Log; Complete [Backdated]

[antiakuma.livejournal.com]

When; December 15th; Late Afternoon.
Rating; PG
Characters; Allen Walker (antiakuma) and Tyki Mikk (teaseme_not)
Summary; During this, Allen tracked Tyki down and a fight was unavoidable.
Log;

Finally, he had Tyki in a position where he could end it; pinned down on the floor, his knees placed either side of the Noah's hips on the ground, head bowed slightly so his colourless hair fell over his eyes, his arm holding his sword drawn back in a manner that looked like he was ready to drive it forward into Tyki's skull at any given moment. But he didn't. The blade however, shaking a little in his grip as his jaw tightened, remembering what happened the first time he tried to exorcise the Noah from Tyki and turn him into a human. It had ended badly. Very badly. And Cross was unlikely to offer salvation this time around.

But the people Tyki had killed, innocent people not even from their world, it was unforgivable. It filled him with such rage that it was literally blinding his vision. Rather, the angry tears glazing over his eyes were. He couldn't even think of words to express the fury pounding away in his heart or the conflict in his mind over whether of not to drive his arm down upon the Noah then and there.

Stunned by the fact that the boy had been so much stronger this time around, Tyki stared up at him. It had been a long fight - one of the most taxing Tyki had ever had in a while; which was really saying something - and Allen had surprised him completely with the new tricks he'd learned. With the Noah pinned beneath him, Allen had the advantage; begrudgingly given. Staring back at him, golden eyes cold and unforgiving, Tyki saw the pain in the boy's eyes, fresh and unhidden. A pity, the way Allen wore his emotions on his sleeve.

"You got lucky, boy." The Noah said calmly, recovering himself.

Part of the Exorcist wanted to shoot back a retort but his voice failed him, or his mind, or a bit of both. Whatever it was preventing him didn't matter - he said nothing as his grip tightened on the hilt of his sword slightly before suddenly moving his arm down to slam the blade down hard into the ground beside dangerously close to Tyki's head, but not actually making contact.

Still holding onto the weapon, Allen sagged forward slightly, his head falling forward heavily as his shoulders shook. He couldn't kill in cold-blood, not from hatred, not like this. There was too much at stake and he couldn't afford to put the city as a whole in danger from an careless act on his part.

Tyki didn't flinch even as he looked up at him calmly. He understood the pain; it was what he was, after all. White, ash, Tyki enjoyed both sides and felt the pain just as much on both ends. However, perhaps the difference between Noah and Exorcist lay in the fact that his own expression betrayed nothing. And long periods of killing had long allowed him to get used to such a thing.

The cold steel of the large sword was disturbingly close, and he could almost feel the Innocence hum within the weapon. Tamping down the bloodlust, if only for a moment, Tyki responded, meeting the other's eyes without so much as a shudder. "Now, what will you do, Allen Walker?"

What? What indeed. He hated that question so much because he had no means of answering it. His chest felt so tight, breathing itself painful and everything about Tyki then felt like it was mocking him. And of course he was, even in the position Allen was in over him, Tyki still felt like he was above him and it pissed him off.

Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head to lock his silver-blue eyes with the Noah, his hand moving like lightening to grab him by the collar and yank him forward with a low growl "I'll keep walking forward. The same as I ever have. And I won't stop until I bring you and the Earl down once and for all. I thought we'd established that from day one."

The notion was almost laughable, and it was hard for Tyki to believe that Allen Walker was merely a whelp barely over fifteen. The resolve in the boy's eyes was commendable, and Tyki allowed himself to be yanked forward, murderous impulses curbed and controlled. He would be the one to tear that Innocence away from him one day, and until then...

"We will destroy the path you walk on." The Noah replied, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips, the bruises sustained beginning to fade, but at a much slower rate. Allen's rage was almost impressive, almost as remarkable as his helplessness, and Tyki took pleasure in both; his dual nature allowing him nothing less. "I believe we've established that before, too."

The words stung, he couldn't ignore that in the slightest, but often words were more painful than any physical injury one could sustain. He stared at Tyki wide-eyed for a moment, feeling his hand trembling a little before he narrowed his eyes, tightened his grip and steeled himself again. Words were just words and when spoken from a Noah he couldn't afford to let them cut deep.

The situation was such an awkward one - the city was far more confined than what they were used to, there was no back-up from The Order, and the only real refuge was the Fire House and there was no way they could stay in there forever. Not that Allen would especially want to hide from the Earl and the Noah, but being tempted out by them would be careless. Not that what he was doing at this point wasn't "I'd like to see you try." He found himself almost whispering, maybe he was so angry he couldn't even bring himself to raise his voice anymore "The path I follow is the one thing I'm sure you will never be able to break as long as I live and breath. And I have no intention of dying yet."

Glaring back at Allen stonily, Tyki moved to shove the boy off him. He was more than aware of their current situation, and the little nagging feeling at the back of his mind refused to resolve itself. There was something off here, something he knew he had to ask Road, especially with what Allen had said earlier on the Network. How strong was Allen Walker, really? It was almost as if the half-dead boy within the bamboo forest of China had never occurred. He hadn't missed the trembling, of course, but even then.

