Mistakes - Tyki Mikk x Reader

PG13
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His first mistake was meeting you…

"Ugh, I’m never going to make it out of here alive, now am I?" You groaned out in exasperation, distraughtly scrutinizing the local area but not recognizing any potential landmarks. "Fuuuuuck meeeeee." Every establishment looked dangerously similar to you and there was no train station in sight while the townspeople were absolutely unhelpful to you.

The Japanese style town you were currently located in was absolutely breathtaking - it was a pleasant surprise how authentic the homely village was with its cobblestone paths, Japanese maple trees, and delicately embellished houses. Seemed like even if the actual country of Japan was perilously overrun with murderous akuma and domestic strife, at least a slice of its culture could still be found outside of its borders. If you weren’t so desperate to leave, then you probably would’ve appreciated the sightseeing opportunities.

"Um, excuse me?" You asked, poking another nearby pedestrian on the back, desperate for directions. "Could you please point me to the nearest train station?"

She merely looked at you as if you were insane, but upon finding that you were dead serious, she just snickered to herself (at your expense) and walked away without providing you with any semblance of an answer.

"What?!" You yelled indignantly at her retreating form, waving around an enraged fist in the air. "Rude, much?!"

Peering around once again, you searched the vicinity for anyone who could possibly help your clueless self, exhausted (e/c) eyes landing on a dishevelled form fishing out of one of the koi ponds. ...wasn’t that illegal?

Stumbling over there, you sat down next to the man and dropped your rather lacking luggage next to yourself. Placing your chin upon your hand and glancing at him with a deadpanned gaze, you inquired, “Hey mister, you having fun there?”

He startled at your sudden appearance, fumbling with the fishing rod and struggling not to drop it into the shallow body of water. A nervous bead of sweat dripped down his temple as he turned towards you with a sheepish grin, thick swirly glasses obscuring the view of his eyes. "I don’t suppose you’re gonna go tell on me, miss…?"

"You can call me (Name)." You tilted your head and sniggered lightheartedly, shaking your head at the rascal who was eating the fish completely raw and rather enjoying it in its unaltered state with gusto. "And no, I wasn’t gonna tattletale or anything. Just was going to say that I heard that koi goes well in curry."

"Why thank you for the suggestion, Miss (Name). The name’s Tyki." He rubbed the back of his head, tousling his already messy, curled black hair. "Funny story - you’re the first person who hasn’t kicked me out after catching me fishing here."

"Not so funny story - everyone here sucks. You’re honestly the nicest person I’ve met so far, so feel free to eat all the koi you want." You shrugged carelessly then began cackling madly to yourself. "That’ll teach those people for making a fool out of me!" Before he could stare at you too weirdly, you remembered your original objective. "Ah! Before I forget, do you know where the train station is? Someone from Solime pointed me in this direction, but I don’t see a station anywhere near here."

"Solime…? That town’s miles from here!" He exclaimed incredulously at your unbelievably acute lack of direction. "I’m afraid that there isn’t a train station within five kilometers of this place, (Name)."

You miraculously managed to animefell to the ground despite already been sitting down. "So that’s why the lady looked at me like I was stupid. Yeah, I’m definitely going to die here, in the middle of nowhere."

"I was actually planning on leaving soon - gotta go catch up with my friends and take a train to the mines.” Tyki mentioned while pensively holding a hand to his chin in thought. “If you want, you could come with."

"Oh god, thank you!" You cried in relief at finally receiving the aid you needed. "This is my first time traveling without a finder, so of course my terrible sense of direction decided to unhelpfully take over the navigation for me."

At your last sentence, Tyki Mikk’s fingers twitched restlessly with a ruinous desire as he glanced at your obliviously elated form in suspicion. You weren’t wearing the uniform though, causing him to slightly relax before smirking secretively to himself when your attention was diverted elsewhere.

Either way he would make sure to find a bit of entertainment in you, exorcist or not.

