Home Again (Sira, Christian, Open)

There was a small crack of stone as a Gloved hand gripped the edge of the cliff firmly, before a Black Cloaked, blond haired body followed quickly as Cole Shenson flung himself Skyward, landing with a soft thump on the Grass, craning his head to look up at the black order Headquarters building and wiping away a bead of sweat threathening to drip off his nose. He grinned, punching his fist in the air as a triumphant gesture. He had completed the mission, and he had climbed the cliff to boot. He turned back to the cliff, smiling, and waiting for Sira and Christian. He had gradually warmed to Christian over the past few days as they had travelled together, mostly by trains, back from Finland. He was glad that Christian hadn't seemed mad at him for his earlier suspicions that he was an Akuma as well. He grinned, turning back to the Building, and lay down in the grass. It had been a long mission for him, taking nearly a week. Anything longer than two days was too long in his book.

With a happy sigh, he looked at his right arm. The hand was covered by his glove, which was actually his innocence, and his whole forearm was swathed in bandages. Soon before leaving Finland, he had visited a Doctor. He had been given something from the pain, a splint, and he had been told to use it as little as possible until it was healed. With a sigh, he let it down to lay in the grass again. It was feeling a lot better now, but he had decided that he shouldn't climb cliffs with it until it was fully healed. About half way up it had started twinging and aching, and now it was permeated by a dull ache and sharp pain when he put weight on it.

"Are you slowpokes ever coming?" He called.

Sira, sweating and swearing in a most unladylike manner, hauled herself over the edge onto solid ground, panting as she rolled onto the grass next to Cole. "Shut *pant* Up *pant* Idiot..." She gasped as Cole asked if they were ever coming. "Why the *Pant* hell did *pant* we have *pant* to climb the *pant* freakin' cliff?" She panted, lashing out weakly at him with her left hand. "Theres a perfectly *pant* Good elevator we *pant* could've used." She groaned, rolling over again and bumping into Cole. She sighed. She had been happy throughout the whole trip as Cole and Christian had gotten along much better than at first. Cole's suspicions had eased up, and that made her happy.

Sorry for short post, I've got loads of work to do.

"Whaaat? There's an elevator? Why didn't you say so?"

Christian's annoyed voice came from behind a cliff. "So we climbed this bloody thing for two hours
just for fun?"

Pulling himself over the ledge, Christian scowled a little at the Exorcists in a friendly manner. "And how
the hell did you climb so bloody fast with only one arm!?" He marvelled at Cole, who had stayed ahead
them.

"So this is...the Black Order?" Christian looked up to see a intimidating, roman-stylred tower, stretching as
far as his eye could see. Mist surrounded it, hiding it from inquisitive eyes below and giving it a further
sense of mystery.

"It's...absolutely stunning." Christian grin, his white teeth glinting in the pale light.

Cole grinned as Sira hauled herself over the cliff top. "That's not appropriate language for a young lady like you to be using." he said, smiling widely as she panted out a question. "You should shape up. This is one of my traditions. When I come back from a mission, I climb back up, then I deliver any innocence recovered, and sleep until the next mission comes around." He said with a smile, wincing slightly as Sira's hand collided limply with his gut. "That's not ladylike behavior either." he muttered, rubbing his stomache absentmindedly. He noticed Sira roll closer as her shoulder bumped into his. "Yep, this is the life. Just lying in the grass, watching the clouds, with a beautifull girl." He said nonchalantely, grinned cheekily.

He got to his feet as Christian arrived at the top of the cliff. "Hey, what's more fun, a boring ol' elevator, or a great climb up a scenic cliff?" He said, grinning. Being home was already putting him in a good mood. "And all it takes is practice. I know the fastest, easiest ways up this cliff. Besides, three limbs is more than enough. Sira can tell you about the time I went down this cliff with just one hand." He said, flexing his right hand, wincing as he moved the aching apendage. He saw Chrisitan checking out the order, and grinned. "Yep, this is it. Home sweet home." he said, looking up at the old building fondly.

