Fic: L'autre côté de l'échiquier
---
White curls of smoke rose to the ornately-decorated ceiling of the Kamelot family library as Tyki Mikk lay lazily on one of the long tables in a room, reading a newspaper as he took unending drags from the cigarette stick held in between his perfect teeth. He was without his coat and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows; his shoes were on the floor. The gramophone was playing soft waltz music in the room and Tyki wiggled his toes with the beat. It was relaxing this way.
The disturbance in the air came sharply, making Tyki’s golden eyes turn jet-black for a few moments. Shocked, the Pleasure of Noah found himself sitting up and looking toward the wide windows. It was dusk, and the orange glow of the dying sun painted the horizon a sickly hue.
“What the…?”
There it was, the disturbance, a thickening of the air. Tyki could not pinpoint the source, which was new. But he was sure that he wasn’t the only one who felt it. Not minding to put on shoes, Tyki threw his newspaper down on the floor and went out of the library. Cyril was already there, dressed as crisply as always.
“I wonder what it is,” Cyril said as Tyki fell into step beside him. “I haven’t felt anything like this before.”
Tyki kept silent as they descended the grand staircase; just in time to see Rhode enter the house. She had a shivering bundle with her. While Cyril went on down to meet his ‘daughter’, Tyki froze halfway down the staircase, his eyes focused on the blanketed someone by the doorstep.
“Rhode, sister! Where have you been? And what is this--?”
“Our brother.” Rhode said clearly. “Tyki? Won’t you tell the maids to have some soup ready? He’s really cold, the poor dear!”
A new Noah…?
But instead of blurting his questions, Tyki silently nodded and went to the kitchens, giving quick and precise instructions to the Akuma maids. In a few minutes he came back to the great hall, but Cyril, Rhode and the mysterious new Noah had gone.
---
Nobody spoke, but the tension in the air was as palpable as a frantic heartbeat. Tyki himself was standing up, leaning on one of the bookshelves in the library, his arms folded across his chest. Dylan Keith, his brother, the Puppeteer of Noah, sat cross-legged on the table that he had been laying on just a few minutes ago. The Puppeteer’s handsome face and crimson eyes betrayed nothing, but Tyki was sure he too was bursting with questions.
Lulubell, in her man’s suit and tie, sat on a chair near him. She was bristling - from disbelief or anger, Tyki could not know. Cyril was pacing around the room, his coat discarded and on Lulubell’s lap.
Tyki’s own eyes were locked to the figure Rhode was encircling with her arms. He was still wrapped with the blanket, and he was still shivering despite cozy warmth of the family library. His winter gray eyes were the very same that Tyki remembered very well, but they were unfocused, seeing nothing. His long, dark hair was messy and caked with mud.
“My, my…” the Earl was saying. The Earl was standing before the couch where Rhode and the new Noah sat. He had just straightened up; he had been asking the new Noah questions, but the child was deaf or stupid - he would not answer. “This is going to be a problem~ <3”
“Neh,” Rhode said sweetly, planting her lips onto their sibling’s cheek. “The Earl can’t help you if you won’t even tell him your name~ please?”
Disturbing smile in place, the Earl placed one huge hand on the new Noah’s head and petted him like a pleasant new pet cat. “Rhode is right~ <3 won’t you tell me your name? <3?”
“He won’t talk.” Lulubell said sharply.
“Patience, sister.” Dylan said, reaching out with a hand and touching her shoulder.
“This is preposterous!” Lulubell continued. “Master Earl, you cannot be serious - that…that person was an Exorcist---!”
The Earl straightened up from stroking the new Noah’s muddy hair and fixed Lulubell with an unmistakable glare. That shut her up at once.
“Ah, but you see you said one crucial thing, Lulu my dear. You said was. He was an Exorcist. Won’t that he mean he isn’t now? <3?”
“Then, Master Earl---.” Said Cyril.
Whatever Cyril was going to say, he was unable to finish it. The library doors burst open as the Jasdevi came cartwheeling in.
