My Damsel Breathes Fire - Chapter 3

[misstercackles]

My Damsel Breathes Fire
By Misster Cackles


: / / / / :

Lavi tensed as the Noah couldn’t control his laughter. What was so funny about it? He just announced to the entire street that Tyki was a Noah, even the Crow members! Lavi gasped silently, realizing. He whipped around, disbelieving, as he searched the tops of buildings. All clear. The sound of his enemy slowing his laughter to a small chuckle made him turn around, prepared yet berating himself mentally on how he could let his guard fall like that just because Tyki Mikk said he was being watched and had to pretend. The newly appointed Bookman demanded an explanation how he knew Crow was in Portugal.

“You’re so paranoid, my lovely Librarian.” Tyki stated with a mean grin, advancing towards Lavi in measured steps. Lavi glowered, stepping and limping away that matched Tyki’s. “That’s very unbecoming for a man.” The Noah’s eyes flashed between the yellows, his rich, darkened skin turning darker to the recognizable Noah feature. The air seemed to swirl around Tyki, and Lavi could distinctly feel the air getting chillier despite it already being winter, but it was more than that: his chest became heavier and his insides were deathly cold. Remembering the last form he saw Tyki in, Lavi almost shook with fright but willed himself to grab Nyoibo, teeth bared and single green eye murderous. Yet with this fierce out front towards his enemy, he still felt twenty times smaller against Tyki knowing that this Noah had already cracked his hard-to-brake Innocence once before.

Tyki only grinned at the Exorcist Bookman, feeling the Noah urges within him to just kill the boy instead of toying with him. He opened his mouth, “It’s unbecoming because it shows weakness and emotion.” He smirked even more when he saw Lavi twitch. “You’ll be an awful Librarian if you show anything, right?”

Lavi gritted his teeth, growling, “I’ll worry about that on my own; you just worry about your dying wish! Now tell me how you knew the Crow were here! Tell me if Bookman was with them!” He could have sworn that he saw a shadow flicker from Tyki’s body, and in response he invocated his Innocence and it grew three times larger.

“Oh, they were here, alright, lovely Librarian,” Tyki mused tauntingly, waving his free hand idly. “Came in, destroyed the akuma, and killed your Bookman teacher.” He laughed shortly, “All on this same street, too. Look on over there, at that alley; I’m pretty sure that is where they stashed his body…” The Noah pointed a gray hand to a passage that was close, but sighed in an obvious staged way, hand falling, “But some people came in earlier in the day and called the police. He’s probably six feet under by now.”

“The Crow, you bastard!” Lavi hollered, “Where are they!”

Tyki shrugged easily before his eyes became wide, irises contracting into horizontal slits again, “Dead. I killed them.” As Lavi gaped, Tyki raised his hand straight in the air with his fingers outstretched. He suddenly gripped into a fist, and a second later the nearest gas street lamp’s glass box shattered, the flame flickering out from an unfelt wind. Lavi was shaken and stepped back, wondering if he’d be fast enough to flee on Nyoibo, but Tyki was advancing fast towards him and, with Tyki, the shadows were surrounding darker around them. A breeze circled and shifted the darkness around Tyki, and Lavi saw a black, ridged tentacle form from the Noah and come straight for him at a too-fast of speed. Shit, he wouldn’t be able to dodge it, so he lifted Nyoibo in front of him in hopes of being able to block Tyki’s attack.

Footsteps crunched in the snow and became louder, approaching the scene, and Lavi whipped his head around to demand that the people run away. A sound escaped from his throat, but died off as he looked into the face of another Tyki.

“Little brother! There you are!”

Immediately the air felt warmer now that the shadows had retreated and the wind stopped swirling. The tentacle had dissolved into the nothingness it came from, and the Noah of Pleasure turned into the average Tyki Mikk once more, golden eyes taking longer to turn to their native dark brown color. Tyki smiled at the approaching man that Lavi now saw more clearly without Tyki’s dark aura surrounding them. He was just about the same height as Tyki, a little taller perhaps by age, but now with the light he could see that he looked almost nothing like Tyki: He was Portuguese, yes, with the same body build Tyki had, and his hair was just as long, but that’s where the similarities ended.