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"Yo, Tyki!" Momo raised an arm in greeting from outside the railway station before his eyes bulged out upon seeing your smaller, feminine figure following close behind the mentioned Noah. "Damn, out skirt chasing again, Tyki? You don’t usually bring ’em home for us to meet though."

Clark elbowed the other man, jesting, "Must be somethin’ special." They both guffawed together as the fair haired child, Eeze, only quietly watched the exchange with a blank countenance concealed by his white face mask.

You only exhaled and waved your hands agitatedly to clear up the misunderstanding. "No, no, he’s only escorting me to the train station."

Clark blinked owlishly before laughing again and highlighting your well dressed state (which was actually rather average in reality, but still relatively luxurious in comparison to the tattered rags the boys wore). "I knew it! She came from too high a shelf to go for some vagabond. The girl’s too clean for you, Tyki!"

"Hey!" The man protested vexedly, playfully pretending to be offended by his friend’s jokingly snide comment. "If she won’t go for me, then she sure as hell won’t go for the lot of you."

You merely chuckled at the men’s lively antics, lips curling up softly at the group before announcing in an easygoing manner, "Actually, I’m not all that different from you guys. I’m a bit of a rogue too - wandering around freely without any home to return to."

"Eh, really? What are you planning to do then?" Eeze abruptly entered the conversation, surprising you since you nearly forgot that he was there with how silent he had previously been. You gave him a mellow smile in response and pondered for a meaningful answer to his question.

"I’ll probably just go wherever the wind takes me, as cliché as that sounds." You muttered ambiguously, now adopting an earnest expression.

"Hm, if you don’t got anywhere to be, why don’t you hang out with us for a while?" Momo proposed as you gazed at him with eyes widened by shock. "We’ll give you a place to stay. It’s no trouble."

"T-thank you." You tilted your head and beamed at them with a sincere gratitude. "Anyway, just to make sure I’m not completely mooching off of you guys, I’ll take care of the transportation costs."

You positioned your suitcase securely on the ground, opening it up and pulling out your Black Order’s exorcist uniform, the silver Rose Cross gleaming in the sunlight rays. Shrugging on the coat, you nodded to the train personnel, who allowed you and your newly found acquaintances to pass into the top quality facilities on the locomotive.

"W-woah, so this is First Class?!" You giggled at the group’s excitement and plopped down onto one of the seats inside the spacious container. "H-how did you afford this?!"

"I’ve got certain… perks, I guess you could say." You replied equivocally to the stunned males, taking a furtive glance at the shimmering insignia resting over your breast. Eyes clouding up, the (e/c) color turning dull, you looked away before they could become any more jaded and grinned mischievously at the group. "It’s probably going to be a long ride, right?"

...And your first mistake was teasing him…

"Yeah, the mining town’s about 300 miles away from where we are now." Tyki mumbled boredly, absentmindedly picking at his ear. "We’ve got some cards though." He turned to you with a devilish smirk, ignoring the "No Smoking" sign and lighting up a cigarette. "But the games we usually enjoy for killing time shouldn’t be played in the presence of a lady."

"Try me." You ordered curiously, cocking your head with the untarnished purity of a child. "I thought I was pretty good at poker and some other card games, so it’s not like I don’t know how to play…"

"Strip poker." Tyki interjected with his pointer finger raised. "It can get pretty crazy. We wouldn’t want to scare off a dear like you, but if you really want to play, then go ahead and join us, be my guest."

"Okay," You agreed with a sweet smile, apparently not paying any attention to Clark and Momo who rowdily whooped in the background with perverted intentions. "I’ll play. It’ll be fun, so why not?"

"Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn ya~." Tyki sang, shuffling his deck of cards and distributing five cards to each player, which was everyone in the room but Eeze.

The first round, you had junk and Momo won with a three of a kind. Laughing sheepishly, you removed your ornamental exorcist’s coat since it was getting pretty warm in the train, leaving yourself in a navy blue shirt and knee-length black ruffle skirt. The other two men took off a shoe. In the second round, Tyki had the best hand and so you tugged off one of your own footwear this time as Clark and Momo disposed of a sock. It continued on for a while until Tyki was winning and you no longer had anything clothing your feet.