“For god’s sakes, the door -!” Cyril shouted.
“Oh~ the others are here~ <3” said the Earl.
“Woah - woah, watch it--!” Tyki snarled as the twins bulldozed their way in.
“WHERE IS OUR NEW SIBLING? WHERE?!” David yelled. “WHERE?”
“CAN I GIVE HIM A HUG?” Jasdero cheered.
“Wait a minute, you two---!” Cyril still protested.
Innocence.
Everyone stopped dead at the voice. All heads turned to the yet unnamed Noah Rhode was holding. He had looked up now, his eyes golden, fixed upon David.
You reek of Innocence. I must destroy the Innocence. I hate it. I can’t stand it. You reek of Innocence. I will destroy you. I will destroy you-
With an unearthly snarl and speed that would’ve been impossible to match by anyone of them, the new Noah launched himself toward David.
“WAH--!”
At that moment, the world rippled. The library seemed to distort upon itself, and things lost their solidity. Tyki fell on the floor as the bookshelf seemed to melt into multi-colored putty. Dylan and Lulubell were on their feet, alarmed.
“STOP HIM!” Rhode yelled.
The mingled screams of David and the new Noah brought Tyki to his senses. Then there was the sound of flesh being ripped from flesh-
“LET HIM GO!” Jasdero howled, and gunshots followed.
Tyki saw quite clearly how the bullets twisted in midair and transformed into canaries that flew about in a flurry, twittering in a panic. Dylan had now jumped from the table and grabbed a hold of the snarling new Noah’s slim waist, and Tyki saw that he had dropped bloody things that looked like eyeballs-
“AAAAAAAAAAAH!” Dylan screamed.
“DYLAN!” Lulubell shouted as Dylan’s skin started to froth and hiss, smoking.
“Oi, oi, what the hell--!” Tyki scrambled up, the crosses on his forehead appearing. Beside him, Cyril was also getting ready to use his powers.
The Earl merely surveyed them as calmly as you please.
“Oh~ this is very interesting~ he can alter Reality~ <3!”
“Reality or not, he’s killing a sibling!” Tyki shouted, jumping into where Dylan had failed. “That’s it, buddy, you’re going to stop--- SHIT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Pain. Pain wracked Tyki as he was forcibly transformed, his arms sprouting feathers and turning into wings, his bones snapping and cracking---
The last thing he saw was the flash of violet as Cyril attacked.
And then there was nothing.
---
Kyuuya was lying in his bed, huddled among pillows. He was reading Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, ignoring the commotion downstairs. He was in no mood to welcome the latest addition of the family primarily because his cheek still hurt where the Earl had slapped him across the face yesterday when he’d find out that Kyuuya spared Miranda and altered her life forever, giving her a chance to leave peacefully and happily after he’d shattered her Time Record. The Earl didn’t want any Exorcist spared, but Kyuuya was not about to obey him.
He flipped a page.
Three years he had been in the Noah household, disguised to the world as Edward Kamelot, Rhode’s older brother. Three years and his relationship with his siblings had improved faintly. He was closest to Tyki-nii at the moment; all others held him at bay. He and Rhode had been very close before, but their relationship soured when the Eldest realized that he was far stronger than she would ever be, and that he too could program the Ark.
Rhode liked being the center of attention and tolerated no competition.
Not that Kyuuya minded. He was a Noah who knew what he wanted - he was not dumb sheep for the Earl’s convenient use. Besides, it wasn’t as if his siblings would try to kill him, like what they did to the 14th before. They all knew they were no match for his powers, even when combined.
Kyuuya, Illusion of Noah, was the most powerful Noah at the moment.
Even the Earl knew that.
No one could bully Kyuuya. No one.
He snapped his book shut, giving an impatient toss of his head at the sound of Rhode’s shrill laugh from downstairs.
Another new sibling, huh?
