side story: more like us
(after chapter 2)
The rain came down in sheets, leaving rather deep puddles on the street. The night was cold, the light from the streetlamps shimmering as it danced off the puddles. It was a dreary night, bleak and dismal.
Pain panged through his right arm as he ran through the streets. Blood streamed down his arm; water streaked through his red hair. He’d managed to flee the forest but barely with his own life. He couldn't remember how he got here or when it started raining, but he knew he had to run and not look back.
His luck ran thin, however, as he found himself unfamiliar with the city, lost, and in a dead end. He turned sharply to find a tall slender figure with a long thin ponytail, a sharp katana, and a blood thirst for the redhead’s life.
“It’s time to die, Bookman,” he smirked.
Lavi’s heart pounded in his chest. He could barely see straight from all the blood loss as it poured out like a red river from his shoulder. He’d never seen so much blood before and wasn’t even sure if he had any more to give. He was surprised he was even still standing or even alive, for that matter.
“I’m just an observer,” Lavi protested, “there's no need t' fight,” but his words fell short on the Exorcist. Kanda Yuu had already made up his mind. Lavi was going to die here.
The Exorcist ran his fingers across his blade, blood thirst in his eyes as his blade glowed. Lavi had nothing to defend himself. He’d dropped his knife in the forest. At some point it had slipped from his hand, but when that was didn’t quite register. The flight from the forest into the city was a complete blur, his mind askew with the pain that welled up within him. He couldn’t remember. But how could he not? Lavi’d never forgotten a thing in his life. He prided himself on his memory and it was one of the reasons he was chosen to be a Bookman's apprentice.
And it would be the only thing he’d ever forgotten as the Exorcist drove his sword right through the Bookman’s heart, the Innocence pulling at his very existence. Blood streamed down his chest, staining his white pants red. He couldn’t breathe, blood dripping from the edges of his mouth. Everything was going black.
Tyki… Rhode… Where are you?
The Exorcist put a hand on Lavi’s shoulder, pushing him back against the wall. Pain radiated from his chest and down to his fingertips and toes. He wanted to move but he couldn't bring himself to do it. His body wasn't responding.
“Wake up.” That was a strange thing for Kanda to say. What did he want, to torment Lavi more so than he already had? Couldn't he just let the Bookman die in peace, hoping one of the Noah came by and gathered his body, maybe even buried him somewhere.
“Wake up.” The words rattled around in the Bookman’s head. The voice was different, almost familiar. He couldn't put his finger on why, but he knew he had to open his eyes.
Light flooded his one green eye when he finally forced it open. Pain surged through his body, but he was definitely alive. He winced, grabbing for his shoulder only to find a hand on his wrist instead. His focus snapped to the hand, but then to where it lead. A familiar Portuguese face stared back at him. Lavi blinked then noticed another face, worry-stricken, staring back as well.
“You were having nightmares,” she informed him.
Lavi stared back at her, still a bit dazed. “What happened?” His voice was trembling. He felt out of control, completely at their mercy. They could do anything right now to him and he was absolutely helpless. It was a frightening thought.
“That Exorcist sliced you up pretty badly,” Tyki sighed. The Order came after him pretty quickly but the Noah still didn't know why. It'd been the first time Tyki'd ever taken him out, so there was no reason for Lavi to be associated with the Noah in the first place. For all they knew, he was just some observer.
“Tyki brought you home when you fainted in the forest,” Rhode added, still hanging on Tyki’s shoulders.
In the forest? Then the city was the nightmare? That would explain why there was an inexplicable gap in his memory. It just felt so real. That was why he never wanted to sleep. He couldn’t. The dreams were too realistic. He couldn’t tell dream from reality.
“The Earl brought a doctor in to take care of your wounds,” Tyki continued.
The Earl did that? He’d been incredibly hospitable to Lavi so far, but this was far beyond the Bookman’s expectations. The Earl appeared to be so demonic, with those long ears and rather rotund body, skipping about in the way he did, humming a mysterious tune. He had every opportunity to rid himself of the Bookman for good, if he so felt, but instead he showed him hospitality
“You’ll be fine,” Tyki concluded, finally letting go of Lavi's wrist. “Just get some rest and stop pulling at the stitches.”
It had been two weeks since Lavi’d been able to get out of bed, but today he felt marginally better. Tea was on his mind at the moment and, bandaged up, he made his way to the kitchen, staggering a bit. He was still a bit dizzy for being bedridden for so long on top of the blood loss, but tea would most certainly make him feel better. But Lavi stopped before opening the kitchen door after hearing Rhode's voice. He kept out of sight, leaning against the wall, listening to their conversation from the other side of the door.