“Good evening, Cyril,” Tyki said with a cherry tone, genuine, that made Lavi feel edgy about this new man; surely he saw Tyki? There was no denying that a bloody tentacle hadn’t come from him. Lavi felt more sickening weight drop in his stomach as he heard what Tyki said next:

“You took care of any witnesses?” They greeted each other warmly, like family, but Tyki pushed Cyril at arms length away as he tried to plant a kiss on his brother’s cheek. This closeness reminded Lavi of Rhode when she sees Allen, so the same horrid weight became a thought: Cyril was a Noah.

“But of course, Brother!” Cyril’s voice was disturbingly light and cheerful, as though even talking about babies dying wouldn’t ruin his spirits. A firm look came over his face, however, and Lavi was shocked at the slight scolding he was now giving Tyki.

“If I wasn’t in sight to know it happening, I wouldn’t have been able to make people turn away in time. Please do not draw anymore attention to yourself; it was hard enough trying to explain why your skin had suddenly changed color overnight. I wouldn’t like to add eye color, or your Noah’s form to the list.” Cyril gave one glance to Lavi for the first time, eyes widening in surprise by his presence. A slow smirk came over his face.

“Even if it is to take care of some…pests.” Tyki gave a low chuckle and waved a hand to Lavi, facing him as he spoke. Lavi glared and readied Nyoibo.

“Cyril, this is Bookman. Bookman, this is my brother Cyril whom I was telling you about.” Tyki couldn’t help the smirk that came over his lips as Cyril’s eyes went wide again.

“Bookman? Is he…”

“Ah, I should say…newly-appointed Bookman.” Tyki interrupted Cyril’s question hastily, making Lavi feel out of a loop. Especially when they begun talking about him as if he weren’t there to begin with.

“Oh, I see, but could he also know?”

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter; he’s also an Exorcist.”

“But they’re no fun when they’re injured! You can obviously tell he’s sick, and…why’s he favoring his leg?”

Tyki gave another low chuckle and Lavi could only wish his angriest glare could set fire to people. “He slipped on ice and twisted the ankle.”

The new Noah mock slapped Tyki on the arm, a playful glint in his dark, slanted eyes, “Surely you had the speed to catch him before he hit ground, brother; and here I thought you were a gentleman.” He huffed and smirked slyly, “So it’s only your face and manners that attract the crowd. What would you do if they found out how rude you are alone?”

Tyki ignored the question, almost torn on what to do with the Bookman: he wasn’t joking when he told Rowel he was invited to the Kamelot’s manor, but if he killed the redhead now he’d most definitely stain his suit with the boy’s blood, even if he used Tease; they weren’t exactly clean all the time. A thought of taking the Bookman along with him made itself known a couple of times, yet the boy’s Innocence would be troublesome to deal with later, especially if Tricia was to wake with her daughter smashed into a pulp. Not that Rhode would allow herself to be caught off guard even in sleep, mind you.

Then there was the idea that Cyril caused since he hadn’t even thought of it when he set eyes on the Bookman earlier tonight: What if - if being a giant leap of hope - what if the Bookman did know? He hadn’t been the previous Bookman’s successor for no reason, right? Wasn’t that why the Crow members had been following the Bookman? Then, if Tyki slipped by this chance, who knows when next time he would have his chance alone with Bookman again; even their crossings by the port had been purely coincidence: Tyki went to meet Cyril and heard an argument, and the more he approached, the more he felt the twinges of Innocence nearby. He’d taken Bookman’s invatation for a stroll just to fuck with his head, having witnessed his teacher’s death early afternoon.

Lavi watched Tyki for a full two minutes in silence and decided he did not like that deep thoughtful look on his face. The Noah was staring right at him unblinkingly and he could be staring at a wall for the expressionless face he was wearing. Finally Tyki opened his mouth, eyes still dazedly seeing nothing, and asked slowly to his brother, “Do you think Tricia would be upset if I brought a dinner guest?”