Kyuuya put aside Kant for now and pulled his blankets up. He really was in no mood to get up and welcome the latest addition to the family. Maybe tomorrow at breakfast he could bully the new guy. His sensual lips curled at the thought. He always could bully bean sprouts.
Especially helplessly in-love bean sprouts.
Footsteps thudded on the landing. Kyuuya sat up and turned his head to the door just as it banged open, and light flooded into his bedroom. His pupils dilated.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” He said.
“It’s true. You’re here. You’re here.”
The door was slammed shut and locked. Kyuuya was silent as the intruder walked toward his bed. His golden gaze landed on a terribly familiar face. Somewhere, the memories of Yuu Kanda tickled him. The stupid bean sprout had looked like this too, ages ago, when they were moving HQ and he had a bottle of Komui’s hair tonic splashed down his head.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” Kyuuya demanded.
“You know who I am.”
Kyuuya chuckled. “Of course I do. Christopher Evans, the 14th, the Will of Noah, is it not?”
The other, taller Noah smiled with great relief. What Kyuuya didn’t expect was the man’s next move. Christopher, the 14th, pulled him into an embrace.
!
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, bean sprout?” the name came automatically to Kyuuya’s lips. “Let go, you bastard. You stink. I don’t fancy Komui’s stink on my sheets.”
Chris pulled back, golden eyes shining in the dark. He cut off all other protests by planting his lips firmly over Kyuuya’s in an urgent kiss.
The nerve of the bastard!
Rhode phased into the room easily, stopping dead with the sight of her two youngest siblings locked into a kiss. Chris hastily pulled away and hugged Kyuuya close.
“Privacy, if you please.” He said seriously.
Rhode opened and closed her mouth several times before phasing out of the room. Kyuuya drew away.
“That…was fucking priceless.” He commented. “Did you see her face?”
“I don’t care about her face. I’m here because of you.”
“Fucking corn, bean sprout.”
Kyuuya rose and swatted the 14th’s face with his copy of Kant’s work. Before Chris could protest, Kyuuya had already opened the door and went out of the room, the sound of his laughter trailing behind him.
White curls of smoke rose to the ornately-decorated ceiling of the Kamelot family library as Tyki Mikk lay lazily on one of the long tables in a room, reading a newspaper as he took unending drags from the cigarette stick held in between his perfect teeth. He was without his coat and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows; his shoes were on the floor. The gramophone was playing soft waltz music in the room and Tyki wiggled his toes with the beat. It was relaxing this way.
The disturbance in the air came sharply, making Tyki’s golden eyes turn jet-black for a few moments. Shocked, the Pleasure of Noah found himself sitting up and looking toward the wide windows. It was dusk, and the orange glow of the dying sun painted the horizon a sickly hue.
“What the…?”
There it was, the disturbance, a thickening of the air. Tyki could not pinpoint the source, which was new. But he was sure that he wasn’t the only one who felt it. Not minding to put on shoes, Tyki threw his newspaper down on the floor and went out of the library. Cyril was already there, dressed as crisply as always.
“I wonder what it is,” Cyril said as Tyki fell into step beside him. “I haven’t felt anything like this before.”
Tyki kept silent as they descended the grand staircase; just in time to see Rhode enter the house. She had a shivering bundle with her. While Cyril went on down to meet his ‘daughter’, Tyki froze halfway down the staircase, his eyes focused on the blanketed someone by the doorstep.
“Rhode, sister! Where have you been? And what is this--?”
“Our brother.” Rhode said clearly. “Tyki? Won’t you tell the maids to have some soup ready? He’s really cold, the poor dear!”
A new Noah…?
But instead of blurting his questions, Tyki silently nodded and went to the kitchens, giving quick and precise instructions to the Akuma maids. In a few minutes he came back to the great hall, but Cyril, Rhode and the mysterious new Noah had gone.