"Oh darn, I lost again!" You pouted before reaching up your back from underneath your shirt to unclasp your bra, pulling it from your body as the lacy (f/c) fabric became known to all. You held back a laugh at the guy’s faces - Momo and Clark were on the brink of drooling while Tyki jumped in surprise, his glasses now crooked. Reaching up to straighten them out, you then happily chirped, "Next round please~!"

You lost the next round too and stood up as the hormonal men watched with bated breath in anticipation of what you’ll remove this time. You didn’t disappoint, dragging some flimsy and very sexy panties from underneath your skirt down your long, silky smooth legs as the males gulped, their adam’s apples bobbing in sync. Tyki crudely let out a low whistle in reaction as you laughed at him and sat back down.

With another childishly adorable smile, you called for the next round. "Oh my~, guess I’ve got to be more careful from now on, huh?"

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"(Name), how could you be so cruel to us men?" Clark sobbed out an anguished complaint to you as he found not only himself, but the other two guys completely naked, save for their respective pieces of underwear. You, on the other hand, never lost another piece of clothing after that play.

"Sorry, sorry~." You snickered fiendishly into your hand in a futile attempt to muffle the sound. "I thought it’d be fun to do a little bit of teasing."

"I never expected it… someone like you, a pro?" Tyki sighed with an exasperated grin, his nearly burned out cigarette hanging from his mouth, dangerously close to falling out.

"I know…" You started, endearingly holding your pointer finger to your lip in faux innocence. "A cute little girl like me? Why, no." Speaking the last part with faked offense, you handed the men their clothes. "Here - take it. I have no need for men’s clothing and would prefer not to see you guys practically naked."

"You sure about that, Miss (Name)?" Tyki interrogated teasingly, strutting his oh so glorious body with a ridiculous swagger, but you mercilessly shot down his mockery in the next instant.

"Yep, I’m damn sure, Mister Tyki."

"Wow, that’s cold."

"Anyway, hope you’ve all learned your lesson. Don’t you ever underestimate a woman." You stated cheerfully before scratching at your cheek in a subdued embarrassment. "I did learn from the best after all. Used to play cards with an… acquaintance from the past who liked to um, well, swindle. Managed to strip me down completely naked once. I kinda had to adapt so that it wouldn’t happen again… too often, at least. He never did let me win though, not once, haha!"

"Sounded like you had great friends." Momo remarked, but you only were capable of establishing a bittersweet smile upon your face.

"I liked some of the people…" You murmured distantly, aloofly looking out the train’s window with a faraway daze. "But I hated the place. Don’t regret leaving one bit." You clutched at your heart upon confessing the last sentence, momentarily appearing pained.

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"Alright everyone, let’s welcome (Full name) to our humble, little abode!" Clark and Momo declared, raising up their glasses of cheap beer to the air in your honor.

"You guys, thanks, but this really isn’t necessary." You mumbled shyly, rubbing your arm self-consciously and timidly avoiding eye contact. "Besides, I’ve already met everyone, so it kind of beats the point of welcoming me here."

"...you’re thinking too hard, (Name)." Tyki murmured into your ear, precipitating your flustered reaction of blushing subtly at the rather intimate gesture. Though, he didn’t seem to notice nor care how his actions could be easily misinterpreted or how bashful you became in response to them. "Just try to enjoy yourself."

"Tyki’s right you know.” Momo prodded in a lively manner and joyfully refilled your cup of alcohol. "Have another drink - you’ll be feeling great and relaxed in no time."

You let out a tiny huff, but complied to his recommendation and took another mouthful of the amber colored beer. Beginning to feel minutely tipsy, you decided to forgo the liquor and withdrew from the mug of booze. "Alright, that’s enough for me."