Cyril, who had been waiting for a response from his younger half-brother on what to do with the Bookman Exorcist, was certainly not expecting that, but answered anyway, “She’ll be delighted; it’s hardly that you bring a guest over, and she’s always had no problem with the people you bring.” Cyril’s voice caught, catching the jest on what Tyki was planning. He tilted his head and gave Lavi a good run-over before snorting softly.

“He’ll need a formal jacket and you’ll have to do something with that; I don’t want you to even accidently change in my home for being near Innocence. I would very not rather have to use my ability on my own wife, thank you.”

Tyki nodded once, coming from his thoughts, and smiling, “Of course, brother, but I’ll need you to keep heads turned; he may cause a lot of racket.” He stepped forward making the Bookman tense and step back further. Lavi winced, momentarily forgetting about the swelling ankle when he put his weight on his right foot. He drew back his arms when Tyki outstretched a hand towards him.

“I might let you live for a while longer if you hand over your Innocence, lad,” Tyki said with a wicked smirk and he continued to advance on Lavi until the redhead was up against a brick wall of a building. Lavi visibly shuddered when his wet shirt connected with the cold brick and inwardly groaned when he felt a tickle in the back of his throat.

“No fucking way, bastard; I rather go up against the fucking Crows than hand over my Innocence!” Lavi snarled. He raised Nyoibo above his head and swung it down with a resounding crack against the street. A glowing red fire seal appeared as he cried out, “Gouka Kijin: Ki Ban!” The monstrous fire snake grew out from the seal, and Lavi sighed with the warmth that filled the street and let his Innocence’s power do its job, but from across the fire he saw Tyki’s smirk grow even wider. As soon as the snake reached above the buildings, Cyril hissed in anger.

“Little brother, you’re taking things too far!” He turned and faced the redhead, a glint passing through his eyes.

All of a sudden everything was in a haze and his body acted on the soft spoken orders in his head. Lavi was being told to stop his attack, so he commanded his Innocence to go no further, but when ordered to diminish the fire monster he questioned the voice in return, confused as to why his mind was giving strange commands. Wasn’t he in danger? There were two Noahs before him so he was definitely in trouble, and one of them was going to destroy his Innocence. He ignored the order and tried to shake out the voice.

Then the still soft voices easily haggled with him to do as told, asking if he would rather be killed than give in to the simple requests. It was promising warmth, food, and rest as long as he did as told. After a moment, Lavi commanded Nyoibo to cancel its attack, his hunger and ever-warming cheeks giving a little emphasis by growling and tingling. But…what of the Noah…? Lavi scrunched his eye together tightly, feeling unsure about this voice in his head.

This next step is very important and you may feel very reluctant to follow through, but you’ve done very well so far.

Lavi nodded hesitantly, but when it said for him to drop his Innocence on the ground, he was more than reluctant; he right out refused! He would not let the Noahs have their way. Whatever this Noah’s ability was, he needed to break free. Godammit, why didn’t he escape when he was able to, when they were talking? Lavi inwardly snorted and knew the answer right away. It was his curious nature: how did Tyki know the Crow were here…why Tyki was able to stop them all when they were able to take a General…where was Bookman’s Innocence now…what do these Noah know that he doesn’t…

He vaguely heard the two of them talking, but it sounded far off, like him being in a dream. He tried to get back into feeling awake and alert again, but it was hard enough to even form thought and a lot easier to follow instructions, yet he knew that he should never give up Nyoibo less he wanted to be a dead man; without it he stood no chance against the two of them. Not that he had better numbers against just one…

As a Bookman you’re not suppose to have allies nor enemies. If you promise to cooperate with us, we can promise you in return that we won’t harm you as a Bookman. You have questions that we can answer; you’re curious, aren’t you, to know the answers? Just surrender your Innocence and you’ll be fine.

The Bookman Exorcist swallowed hard. It was obvious that any other option was to die with the Innocence. Fuck, Lavi could just imagine Gramps turning over in his grave because he had been such an idiot! Bookman had warned him not to come to Portugal still if for a different reason. He took a moment to reply by thought.

I-is there nothing else?

Unless you wish to give us names of your comrades on the field came the quick response.

Lavi didn’t even dare to think of his friends’ faces or location just then, but that wasn’t an option for Lavi: he would not turn out like Suman Dark.