---
Nobody spoke, but the tension in the air was as palpable as a frantic heartbeat. Tyki himself was standing up, leaning on one of the bookshelves in the library, his arms folded across his chest. Dylan Keith, his brother, the Puppeteer of Noah, sat cross-legged on the table that he had been laying on just a few minutes ago. The Puppeteer’s handsome face and crimson eyes betrayed nothing, but Tyki was sure he too was bursting with questions.
Lulubell, in her man’s suit and tie, sat on a chair near him. She was bristling - from disbelief or anger, Tyki could not know. Cyril was pacing around the room, his coat discarded and on Lulubell’s lap.
Tyki’s own eyes were locked to the figure Rhode was encircling with her arms. He was still wrapped with the blanket, and he was still shivering despite cozy warmth of the family library. His winter gray eyes were the very same that Tyki remembered very well, but they were unfocused, seeing nothing. His long, dark hair was messy and caked with mud.
“My, my…” the Earl was saying. The Earl was standing before the couch where Rhode and the new Noah sat. He had just straightened up; he had been asking the new Noah questions, but the child was deaf or stupid - he would not answer. “This is going to be a problem~ <3”
“Neh,” Rhode said sweetly, planting her lips onto their sibling’s cheek. “The Earl can’t help you if you won’t even tell him your name~ please?”
Disturbing smile in place, the Earl placed one huge hand on the new Noah’s head and petted him like a pleasant new pet cat. “Rhode is right~ <3 won’t you tell me your name? <3?”
“He won’t talk.” Lulubell said sharply.
“Patience, sister.” Dylan said, reaching out with a hand and touching her shoulder.
“This is preposterous!” Lulubell continued. “Master Earl, you cannot be serious - that…that person was an Exorcist---!”
The Earl straightened up from stroking the new Noah’s muddy hair and fixed Lulubell with an unmistakable glare. That shut her up at once.
“Ah, but you see you said one crucial thing, Lulu my dear. You said was. He was an Exorcist. Won’t that he mean he isn’t now? <3?”
“Then, Master Earl---.” Said Cyril.
Whatever Cyril was going to say, he was unable to finish it. The library doors burst open as the Jasdevi came cartwheeling in.
“For god’s sakes, the door -!” Cyril shouted.
“Oh~ the others are here~ <3” said the Earl.
“Woah - woah, watch it--!” Tyki snarled as the twins bulldozed their way in.
“WHERE IS OUR NEW SIBLING? WHERE?!” David yelled. “WHERE?”
“CAN I GIVE HIM A HUG?” Jasdero cheered.
“Wait a minute, you two---!” Cyril still protested.
Innocence.
Everyone stopped dead at the voice. All heads turned to the yet unnamed Noah Rhode was holding. He had looked up now, his eyes golden, fixed upon David.
You reek of Innocence. I must destroy the Innocence. I hate it. I can’t stand it. You reek of Innocence. I will destroy you. I will destroy you-
With an unearthly snarl and speed that would’ve been impossible to match by anyone of them, the new Noah launched himself toward David.
“WAH--!”
At that moment, the world rippled. The library seemed to distort upon itself, and things lost their solidity. Tyki fell on the floor as the bookshelf seemed to melt into multi-colored putty. Dylan and Lulubell were on their feet, alarmed.
“STOP HIM!” Rhode yelled.
The mingled screams of David and the new Noah brought Tyki to his senses. Then there was the sound of flesh being ripped from flesh-
“LET HIM GO!” Jasdero howled, and gunshots followed.
Tyki saw quite clearly how the bullets twisted in midair and transformed into canaries that flew about in a flurry, twittering in a panic. Dylan had now jumped from the table and grabbed a hold of the snarling new Noah’s slim waist, and Tyki saw that he had dropped bloody things that looked like eyeballs-
“AAAAAAAAAAAH!” Dylan screamed.
“DYLAN!” Lulubell shouted as Dylan’s skin started to froth and hiss, smoking.
“Oi, oi, what the hell--!” Tyki scrambled up, the crosses on his forehead appearing. Beside him, Cyril was also getting ready to use his powers.
The Earl merely surveyed them as calmly as you please.