Laughing at the antics and banter of the two, Christian laughed cheerfully, enjoying the
simple interaction between friends, albeit quarrelling friends. Coel and Sira may squabble
all the time, but Chris had seen them share close moments during their last battle. Behind
all the tough words and jokes was actually deep care and concern for one another.

...Something he could not understand well.

Smiling at the duo, hiding the bitterness he felt inside with a smile, Chris asked " So, to the HQ
then? I have to go through checks and stuff, yeah?"

It had been a long jouney before here. He had even crossed paths with Tyki and Shana,
scarely losing his life. But now...he was at his final destination.

"Exorcists...are very fun... "

He recalled the Earl telling him that before, and now he certainly agreed.

...There was only one thing on his mind right now- would he betray Cole and Sira's trust in
him...?

...a rhetorical question.

Cole mock-pouted. "That's unfair, Sira, you're just not used to the place yet. Once you settle into your routine, you won't be able to imagine how you could possibly go on without the old place. It becomes a home, sometimes even if you don't want it to." He said, remembering his adjustment to what he had thought of then as the dank stone building. Now it held the warmth of home, and friends that were closer than family. Or at least it would if I got out of bed and made a few friends... He thought, shruging. Okay, so for him the place actually held the warmth of a home, and a reliable, comfy bed. Still, I could do worse... Cole thought, smiling. There wasn't really another job in the world that he could think of doing after being an Exorcist for ten long years. It felt impossible to take a desk job, or anything like that. He wanted to make a difference, and stick with his convictions.

Cole smirked as Christian asked about the screening process. "Oh yes, just one test, though." he said, grinning now, and heading towards the gates and the large head on the gate that was the Gatekeeper. This is my favorite part... He thought. "Before stepping into the vicinity of the large talking head, please remove any star-shaped objects from your person. If you do not comply, a Komurin will be sent to kill you. If you have metal bones, go by the name of Akuma, or are a killing machine in the Millenium Earl's service, please save us the trouble and go jump off the cliff." He spoke the whole speech calmly and efficiently, like somone giving the 'keep all hands inside the vehicle at all times' speech. "If you're ready, go right ahead, and be X-rayed. Good luck." Cole added, reverting to his own voice.

Sticking out his tongue after hearing what the two had to say, Christian grinned.
"Yessir~"

Christian stood before a large gate with a giant ghostly face etched upon it. " So
this is it, eh? Heaven or Hell, here I come~"

It was the moment for judgement. Stepping forward, Christian stood before the large
door as the Exorcists stayed behind, smirking in prospect of whatever trouble they were
anticipating. ...be careful what you wish for, smiled Christian, you just might get it.

"Sccaaaninnngg~~~~"

A deep, monotonus voice that came from the door and it stretched obscenely forward. The
Gatekeeper switched on its X-ray eyes and did an Anti-AKuma sweep. "Identifying
whether or not subject is an Akuma...."

It scanned in morbid silence for a few agonizing long seconds. Then the light from his eyes flickered-
and then it flickered again. On the third time it had went out altogether and horror was clearly
depicted on the Gatekeeper's face. "It's A---!!!"

Without warning, Christian punched the Gatekeepers face with all his might. The power from
his fist resonated with the entire gate before it swung open with great force, sending a gust
of wind backwards.

Not finished, Christian dashed backwards right in the face of a stunned Cole who hadn't had the
time to process what was happening. "Hell it is, then." Dark malice twisted his voice
as he grabbed Cole by his broken arm, twisting it in a violent gesture and sending him hurling into the air.

Cole whatched as Christian walked forwards to be scanned by the gatekeeper. Here it is, I guess... He thought, feeling an odd combination of happiness and suspense. He was happy, because he was finally home, and his new friend was coming with him. But he was also suprisingly nearvous. He hadn't thouroughly explored his suspiocions regarding Christian. Logic told him that Christian was a friend, and he trusted his logic, but probability still held a larger chance that Christian was an enemy. He was certainly smarter than any Akuma Cole had ever seen, but Cole still somehow held a vague sense of suspicions. He had been looking forward to this moment to dispell his suspicions. But it didn't.