"You’re a lightweight, eh?" Clark jabbed merrily as you pursed your lips and scrunched up your nose at his taunt.

"Hmph, well it’s no surprise since I don’t drink a lot. Never had the time and plus, where I come from, they usually scorn frivolity."

"What a dull place that must’ve been." Clark bantered in reply, downing another glassful of the alcohol.

"Y-yes, that’s true, I suppose."

"Sheesh, no booze? Seriously?"

"Well, actually there was this one guy who was so preposterously extravagant that it was laughable. Loved good alcohol and women; always bought the most luxurious of items; abhorred by his poor apprentices who were poor in more ways than one…" You informed them of one of the very few exceptions with a sweatdrop. "Drove the higher-ups crazy. But yeah, in general over there, they tended to continuously keep tabs on you, ensuring that you did as they said. It could be really overwhelming. They were borderline tyrannical at times…"

Tyki observed you with interest as he, rather gracefully for a scoundrel, sipped at his cup of golden beer. Enthralled by the subtle tragedy being painted by your words right in front of his very eyes in real time, he listened to your tale eagerly with a morbid sense of fascination.

"Well, that’s certainly no where I’d ever want to be." Momo expressed, joining the discussion but not realizing how pale you were becoming.

"I-I guess so." Your shaky lips struggled to form an uneasy smile on your pallid face. "They were so overbearing and judgmental… so controlling, obsessive, a-and… and…"

"Absolutely terrible?"

"...please excuse me." You squeaked, covering your mouth as if you were nauseated, and running out of the house. Taking a seat on the steps of the porch, you wrapped your arms around your knees and drew in short, unstable breaths, trying to refrain from hyperventilating.

The door opened a few minutes later, the tall figure of Tyki and his trademark silly glasses materializing as he plopped down at your side. He calmly lit a cigarette and took a long drag, artfully blowing out a ring of smoke.

...His next mistake was listening to you…

Several moments of an unbearably uncomfortable silence passed before you feebly strived to break the ice. "Ah, sorry. Seems like I’m an emotional drunk, huh?" You sniffed with a pathetic attempt at a smile.

The man only shook his head, silently reassuring you that it was fine. Tyki thought to himself for a second before grinning lightheartedly at you. "So… who’s the bad boyfriend?"

You barked out a laugh at his joke, smiling a bit more genuinely now. "Haha, it really does sound like that huh?" You breathed out slowly, steeling yourself - for what, you weren’t quite sure. "I doubt you’ll understand what I’m talking about, but… do you know what an exorcist is?"

"Hm? Yeah, I’ve heard of it once or twice." Tyki falsely answered smoothly with no discernible signs of lying. "Aren’t they those guys who go out fighting these supernatural monsters?"

"Close enough, you’ve got the main idea down. Anyways, I’m a sort of rogue exorcist. I reckon you could call me that." Your mouth curled up in a wry smile. "You see, I decided to… disappear for a while."

"You ran away?"

"I never wanted to be an exorcist." You admitted, grasping tightly at the fabric over your chest. "But I guess you could say it was an unwanted, but inevitable fate. I was born with a weak heart, and at age ten, I was at an all time low. My family never was particularly affluent and so they couldn’t afford to consult a doctor, let alone the surgery. My parents, desperate to save me, took me to a priest who was… affiliated with the Black Order."

Tyki Mikk nodded his head, indicating that he understood what you said so far and was signaling for you to go on.

"They found out that I resonated with one of the Order’s fragments of innocence, an exorcist’s weapon. Apparently I was an accommodator for that innocence, and when it was implanted into my heart, I was able to live. But… there was a severe price to pay for this miracle, a kind of equivalent exchange. In return for the blessing- the privilege to my life, I would become an exorcist until the day I die. And I never saw my family again." You looked up at the night sky, seemingly searching for something that Tyki couldn’t comprehend. "I think that the last straw was when my best friend was killed. He was a finder, and deceased finders are all placed into replicas of the same, ordinary, plain white coffin. He was just a nameless body amongst hundreds, but no, he’s Nathan! His name is Nathan and he wasn’t just some random finder, that wasn’t all he was, that wasn’t his only worth!"