“I’m worried about Lavi.” Rhode swung her feat under the kitchen table. Frowning she closed the workbook and began to chew on her pencil.
“Ho~?” Tyki took a drag of his cigarette then exhaled slowly. “You’re really warming up to him, Rhode.”
“So are you,” she shot back. “It’s like having a little human brother around. Even Sennen-ko seems to like him.”
A little brother? Those were the last words Lavi ever expected to hear from Rhode, even more so than being worried about him. For his first year with the Noah, she taunted him. She knew he wanted to know more about her and simply kept it out of his reach, taunting him for her own amusement. She dressed him up like a doll and dragged him around, almost as if she were trying to break him. Lavi simply complied, hoping that one day she’d trust him and open up to him.
And one day, she did.
“He’ll be fine, Rhode,” Tyki stated. “He’s not an ordinary human. He’s…” He paused, taking a long drag of his cigarette, pondering a good wording. “He's more like us.” It was a strange thought to think a human like the Noah, but Lavi wasn't at all ordinary. He thought of himself above ordinary humans, better than them, superior. He wasn't one of the lower breeds of humanity. In fact, he was far from it.
They were growing close to him as he was to them. It wasn’t simply the lure of the Earl’s ultimate goal, the plan to put an end to all wars, which kept Lavi’s attention and interest. It was the Noah themselves. They’d started to grow on the Bookman. He’d never experienced a record where the ink felt like real people instead of just players in the acts of history. This record, number 49, was different from the previous. He felt himself getting lost in it, and strangely, he had no desire to stop himself.
“That’s a strange thing for you to say, Tyki,” Rhode commented, discarding her current pencil for a new one to chew on.
Tyki paused, taking a long drag of his cigarette. “I guess you’re right, Rhode. He’s growing on me too.”
The door creaked, and the two Noah looked up, rather surprised to see the redhead up and walking. He looked a mess, but color had finally returned to his face. “Yo ♥,” Lavi greeted them, smiling despite the obvious pain, pretending not to have heard their conversation. They didn't need to know he'd been eavesdropping but perhaps they already knew. “Didn’t expect ya t’ be here. I’m just after tea.”
“I’ll get some for you, Lavi!” Rhode leapt excitedly from her seat to retrieve the pot from the counter. She wasn’t certain he if he did hear the conversation but maybe it was good that he did. He’d want to stay with them longer.
The rain came down in sheets, leaving rather deep puddles on the street. The night was cold, the light from the streetlamps shimmering as it danced off the puddles. It was a dreary night, bleak and dismal.
Pain panged through his right arm as he ran through the streets. Blood streamed down his arm; water streaked through his red hair. He’d managed to flee the forest but barely with his own life. He couldn't remember how he got here or when it started raining, but he knew he had to run and not look back.
His luck ran thin, however, as he found himself unfamiliar with the city, lost, and in a dead end. He turned sharply to find a tall slender figure with a long thin ponytail, a sharp katana, and a blood thirst for the redhead’s life.
“It’s time to die, Bookman,” he smirked.
Lavi’s heart pounded in his chest. He could barely see straight from all the blood loss as it poured out like a red river from his shoulder. He’d never seen so much blood before and wasn’t even sure if he had any more to give. He was surprised he was even still standing or even alive, for that matter.
“I’m just an observer,” Lavi protested, “there's no need t' fight,” but his words fell short on the Exorcist. Kanda Yuu had already made up his mind. Lavi was going to die here.
The Exorcist ran his fingers across his blade, blood thirst in his eyes as his blade glowed. Lavi had nothing to defend himself. He’d dropped his knife in the forest. At some point it had slipped from his hand, but when that was didn’t quite register. The flight from the forest into the city was a complete blur, his mind askew with the pain that welled up within him. He couldn’t remember. But how could he not? Lavi’d never forgotten a thing in his life. He prided himself on his memory and it was one of the reasons he was chosen to be a Bookman's apprentice.
And it would be the only thing he’d ever forgotten as the Exorcist drove his sword right through the Bookman’s heart, the Innocence pulling at his very existence. Blood streamed down his chest, staining his white pants red. He couldn’t breathe, blood dripping from the edges of his mouth. Everything was going black.
Tyki… Rhode… Where are you?
The Exorcist put a hand on Lavi’s shoulder, pushing him back against the wall. Pain radiated from his chest and down to his fingertips and toes. He wanted to move but he couldn't bring himself to do it. His body wasn't responding.
“Wake up.” That was a strange thing for Kanda to say. What did he want, to torment Lavi more so than he already had? Couldn't he just let the Bookman die in peace, hoping one of the Noah came by and gathered his body, maybe even buried him somewhere.