Cole flinched as he saw the gatekeeper's expresion of utmost terror in a second befor Christian moved, his arm just a blur to Cole, watching from farther away. And in the same second came the wind, carrying small debris that stung his face, forcing him to raise his left arm in front of his face. The second the wind died down, he flet an iron grip clasp down on his broken arm, and he saw Christian's angry face suddenly appear in front of him. His own face momentarily wrinkled in a confused frown, quickly showed agony as his arm twisted violently and was thrown skyword. He gritted his teeth against the pain as he sailed through the air, feeling at least on break in his arm that had only been a fracture snap completely. And then, before he knew it, he landed on the ground on his back, coughing as the wind was knocked out of him. "Innocence, Activate..." He coughed, yelling again as the forming gauntlet forced his broken bones back into normal positions, trying to stave off the darkness eating away at the corners of his vision as the pain threatened to make him black out.

Sira blinked, feeling dazed and confused. One moment, she had been watching her friend be scanned by the Gatekeeper, and the next second there had been an explosive blast of wind that had knocked her down. As the wind cleared, she got to her feet, seeing Cole covering his eyes with his arm. She looked back to the gate, trying to spot Christian, but couldn't. A slight movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention back to Cole. She watched in horror as Christian grabbed Cole's broken arm, and twisted visciously, before sending Cole flying with a yell into the air. Sira couldn't comprehend what had just happened. One second they were fast friends, and now Christian was attacking Cole with monstrous strength.

"What are you doing?!" Yelled Sira, on the edge of panick. "Christian, what's wrong with you, why are you doing this?" She was going nuts. Trying to figure out what was happening.

Time for school, sorry for the short post.

((-theme of darkness-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFZjegvE6OA))

Looking at Cole's sorry sight and hearing Sira's words made Christian burst out in a fit of
mental laughter.

"HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...."

"Friends...?"He drawled, fingering the buttons of the long sleeved shirt he wore. "Tomodachi?
Nakama? You guys are such a riot. What, do you really expect me to say 'For my friends I
won't kill you even though you're my enemy'? That's just wistful thinking, Sira."

Flicking a blood red eye towards Cole, he continued in that slurred, confident tone, "Cole here
was almost on my tail. He actually made me had to work for it, that bastard. Oh well, I'm here
all the same, nay?"

Sitting on a extruding piece of rock, he grinned darkly. "It's a bit early to fight you guys now in
your state, so let's wait for someone who can actually entertain me with a decent battle here.
Meanwhile, I'll explain the gist of things as simply as I can so that you apes can grasp it."

"I'm no odinary human, nor am I a follower of the Earl, nor am I a friend to the Black Order. I
simply survive to destroy and destroy to survive."

"They call me...the Noah of Doubt, for I doubt the meaning of existence itself."

"Cole alreadly noticed a few chinks in the equation alreadly,though most of it was just speculation
on his part. Shall I produce some solid evidence for you guys?"

"The first is when I had the Innocence. Such a dangerous object with great power...if I were only
a normal human, it would be a one in a million chance that I could get to it relatively unharmed, huh?"
Chris finished unbuttoning his shirt, throwing it back , making it flap in the unearthly wind, revealing his
powerful physique and a small medallion on his neck.

"And then there was the stigmata wound.

Quote :

"Lay off."

Christian flinched and drew away as Sira reached out and touched his shoulder, his sudden words
coming out too harshly and strongly. At that moement his eyes danced with a small crimson light of
madness again.

You guys noticed that, and I even lost my temper a little when
Sira touched it. It was too bad for you that you didin't try to dig further. I'm no normal Noah, as you
will come to realise."

"Lastly-oh, the irony- I can't believe you guys totally missed that out! When I so obviously gave myself
away? ...Remember that oath I made?

Quote :

"Signore Shenson, I assure you that I will not harm either of you here." Christian tried to resolve
things before it got violent. "I also swear upon my conscience that I am not in league with
the Earl nor the Akuma." He wasn't, anyway. "Please forgive me, but the terrible encounter with
those...monsters are entirely your bad luck."