You might not be able to live as an Exorcist, but you’ll forever remain a Bookman. Why are you holding on to something that is only a second title to you, and something that you had no choice to live as?

Shut up! You wouldn’t understand! My Innocence…Nyoibo…it’s something no one else can have. It’s the only thing apart of me that’s real and certain, and I would rather you kill me before you lay your hands on it!

There was more murmuring as the Noahs conversed with themselves but he still couldn’t grasp on to what was being said. It was quiet for a long while before the newer Noah spoke to him again.

Would you rather die before we destroy your Innocence?

So it’s not possible that you let me go now and kill me another day entirely?

And where would you go, Bookman? You wouldn’t be able to make it out of Portugal if you used your Innocence to escape. If you rested in the country with your Innocence, it would be our job as Noahs, enemy to Exorcists, to kill you and destroy your Innocence. You both will be nonexistent before the end of this night if you choose to remain an Exorcist.

Lavi sighed; he tried looking and thinking through possible outcomes, but there seriously wasn’t any loopholes where he could save his Innocence, Nyoibo. He couldn’t believe he was about to give into the likes of fucking Noahs. He swallowed again, heart thudding angrily with his decision. He pleaded silently for his Innocence to forgive him.

Hey. Are you listening?

Of course; have you made up your mind?

Can’t you tell for yourself what I’ve decided? But…I don’t want to see it… Is there someway-

Consider it done, Bookman. A very wise choice.

And then there was nothing else.

: / / / / :

“Little brother, you’re taking things too far!” Tyki glanced at Cyril with a look. So what if he liked to toy with the Exorcists before they died? It was quite a sport for him and amusing to watch them struggle when he could simply snap them without a sweat. If he liked to toy, then his older brother was the opposite and got straight to the point when serious. The glint that was apart of Cyril’s Noah ability flashed through his brother’s eyes as soon as he made eye contact with the Bookman, then he watched the Bookman slump against the wall, blackening eye half open and glassy. On his forehead, underneath his red hair, there glowed a purple pentacle.

There was at most two minutes of silence before Cyril asked softly, “Can you hear me?” The Bookman nodded in return and Cyril smiled arrogantly. “Good. Now, if you would please, stop your attack. Innocent civilians might see and get harmed. This is reasonable, yes?” Bookman nodded again, but all his responses were slow as Cyril’s commands were soft. They didn’t break eye contact, or Cyril’s connection might sever along with it. Tyki watched the boy slide into a more comfortable position on the ground, despite sitting in the slushy snow, and muttered something under his breath.

Tyki glanced at the Innocence-created power that was dancing in the sky, waiting for Bookman’s orders to attack, but instead it withdrew and circled around the Bookman almost protectively. The fire set Bookman’s skin aglow, and the fire shimmered in his lone, complete black eye. Tyki vaguely wondered for what reason the other eye was covered.

“Great, thank you.” Cyril said, rocking on his heels, arms behind his back. “Because we’re surrounded by many buildings that are still made of wood and the fire of your Innocence might cause severe damage, may you kindly deactivate your Innocence?” Tyki had been expecting a slow compliance, like all of the other victims that had fallen to his brother’s power, but the Bookman tilted his head to the side in a confused manner. His lips had thinned into a frown, and his brow knitted at the center in thought.

“I…can’t. My Inno..cence is…the only th..ing keeping me…safe from you…Noahs… Why cancel…if I..m in danger…? Why can..cel if…Nyoibo is…going to be des..troyed?” Bookman shook his head dazedly, trying to break the connection; the star dimmed some, but held true its hold. Cyril hummed beside him, also perplexed by the late teen’s behavior; the last victim had been so easy: before the meeting, he’d told the other Minister to shoot at him during the signing, and he’d done just that with no questions asked. Why was this one refusing?

“Is it so hard to deactivate your Innocence when the other option is to be killed?” Tyki raised a brow at his brother, seeing that he was loosing his patients with the Exorcist Bookman. Well, he had told Tricia that he would be in early tonight and Cyril wasn’t one to back down from his word; they were already fifteen minutes late. Cyril sighed and began over, “If you cancel out your attack and do as told, I swear to reward you with warm housing, food, and long rest for the night. You have been so compliant, why stop now?”