“Wake up.” The words rattled around in the Bookman’s head. The voice was different, almost familiar. He couldn't put his finger on why, but he knew he had to open his eyes.
Light flooded his one green eye when he finally forced it open. Pain surged through his body, but he was definitely alive. He winced, grabbing for his shoulder only to find a hand on his wrist instead. His focus snapped to the hand, but then to where it lead. A familiar Portuguese face stared back at him. Lavi blinked then noticed another face, worry-stricken, staring back as well.
“You were having nightmares,” she informed him.
Lavi stared back at her, still a bit dazed. “What happened?” His voice was trembling. He felt out of control, completely at their mercy. They could do anything right now to him and he was absolutely helpless. It was a frightening thought.
“That Exorcist sliced you up pretty badly,” Tyki sighed. The Order came after him pretty quickly but the Noah still didn't know why. It'd been the first time Tyki'd ever taken him out, so there was no reason for Lavi to be associated with the Noah in the first place. For all they knew, he was just some observer.
“Tyki brought you home when you fainted in the forest,” Rhode added, still hanging on Tyki’s shoulders.
In the forest? Then the city was the nightmare? That would explain why there was an inexplicable gap in his memory. It just felt so real. That was why he never wanted to sleep. He couldn’t. The dreams were too realistic. He couldn’t tell dream from reality.
“The Earl brought a doctor in to take care of your wounds,” Tyki continued.
The Earl did that? He’d been incredibly hospitable to Lavi so far, but this was far beyond the Bookman’s expectations. The Earl appeared to be so demonic, with those long ears and rather rotund body, skipping about in the way he did, humming a mysterious tune. He had every opportunity to rid himself of the Bookman for good, if he so felt, but instead he showed him hospitality
“You’ll be fine,” Tyki concluded, finally letting go of Lavi's wrist. “Just get some rest and stop pulling at the stitches.”
It had been two weeks since Lavi’d been able to get out of bed, but today he felt marginally better. Tea was on his mind at the moment and, bandaged up, he made his way to the kitchen, staggering a bit. He was still a bit dizzy for being bedridden for so long on top of the blood loss, but tea would most certainly make him feel better. But Lavi stopped before opening the kitchen door after hearing Rhode's voice. He kept out of sight, leaning against the wall, listening to their conversation from the other side of the door.
“I’m worried about Lavi.” Rhode swung her feat under the kitchen table. Frowning she closed the workbook and began to chew on her pencil.
“Ho~?” Tyki took a drag of his cigarette then exhaled slowly. “You’re really warming up to him, Rhode.”
“So are you,” she shot back. “It’s like having a little human brother around. Even Sennen-ko seems to like him.”
A little brother? Those were the last words Lavi ever expected to hear from Rhode, even more so than being worried about him. For his first year with the Noah, she taunted him. She knew he wanted to know more about her and simply kept it out of his reach, taunting him for her own amusement. She dressed him up like a doll and dragged him around, almost as if she were trying to break him. Lavi simply complied, hoping that one day she’d trust him and open up to him.
And one day, she did.
“He’ll be fine, Rhode,” Tyki stated. “He’s not an ordinary human. He’s…” He paused, taking a long drag of his cigarette, pondering a good wording. “He's more like us.” It was a strange thought to think a human like the Noah, but Lavi wasn't at all ordinary. He thought of himself above ordinary humans, better than them, superior. He wasn't one of the lower breeds of humanity. In fact, he was far from it.
They were growing close to him as he was to them. It wasn’t simply the lure of the Earl’s ultimate goal, the plan to put an end to all wars, which kept Lavi’s attention and interest. It was the Noah themselves. They’d started to grow on the Bookman. He’d never experienced a record where the ink felt like real people instead of just players in the acts of history. This record, number 49, was different from the previous. He felt himself getting lost in it, and strangely, he had no desire to stop himself.
“That’s a strange thing for you to say, Tyki,” Rhode commented, discarding her current pencil for a new one to chew on.
Tyki paused, taking a long drag of his cigarette. “I guess you’re right, Rhode. He’s growing on me too.”
The door creaked, and the two Noah looked up, rather surprised to see the redhead up and walking. He looked a mess, but color had finally returned to his face. “Yo ♥,” Lavi greeted them, smiling despite the obvious pain, pretending not to have heard their conversation. They didn't need to know he'd been eavesdropping but perhaps they already knew. “Didn’t expect ya t’ be here. I’m just after tea.”
“I’ll get some for you, Lavi!” Rhode leapt excitedly from her seat to retrieve the pot from the counter. She wasn’t certain he if he did hear the conversation but maybe it was good that he did. He’d want to stay with them longer.