...Do you recall it now...?When," Christian's eye glitterred with insane laughter, "has any of you mentioned
the 'Earl' to me before this?"

Throwing back his head, he laughed deliriously some more.

((yes, exorcists, you all can join in and attack now.))

Cole had quieted himself down again, gritting his teeth against the pain of his arm, and rolled onto his stomach, trying to push himself to his feet using only his left arm and his legs. With a grunt, he proppelled himself back, staggering to his feet and releasing a growl of mixed rage and pain as his right arm swung limplyby his side. In it's current condition, his gauntlet was actually causing harm to his arm, the weight putting extra strain on the broken bones. With a sigh, he allowed his Innocence to shrink to it's glove state, letting out a relieved breath as he felt the pressure on his arm ease up a bit. Now, it was back to reality, a reality that he was currently none to pleased with.

As he listened to Christian, he felt a building sense of annoyance at himself for not realizing that Christian wasn't who he said he was, and rage at the manipulative bastard that less than ten minutes ago he would have called his friend. He had no idea what a noah was, but whatever it was, it seemed very powerfull. Cole's sense of annoyance grew once more when the wound on his shoulder was revealed. Damn, if I had just been persistent and seen that wound, I could have known he had been in direct conflict with the innocence, He didn't find it... He thought angrily. And the thing with the Earl as well... Cole swore angrily under his breath.

Cole straightened his back, wincing as his arm flapped limply against his side, and smiling, though his eyes remained cold, with steely hints of anger beneath, and walked towards Sira, giving Christian a wide bearth, and keeping his eyes on him. "A lovely little story. You had us completely fooled, I guess. But you made a mistake with the telling." Cole's eyes flashed dangerously. "You said I made things difficult for you. While technically true, you made a gramatical error. Made is past tense. I'm not nearly done making things hard on you." He grinned, the expression once again stopping before it reached his eyes.

Quietly, Christian listened to what Sira and Cole had to say. Cole was hopping mad, mad at Chri, mad at himself
and everything. Sira, on the other hand, was distressed and sobbing.

"..."

"Sira..."Christian started, his eyes covered by his long fringe. " I needed to get to the Black Order. for that, I
don't deny that I used both of you. But..." Raising a trembling hand to his face, he continued. "If you truly
think that I was...'playing with your emotions'...do you truly think that? For that I am sorry..."

"And, why didn't I kill both of you? Why did I help you out?" Christian looked up, his face blank, his red eyes
deadened, void of life. "I just did as I felt so. In fact..."

Christian spread his arms up, a smile slowly creeping back onto his face. "Why should I have killed you then...
WHEN THINGS ARE SO FUCKING FUN RIGHT NOW!!!"

A torrent of energy flowed from the Noah, energy neither black nor white, neither dark nor light, pure, unprocessed
raw energy...

Cole looked at Sira, his eyes softening. "Don't talk like that, Sira. What would have been different then? If he killed us then, we wouldn't have had a chance to get to know the bastard behind the power, the sicko behind the plan." He spat, anger creeping into his voice. He flinched as Sira began to cry. "Please Sira, keep it together. He's not worth it, and even if he was, you shouldn't give him the satisfaction." He returned his glare to Christian, debating whether indulging his anger and attacking CHristian, or using reason and not letting himself be baited. He looked over at the Distraught Sira, then at the suddenly contrite Christian. At least he seems to regret it... He thought, relaxing slightly as the anger faded.

Then of course, Christian's attitude switched back to normal, and energy exploded through the air. Sudden anger pulled a fast one on Cole's common sense, and he charged Christian. "You son of a bitch!" Cole yelled, jumping at the Noah, spinning and throwing a kick at Christian's head. "Sira is crying, you bastard! I'm gonna kick your ass!" He yelled angrily.