As if sensing the trickery, the fire snake turned towards them and hissed, flames spiting from its open mouth. Tyki felt little twinges in his gut, urging him to take action and kill the other that held the Innocence firmly in his hands, but just as his eyes began to flicker, so did the flames and at once the snake was distinguished into smoke followed by a small grumble from the Bookman’s stomach. Tyki’s eyes lied back on dark brown and he smiled lightly at the sound.

The Noah of Pleasure’s smile disappeared as quickly as it came when Bookman scrunched his eye tightly together, still confused by why he was following Cyril’s instructions. This time, instead of dimming, the pentacle flickered, threatening to release the Bookman. He glanced again at his brother, but Cyril was more alarmed by the teen’s action than he. When the Bookman reopened the eye, it was still glazed over, but less than before, and there was an outline of the iris in the blackness. There was a sense of alertness behind them. Cyril gushed out a relieved breath when the pentacle flickered back on and held. Tyki’s breath soon came as well after Cyril made sure he had the Bookman’s attention on him again.

“This next step is very important and you may feel very reluctant to follow through, but you’ve done very well so far.” The teen nodded hesitantly, but when Cyril told him to drop his Innocence on the ground, he was more than reluctant; he right out refused, becoming more difficult to persuade.

“Wha…? No…!” Bookman was noticeably trying to break through, his brow furrowing upwards and a tight frown over his lips. He would not let them have their way, would he? Bookman sighed heavily, frustrated before saying to no one under his breath, “…dammit…why didn..t I go when…I cou..ld?” As if to answer his own question, he snorted softly and continued to mumble to himself. Tyki raised a brow and looked to Cyril to see if this was normal behavior, but his look said it wasn’t.

“How…did you…know the Cr..ow were here…why…you…able to stop them…all wh..en they…killed a Gen..eral…where’s…Bookman’s Inn..ocence…what do you know…that I don’t…?”

Tyki wasn’t able to stop the question from leaving his mouth, “They killed one of their own Generals? Are they really that cautious of information leaking to the Exorcists? I wonder which General they killed for us…”

Cyril raised a hand above his mouth that made his words muffled, eyes never leaving the black one yet, “They probably are; they want to be the victors, correct? It’d be easier to leave out parts of the story than giving the full truth, who knows if most of their organization might be uncertain about fighting for their cause if they were told.”

The Noah of Pleasure hummed and wondered aloud, “I doubt he’s even heard of ‘the other side of the war’ if they’re so tight lipped.”

His brother shrugged and lowered his mouth, “As a Bookman you’re not suppose to have allies nor enemies. If you promise to cooperate with us, we can promise you in return that we won’t harm you as a Bookman. You have questions that we can answer; you’re curious, aren’t you, to know the answers? Just surrender your Innocence and you’ll be fine.”

Tyki watched as the Bookman Exorcist swallowed hard. Even Tyki saw there was no other option was to live with the Innocence. He took a moment to reply, the barely noticeable green in the black eye saddened.

“I-is th..ere nothing else…?”

“Unless you wish to give us names of your comrades on the field,” the quick, loud response came from Tyki. The Bookman jerked his head to the side, where Tyki was, but continued to stare unblinkingly at Cyril, a small look of fear overcoming his features. Tyki suddenly became curious as to why he was so desperate for his Innocence when it wasn’t even his first priority.

So he asked loudly, “You might not be able to live as an Exorcist, but you’ll forever remain a Bookman. Why are you holding on to something that is only a second title to you, and something that you had no choice to live as?”

When Bookman whipped his head fully around to glare at Tyki, he had thought that the connection might have been wrecked especially when he was able to clearly see that the black was fading from his eye, but the star glowed without wavering, and yet he answered without any slowness or hesitation.

“Shut up!” Bookman shouted, “You wouldn’t understand! My Innocence…Nyoibo…it’s something no one else can have. It’s the only thing apart of me that’s real and certain, and I would rather you kill me before you lay your hands on it!”