"..."

You took his silence as him not knowing what to say, which was but partly true. Unused to sympathizing with an enemy whether the emotions were true or feigned, Tyki didn’t even know where to start if he wished to deceive you with an outwardly sincere condolence. A simple "I’m sorry" didn’t seem appropriately applicable to the situation.

You rubbed the back of your neck awkwardly, just now becoming aware of how long you ranted and growing embarrassed. "I honestly don’t know why I’m telling you all this. Maybe I’m just comfortable around you."

"Or maybe you’re just drunk." Tyki intervened playfully as the heavy mood once again lightened up.

"Haha, I guess that might be it." You tittered somewhat gleefully, commencing your slow and gradual emotional recovery. "That might just be it…"

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...Your next mistake was your curiosity…

"Hey, Tyki…" You started, staring at the rugged gentleman with an inquisitive expression. "So, it’s been more than a month or two since I met you and all…"

"Yeah, and?"

"I’veneverseenyouwithoutyourglassesandnowthatIthinkaboutitIneveractuallysawyoureyeseitherandnowI’mreallycuriouslikewhatifyouhaveprettysparklyfancyeyesormaybeevendemoneyesorsomethingand-"

"Woah woah woah, slow down there, sweetheart." He articulated in response to your slur of incomprehensible blabbering. "Deep breaths, speak slowly and carefully pronounce each syllable."

You didn’t bother to repeat yourself, simply reaching up and taking off his glasses directly, staring into his intensely dark brown eyes. You then blinked at Tyki, taking him in for what he was worth, fluttering your eyelashes in astonishment. "Wow, you’ve got a surprisingly handsome face."

"Surprisingly…? What’s that supposed to mean?" He muttered to himself, not entirely sure if he should feel insulted at your blunt commentary. You only grinned crookedly at him in response, making him sigh in exasperation. Suddenly feeling the need to smoke a cigarette now, he plucked one from his pocket and lit it with his lighter, pressing it in between his lips.

Next, you tilted your head, closely inspecting the cancer stick hanging out of his mouth with an oddly concentrated interest. Abruptly motioning pointedly towards the cigarette, you exclaimed, "Let me try."

"Huh? Sure, if you really want to." The Portuguese male uttered casually as he reached into his pocket to retrieve his box of cigarettes, only to pause when you stretched your hand out to take ahold of the one between his lips. "Eh? You want to use mine? Are you sure though? It’s already been in my mouth."

"Oh please, I’ve already seen you naked, so why the hell not? I can now say with confidence that I’ve seen the worst of you, so I’m sure I can deal with a little indirect kiss." You shrugged nonchalantly with a roll of the eyes and took a drag of the cigarette. Instantly, you coughed out a cloud of gray smoke, spluttering as you frantically pounded on your chest to clear your lungs of the irritant.

"Ha, you’re an amateur!" Tyki laughed at your expense with a playfully mockingly tone and you elbowed him in the ribs in retaliation to his teasing.

"Shut up! The Order tends to look down on these sorts of things, so of course I’ve never smoked a cigarette before!" When he continued to snicker uncontrollably into his hand, you shoved him with a crabby grumbling of your own, causing him to fall flat onto his back, still cackling to himself. "Stop laughing! Tyki!"

Time would never be as tame with you again since that last, precious moment of an uncomplicated contentment. The next mistakes would no longer be harmlessly inconsequential.

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"Hey, I was wondering… What’s your superpower?" The bespectacled fellow inquired, his wording engendering a buoyant chuckle from your amused self.

"Pfft, superpower? You mean my innocence?"

"Yes, your… innocence." He accentuated the word verbally and even bodily with a little waggle of the eyebrows, wearing a shit-eating grin.