Sira stared at Cole. "What are you talking about?" She sobbed. "How can you just cast him aside like that? Weren't you friends too?" She yelled. Aside from her partner's cold behavior, the sudden betrayal was only just sinking in. She glanced at Christian hopefully. Knowing that he took no pleasure in what he had done somehow helped her calm down slightly. There is no way anyone would be that heartless anyway, she thought. Though it didn't really help in the current situation, it brought closure. Closure that was shattered a second later as Christian returned to the maniacal persona he had used before, and Sira's tears flowed afresh, and worry permeated her eyes as Cole attacked him. "Don't you idiot... You're just gonna die..." She half yelled half sobbed.

Dinner time!

-Battle Theme-
((do anyone actually switch the themes on???))

Cole's powerful kick collided squarely against Christian's cheek, and Christian tasted blood welling up in his mouth.

"Nice kick, Shenson," The Noah grinned, taking the blow without flinching-he was smiling, even. In a flash he
grabbed Cole by his coat and threw him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Raising his fist, he drove iron
knuckles into Cole's gut.

"You should listen more to Sira here." he whispered. "Taking me without a weapon? Has sense completely
abandoned you?" <Energy Control> Without hesistation, Christian sent a surge of ki coursing
through Cole's body, an attack with as much damage as a 1000-volt electric shock.

"Yo, Sira." Christian called out for the girl lustily, still driving his energy through Cole. "Are you going to weep all
day and watch your partner die like this?"

Cole grinned as he felt the kick connect. Honestly, he hadn't thought such a low level attack would connect, but he was pleased nonetheless. He saw the next attack coming, diving to the side, swearing as Christian's hand snagged his coat, and he was hurled to the ground. He saw the punch come down as well, instinctually attempting to raise his dominant right arm to block, but the limb was paralyzed by a sudden wave of pain. "Shit." He hissed, a second before the rest of his breath was forced out of him by the attack, and he coughed, feeling as if somone had hit him with a hammer. Another few seconds to register the pain, and then it escalated again.

Maybe he should have listened to Sira. Hell, maybe listening to common sense could've helped. Still, in for a penny, in for a pound... He thought. I may have been pretty stupid, but hell, might as well go out with a bang... He thought, grabbing Christian's arm with his left hand and twisting his leg for a last kick at Christian's right side before the energy exploded through his body. He could feel his body shaking under the strain of the energy, and coughed again, this time coughing up blood as the energy wreaked havok with his body. "D-don't touch Sira, ba... bastard..." He hissed, before he slid into unconciousness.

((I always listen to the themes, they set the mood really well))

Sira swore to herself over and over as she watched Cole and Christian fight. Actually, fight was the wrong word for it. She swore to herself over and over as she watched Cole getting his ass kicked. She winced as she saw Christian punch him in the stomache, and then activate some sort of attack. That seemed to be doing massive damage to her partner, or at least putting him in extreme pain. She watched for a second, horrified as first a scarlet plume of red exploded from Cole's lips, and she realized that the attack was doing internal injuries. It appeared That Christian wasn't messing around anymore, he was actually attacking to kill.

Sira stared at Christian, horrified by his words. He was really aiming to kill. That thought took a second to permeate her conciousness, and Sira frowned, gritting her teeth as she suddenly found it quite easy to access her rage to activate her innocence. Drawing the rapidly growing weapon, leveled it at Christian, running forwards to get a better shot. "You stupid, stupid bastard!" She yelled, firing three times at Christian. "I told you that you'd die if you attacked him!" Many would have been suprised that she was actually yelling at her unconcious companion, not the one attempting to kill her.

My favorite theme was the one at the end of the first topic.

Shaking off the pain of Cole's last kick, Christian continued with his powerful attack
on Cole.

Finally fully aware of the circumstances, Sira activated her Innocence, firing several
shot at Christian, who quickly conjured a shield of energy to cover him. All the same, the
bullets pierced right through his makeshift defense and threw him a few feet backwards.

"Ha...hahaha...looks like you finally got serious...Sira..." Christian writhed on the ground,
grinning weakly. Unsteadily, he got up, swaying a little from side to side. "Unlike the other
Noahs, I'm not that vulnerable to Innocence."

"...Now...let's party."

Drawn up at his full height, Christian faced the two Exorcists, more energy emanating from his back.