Cyril came up beside him, but Tyki spoke to his brother before he opened his mouth, “Has this kind of link happened before? I wouldn’t think so, seeing the looks you’re making.”

“He’s a…extraordinary lad, I’ll give him that,” Cyril answered and he paused, thinking. “Would you rather kill him now to take his Innocence? Tricia is probably worried by now.”

Tyki didn’t answer at first, studying the Bookman. Indeed the Bookman was extraordinary, and he’d surprised him first by walking towards him that evening to keep ‘safe.’ Could he really be that much afraid of his own organization? He hadn’t felt obligated to kill him at the beginning because it was only his job currently to attack the Bookmen and not their apprentices, plus he was honestly busy with family business that for once didn’t just include his Noah family. Yet, then his Noah reacted to the Innocence being so close, walking with him, talking with him… It was almost too much to bear.

Half lidded, glassy green eye watched him unseeingly, and a far fetched thought came to mind: what if the Bookman was alliances with the Heart? Would he be able to draw the Exorcist is he used the Bookman to his will? Tyki narrowed his eyes in contemplation; these were not thoughts of the Noah within him, but Tyki was allowed to be interested in his prey once and a while, correct? Like Allen Walker, the first enemy to draw out his true Noah, this Bookman brought forth his craving for information. Perhaps he could lead Tyki to the Heart and they could put an end to this foolish war.

Then the Noah of Pleasure asked gently, “Would you rather die before we destroy your Innocence?”

The Bookman made a distraught, half-hearted smirk, “So it’s not possible that you let me go now and kill me another day entirely?”

Tyki almost smiled back, “And where would you go, Bookman?” He asked. “You wouldn’t be able to make it out of Portugal if you used your Innocence to escape. If you rested in the country with your Innocence, it would be our job as Noahs, enemy to Exorcists, to kill you and destroy your Innocence. You both will be nonexistent before the end of this night if you choose to remain an Exorcist.”

Bookman sighed, and stayed silent for a good long while, fingers unconsciously curling tighter around the handle of the hammer-shaped Innocence. He looked desperate, but Tyki knew they had not given any chances for the Bookman to keep his Innocence. He gave one last shuddering sigh.

“Hey... Are you listening?” The Noahs noted that the redhead’s voice was cracking around the edges and his eye seemed glossier than before.

Tyki answered back softly, “Of course; have you made up your mind?” He asked even though it was obvious on what he was going to do, and the Bookman seemed to think so, too as he lightly snorted without any spunk behind it.

“Can’t you tell for yourself what I’ve decided?” He hesitated, lowering his Innocence-filled hand to the ground slowly, “But…I don’t want to see it… Is there someway…”

Tyki understood and nodded to the unseeing teen, “Consider it done, Bookman; A very wise choice.” He turned to his brother who’d been following their conversation and took this as his cue to put the Bookman to sleep, and he commanded it in that word. The green eye closed, the neon purple pentacle disappeared, and his head fell to his chest with unconsciousness. A silver line of wet traveled from under his eye patch to his chin and dropped onto his uniform.

“Will he remember this so we won’t have to explain what happened to his Innocence later, Cyril?” Tyki asked as he stepped forward to uncurl Bookman’s fingers from the hammer. There was an electrical shock as his fingers brushed against the Innocence and he felt a twist in his gut, but he gritted his teeth and grabbed a hold of the Innocence by the base of the head. A purple charged light cut through the air and sounded like muffled thunder as his began to destroy the Innocence, outside in.

“He will,” Cyril said loudly over the noise, then made a reconsidering noise, “Well, he should, but I don’t know what to expect from him. He’s certainly different; I don’t know if it was because that was the first Bookman I’ve put under the act, or because he’s unusually strong...”

Tyki gave a sharp laugh, “Strong? Not really. For a Bookman, the lad was quite strong…” There was a small explosion between his fingers as the Innocence turned into dust, and fell onto the ground at the Bookman’s hand, the cross that had been perched from the top of the hammer clenched in his fist. Just one more squeeze shall do it.

He shook his hand over the Bookman’s head and the sparkling particles from the Innocence’s core dusted over him.

“Though not any longer.”