He would not kill the boy; not now. Their game was just beginning, and the Earl had expressly stated that Allen was his to deal with. Troublesome, really, since Tyki had really wanted to break Allen's Innocence again. But eventually, he would make sure that he would get the chance to.

A cold, taunting smirk, and gold eyes flashed in the darkness. "Care to make a wager on that, boy?"

Really, Allen had no qualms with being shoved off; the position was only used as a means to keep the Noah in one place for a few moments. As he moved, instead of falling back he pushed a foot back, moved his hand to wrap his fingers tightly about his hilt of his sword once more, drawing to a stand then and yanking the heavy weapon from the earth, his eyes never moving from Tyki for even a second however.

China would always be embedded into his memories. Suman's death, the struggle that was all ultimately in vain, and the Noah himself. The torture, the pain and fear and teetering on the very blade's edge of death. He'd never forget that and he'd never forgive Tyki for what he did to Suman. That man had needed help and at the very end it had been dashed away so callously. His own fear, the attempted destruction of his arm and life-force, the agony, he didn't especially care for that. It wasn't a sense of revenge for the wrong done to him; it was for what had happened to Suman.

"Why bother?" He uttered almost coldly "You know when it comes to betting things you can't win against me, Tyki. It would be a waste of time."

"Without cheating. It only seems like you can win when you cheat." Getting to his feet and dusting himself off, feeling the worse for wear - it ached, the wounds he managed to sustain from the Innocence, and it was all he could do not to attempt to tear the boy's heart out as payback; he'd never been hurt like this before, and it stung - he looked back at Allen. Of course, the Noah had thought of Suman as nothing more than a tiny little blip on the radar, a person who was more useful in death. At least, it was to him.

"Says a lot about you, doesn't it?"

"Ha!" He scoffed lightly, turning his head away for a moment as he did so "You'll have to try harder than that, Tyki. Considering the consequence of not learning to cheat I can't say I consider that much of an insult." Partly true. If he hadn't gotten so good at cheating he could well have been dead long ago from General Cross' 'friends' and that wasn't a very good prospect any way you looked at it. The other feeling however was that yes, that did actually catch him a little. Cheating surely didn't make him much better than the Noa--no, he was different. Much different. If cheating, on whatever level, helped keep people alive, got them closer to their goal and protected the future ahead then he'd keep doing it. There was no more doubt in his mind.

He looked at Tyki out the corner of his eye then, glaring at him. "You will not break me. Mark my words. I made a promise and I will be carrying it out. You should make sure the Earl knows as much when you crawl back to him later."

A cigarette was lit, the flame flaring momentarily in the dimness before Tyki took a long drag of it, purposefully taking his time to answer. Unperturbed at the insult, a distinctly cold, unfriendly smile curved on the Noah's lips, following a stream of exhaled smoke.

"You think you know all there is to know about us, boy?" It was remarkable, the sheer extent of the boy's confidence, and if Tyki had been anyone else, perhaps he would have been very impressed by it. Then again, fate was fate, and here they were. Ignoring the little twinge of brief unease, Tyki simply shook his head, amused. "Foolish." Deeming Allen as a thread no longer, Tyki looked up at the darkened sky. Most of the Tease had already been recalled, but he'd left a few around, his family deserved a show, after all. With a Tease fluttering down to hover by his side, the Noah continued. "Well, I'd better get going. There are other things I must do, still."

Years of living with Cross had effectively made him immune to cigarettes. He wasn't a fan of them especially, but they could be blocked out with relative ease most of the time. It wasn't overly distracting to him and in fact it just seemed to come as part of the general appearance Tyki had.

He raised an eyebrow slightly at the passing remark regarding how much he knew about the Noah. Really, it was true that they didn't know anywhere near as much as would be preferred but that was the sting of war, wasn't it? The Exorcist's eyes shifted to the dark butterfly lingering in the air around it's master, recalling then that there really was a lot to get done still. Tilting his head then to look at Tyki with the same unwavering determination he had done even when the Noah's fingers were wrapped around his heart, he returned his sword to his arm, long dark claws of the Crown Clown flexing slightly "Likewise. I have to clean up what remains of your mess."

Gaze lingering on the Crown Clown briefly, Tyki turned to leave, waving him off. There was nothing much to say now, and whatever else would be mere repetition. Tyki wasn't a person particularly disposed to long diatribes about how they would attain victory, and had decided to leave it at that.

The mess that the City had been reduced to was gratifying, especially so when his family seemed to be so pleased by it. Shrugging it off even as his Tease fluttered down to rest on his shoulder momentarily, the Noah headed out. "Have fun."

Keeping his eyes on the spot where Tyki had stood, Allen found himself scowling. The City was becoming more and more dangerous, people were getting caught up in an extension of their war and they shouldn't have been. It was troubling him a lot and they'd have to try and find a way to put an end to it. Somehow.

Consequences. The Earl's voice echoed over in his mind as he remained still for a moment or two longer before something smacked into the side of his head. "OW--!" After glaring around he found the culprit; Timcanpy. Blinking at the agitated looking gold golem he smiled and nodded "Things to do. I know." Turning then, he head back quickly to the main stretch of the city. The remaining Tease had to be gotten rid of.