“Oh~ this is very interesting~ he can alter Reality~ <3!”
“Reality or not, he’s killing a sibling!” Tyki shouted, jumping into where Dylan had failed. “That’s it, buddy, you’re going to stop--- SHIT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Pain. Pain wracked Tyki as he was forcibly transformed, his arms sprouting feathers and turning into wings, his bones snapping and cracking---
The last thing he saw was the flash of violet as Cyril attacked.
And then there was nothing.
---
Kyuuya was lying in his bed, huddled among pillows. He was reading Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, ignoring the commotion downstairs. He was in no mood to welcome the latest addition of the family primarily because his cheek still hurt where the Earl had slapped him across the face yesterday when he’d find out that Kyuuya spared Miranda and altered her life forever, giving her a chance to leave peacefully and happily after he’d shattered her Time Record. The Earl didn’t want any Exorcist spared, but Kyuuya was not about to obey him.
He flipped a page.
Three years he had been in the Noah household, disguised to the world as Edward Kamelot, Rhode’s older brother. Three years and his relationship with his siblings had improved faintly. He was closest to Tyki-nii at the moment; all others held him at bay. He and Rhode had been very close before, but their relationship soured when the Eldest realized that he was far stronger than she would ever be, and that he too could program the Ark.
Rhode liked being the center of attention and tolerated no competition.
Not that Kyuuya minded. He was a Noah who knew what he wanted - he was not dumb sheep for the Earl’s convenient use. Besides, it wasn’t as if his siblings would try to kill him, like what they did to the 14th before. They all knew they were no match for his powers, even when combined.
Kyuuya, Illusion of Noah, was the most powerful Noah at the moment.
Even the Earl knew that.
No one could bully Kyuuya. No one.
He snapped his book shut, giving an impatient toss of his head at the sound of Rhode’s shrill laugh from downstairs.
Another new sibling, huh?
Kyuuya put aside Kant for now and pulled his blankets up. He really was in no mood to get up and welcome the latest addition to the family. Maybe tomorrow at breakfast he could bully the new guy. His sensual lips curled at the thought. He always could bully bean sprouts.
Especially helplessly in-love bean sprouts.
Footsteps thudded on the landing. Kyuuya sat up and turned his head to the door just as it banged open, and light flooded into his bedroom. His pupils dilated.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” He said.
“It’s true. You’re here. You’re here.”
The door was slammed shut and locked. Kyuuya was silent as the intruder walked toward his bed. His golden gaze landed on a terribly familiar face. Somewhere, the memories of Yuu Kanda tickled him. The stupid bean sprout had looked like this too, ages ago, when they were moving HQ and he had a bottle of Komui’s hair tonic splashed down his head.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” Kyuuya demanded.
“You know who I am.”
Kyuuya chuckled. “Of course I do. Christopher Evans, the 14th, the Will of Noah, is it not?”
The other, taller Noah smiled with great relief. What Kyuuya didn’t expect was the man’s next move. Christopher, the 14th, pulled him into an embrace.
!
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, bean sprout?” the name came automatically to Kyuuya’s lips. “Let go, you bastard. You stink. I don’t fancy Komui’s stink on my sheets.”
Chris pulled back, golden eyes shining in the dark. He cut off all other protests by planting his lips firmly over Kyuuya’s in an urgent kiss.
The nerve of the bastard!
Rhode phased into the room easily, stopping dead with the sight of her two youngest siblings locked into a kiss. Chris hastily pulled away and hugged Kyuuya close.
“Privacy, if you please.” He said seriously.
Rhode opened and closed her mouth several times before phasing out of the room. Kyuuya drew away.
“That…was fucking priceless.” He commented. “Did you see her face?”
“I don’t care about her face. I’m here because of you.”
“Fucking corn, bean sprout.”
Kyuuya rose and swatted the 14th’s face with his copy of Kant’s work. Before Chris could protest, Kyuuya had already opened the door and went out of the room, the sound of his laughter trailing behind him.