((Drifting by Jay CHou. glad you loved it! ))

Cole smiled hazily. With the constant attack halted, Cole was sliding lazily back into conciousness. "Hey beautifull..." Cole murmured as Sira's face swam in and out of focuss. "I'm alive, so I guess you must have won. You'll have to tell me all about it sometime, but first I could really use a nap... Eh? Where's my bed? Why am I still on the ground?" He asked, suddenly seeming to notice the uncomfortable surface he was laying on. "Help me up, I'm going to sleep in my own bed." He muttered, still disoriented. Rolling onto his stomache, he attempted to push himself to his feet again using just his left hand. The movement caused the injuries both on the outside and the inside to shift, and he coughed, spattering the ground with droplets of blood.

As he struggled to his feet, wiping his mouth, he caught site of Christian and his face fell. "No bed, wounds untreated, and the enemy hasn't gotten his ass kicked yet... I think I liked being unconcious better." He said with a sigh. "Sira, are you ready to fight this guy? You hit him from long range, if he gets too close I'll go get beat up for awhile, and you can get back enough to maintain your distance. If he gets you too, we're pretty much screwed, after all." Cole said wryly. "Ready for round two, bastard?" He called over to Christian.

((WHERE ARE ALL THE EXORCISTS? KNOCK KNOCK, I'M RIGHT AT YOUR DOORSTEP!!!))

Warming up to the battle, Christian grinned in anticipation as Cole challenged him head-on. "Now that's
more like it, you live up tio your reputation, Exorcists!!"

When Sira promised to go out with Cole, Christian looked blank for a moment. Then he threw back his
head and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Sira, and can't believe you said that! Sira and Cole going out...HAHAHAHA!!! Now
that's something I wouldn't miss for all the gold in the world!!! Hahahaha... I wonder if you can get
through the main dish without killing each other...haha...ooh, my stomach hurts so much now..Ha! Ha!
Ha!..."

For a moment there it felt like ol' times, Cole hitting on Sira, Sira flaring up, Christian laughing without a
care in the world in the background...

As Sira fired thrice, Christian moved sideways, sidestepping the first bullet with leisure ease. He slid out
of the way for the 2nd one too, and stopped the third shot midair with the force of energy.

"C'mon SIra, come at me like you mean it. I've seen you do better. And Cole, this'd probably be the only
chance in the world that Sira's going out with you, don't lose it!"

Suddenly three pairs of hands grabbed Christian from the back.

"What the-"

Christian whirled his head around, seeing three finders clutching him desperatedly, a steely glint of resolution
in their eyes. "Exorcist-sama! Please kill us with this filthy being now!!!" They cried out to Sira.

"Dammit!!" Realising what they intended to do, Christian tried to break free.

Cole stared at Sira, openmouthed for a second, then his features broke into a broad grin. "I'll hold you to that, Sira." He said happily, quickly turning back to watch Christian. Cole smiled at Christian's reaction to Sira's words. "Really, you wouldn't miss it for all the gold in the world? Perhaps enough to stand by quietly while you're defeated? And I bet we could make it to dessert at least." He added defensively, crossing his arms in irritation. He frowned as Christian dodged Sira's bullets. Crap, I guess it might be a little harder than I thought to fight this guy if he can just dodge and block all of Sira's bullets... He thought, starting as Christian was jumped by the Finders.

Cole glanced at Sira. She hadn't really been at the Black Order long enough for her to fully grasp the bond between exorcists and finders, and the level of devotion the finders had. He doubted that she would attack before Christian could throw off the finders, so Cole charged himself, innocence activating as he did, supporting his gauntletted arm with his left arm he charged, ready to finish off Christian. But then again, a voice was nagging at the back of Cole's head, reminding him that he had been friends with Christian lesst than an hour ago. Cole sighed, even as he ran. he had the perfect opporitunity to take Christian's head, but instead, energy began glowing around the palm of his Gauntlet as he prepared a non-lethal attack that would hopefully end the fight anyway. "Requiem Funeral!" He called, striking forwards with his palm at Christian's chest. If the attack landed, the energy would spread over Christian's body and drag him to the ground as a gravitational force.