matthew, an’ he just checked out…woke me up late in the bloody night to do it too.” He grumbled, yawning in a rather uncouth manner that showed a few missing teeth. “He did leave somethin’ for anyone who came a’lookin fer ‘im…”



Tyki took the note that was handed to him through the slot and quickly began walking away as he knew he wasn’t going to get any information out of the British Innkeeper. He opened the note once he was well out of sight of the Inn and read it by moonlight.



I wonder if you are going to actually come to the Inn as was implied earlier. If you aren’t, then so be it, but if you are reading this, then hopefully I’m far-gone by now. I’m tired of running away from this force that I have been propelled with for many months now, but facing it creates such a disastrous probability in my mind that I can’t stand it. Finding that I would rather live with it than try and face it head on, I have left and am returning to where I belong. It’s wrong, how we all have to fight this. Hopefully, when I see you again, we will play poker once more.



There was no signature, but Tyki knew it was from Allen, and that it was meant for him to read and understand without risking someone else reading it and reporting him to the Earl. Even so, he reread the small and delicate handwriting that spelled out the thoughts of someone who he had hoped to see, but had missed the chance. There was anger building up inside of him at his own stupidity and his shortsightedness at what this all really was. Crumpling the paper, he took a long drag off of the cigarette before throwing it to the ground and stepping on it. “You make a fool of a Noah, you damned boy,” he hissed and ran his fingers through his dark hair thoughtfully with a sigh. “Playing with me, pulling me back and forth…you probably don’t realize it…”



Suddenly, there was a click in Tyki’s mind linking two bits of information together. The small and strange hooded person making their way from the Inn. Allen’s sudden disappearance and his farewell letter. Tyki suddenly surged forward and ran along the street, following the path that he had seen the hooded figure taking. The Exorcist couldn’t have gotten far, seeing as he was on foot at the moment and he had no reason to really hurry, but there was no guarantee of that. Glaring as he ran, he knew he would have to gain higher ground in order to see better and so he hopped up to the roofs, using the air to climb higher and higher until he could see alleys and branching streets from straight above as he flew along. He ran a straight path for a while, following the main street as his eyes searched within their sight and along the peripherals of his vision for any sign of the hooded figure he had seen. Wandering a bit higher to see if his view would be a bit better from higher up, he stopped a moment and just looked, staring across the town that always seemed so small. Looking down towards one of the side streets, he spotted something black moving along the moonlight.



Tyki knew this might be his only chance at finding him, even if the probability of being wrong about it was high, he wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by him. Very quickly, he started down, once again using the air to his advantage. Forcing his legs to carry him as fast as they could, he neared toward the ground at a blinding speed until he got close enough that he slowed down so that he wouldn’t collide too forcefully with whoever it was he was intending on tackling to the ground. Without warning, the person turned quickly, holding out an arm ten times larger than it should have been for any human and with a hand that shoed a cross embedded in the back, stopped Tyki’s oncoming attack. Sneering as the hood fell back and revealed the face of the boy with white hair, Tyki laughed, “What luck!”



The young Exorcist tried pushing Tyki back, but he used the air to act as a small wall and keep him in place. He shoved hard into him to hopefully keep Tyki on the defense rather than the offense for a moment and took the opportunity to leap back. “Didn’t you understand the note I left behind? Or did you not trust me enough to go looking at the Inn and decide to try and follow me?”



Tyki laughed again, his luck at finding Allen so easily this late at night in the dark was amazing and he was relishing a bit in his good fortune. His temper was hot at the moment in aggravation from being left behind so abruptly and lead about so easily like a dog and a treat. He wanted to hurt Allen now, his Noah feeding his desire more than he would have liked. Deciding to play a little, he smiled. “Now why would I go an do a thing like that, boy? I’d waste my whole night trying to find someone as little as you in the alleyways…”



“Then why are you out here?!” Allen resisted shouting with his full voice, afraid to wake up anybody who might be sleeping. “You are wasting your time and mine by following me!”



Tyki came forward, his shields sprouting out of his wrists as he chuckled. Allen took a defensive stance with his arm in front of him and watched Tyki warily. “It’s so much more fun to hunt someone down, don’t you think?”



“My idea of fun isn’t hunting down someone I kissed just a few hours before and toying with them mentally…” Allen answered with a hard stare to Tyki, his eyes sad and miserable as they met Tyki’s.



Stopping in his tracts, Tyki suddenly felt his heart ache and he sighed. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, the shields disappearing from his wrists as he did so. “My…apologies, boy. I came to speak with you, not attack you…” Becoming even more wary, Allen crouched lower and Tyki growled. “Oh don’t do that, boy, or I really will have to tie you down so that I may make you pay attention to what I have to say!”



“Well what do you expect me to do after being raped once and then being attacked by you after…after what you did this afternoon?!” Allen’s voice shook a little and the sound of a weakness in the Exorcists’ voice surprised Tyki. “It’s not fair…”



“No what is not fair, young Exorcists, is that I was lead about like a dog and then suddenly left behind!” Tyki interrupted Allen and ran forward, shoving the arm aside liked it was nothing and grabbing him by his collar and yanking him up. “I came after you because we both have something we haven’t settled…and I intend on resolving it with you here and now…”



Allen grabbed Tyki’s wrist with his other hand and pulled on it. “L-Let go!”



Tyki growled and gripped tighter. “If you really want me to let go, then use your Innocence to make me…”



The young man looked up at Tyki and then away, his other arm hanging limp at his side with what seemed like no life at all. Waiting for many long minutes, but realizing his arm wouldn’t move, he reached down to grab it, but Allen pulled it back, looking up at Tyki with a frightened stare that shattered through everything he knew about the boy. Allen began stuttering out something with, “U-um…”



“Your Innocence can do that. It can make me let go whenever you wish it too…and even make me human.” Tyki pulled Allen up and gently wrapped his arm around Allen, his mood completely changing, as that frightened look on the boy’s face seemed to create a more gentle and calming feeling inside him. His other arm came around as well and he held him in an embrace. “Allen…it can really do that, I know it can…”



Squirming, Allen brought his left hand up and pressed it against Tyki, but it wasn’t activated and so it was just a normal hand. “Tyki…stop…”



Holding tighter, the Noah began walking with the boy in his arms towards an alley. “I won’t. You won’t make me let go, so I won’t. I don’t want to…”



This phrase hit Allen and he stopped struggling. “You…don’t want to?”



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



So. Here\'s the next part. =3

I\'m glad more people are reading this one and I\'m hoping that you\'ll all take time to read Becoming Insane because though it\'s not as good as this one, it tells a bit more :D



I\'ll try and get the next one up quickly :D



Ja ne!