"The things I deal with…" You groused, eye slightly twitching at the unnecessary and utterly inappropriate innuendo Tyki felt the need to point out.

"But really, I’m curious. Didn’t you say that’s located in your heart? I don’t really see how you could possibly use your heart as a weapon…"

"Yeah, I guess it is in an awkward, vital area of my body. To be honest, I hope to never have to use my innocence again now that I’ve left the Black Order." You murmured, placing a hand over the steadily beating organ. "It… hurts. The innocence amplifies my heartbeat and synchronizes it with all akuma within a thirty feet radius, and the only way I can fight is by tampering with my own heart rate. The faster it races, the hotter akuma become until finally bursting into flames or even melting. On the other hand, the slower my heart rate becomes, the colder akuma grow until freezing to death. Every akuma, depending on its level and type, has a different uh… you could liken it to a sort of fatal boiling and freezing point, only it’s measured in beats per minute."

"That’s cool." Tyki commented with a trivial tone, stretching his arms up and folding them behind his head as he leaned back on his chair.

"No, it’s really not actually." You disagreed with an exhausted exhale of breath, shaking your head. "If my heart stops beating then all akuma within a fifty feet radius are destroyed. In my whole career as an exorcist that’s only happened three times. Once due to severe injuries and twice because… well, the Order deemed it necessary and forcefully put a stop to my heart for the ‘greater good’ when we were stuck in a pinch." The corners of your mouth curled up in a playful grin, but your lips took on a melancholic flair like a dull coating of lipstick. "At least I can say that I’ve died and come back to life three times. Not many people can brag about that."

"Damn, I think you’re probably more of a monster than those akuma, (Name)~." He teased, ruffling your (h/l) (h/c) hair as you snorted and swat his hand away, rearranging your locks back into their original, pristine state.

"Maybe, just maybe, Tyki Mikk."

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"Huh how weird… Hey have any of you guys seen Tyki? The last time I saw him was weeks ago." You queried with a reflective look upon your face. "Every once in a while he does go out for a few days at a time… probably fishing illegally or chasing after girls." You muttered the last part with a roll of the eyes, before frowning in concern. "But he’s always back - only stays out for two weeks at the most."

"I actually think he left on his secret job." Clark responded calmly to your question with a light shrug.

"Eh? A secret job? Our Tyki? Can’t imagine it." You retorted with eyebrows furrowed in exasperation. The vagabond presently being spoken about was notoriously lazy, even amongst your little hobo family. "Where the hell would he even go?"

"Yeah, who knows. Sometimes he’s gone only for a week or two and other times he won’t return until months later. But he always comes back with a little something for Eeze and every once in a while, something for me and Momo as well."

"W-what?! Oh darn, if I knew that it could potentially take him that long then I would’ve at least given him a hug or something!"

"It’s fine. Just give it to him when he comes back."

"Heh, give it to him. I’m sure you’ll give it to him real well." Momo sniggered to himself lecherously, Clark soon joining him, bonded by their mutual godless perversity.

You stared emotionlessly at them with a blank expression while covering Eeze’s ears, deeming that a child need not learn about such a subject yet. "...I guess this is what I get for staying with a bunch of guys."

"Oh come on, you know we’re just teasing~."

You could only shake your head at them with a tender fondness in your eyes. "Whatever. I’m starving, so let’s go out for lunch. As usual, it’s on me. Tyki’s sure missing out on all the free food." Without waiting for them, you began walking to the nearest dining establishment, knowing that the boys would be following not far from behind.

"Eh? You’re hungry again?!" Momo shouted in disbelief as you deadpanned at his next few sentences. "You eat more than all of us combined! I’m still trying to figure out how you’re not fat yet!"

Rubbing at your temples, you muttered out plainly, “I’ll just ignore that last comment for your own sake. Besides, you should’ve seen one of the guys back at that place… eats at least three times as much as I do.” Then you smirked perceptively at the two adult men while Eeze just blinked innocently. “Anyways, don’t complain. I know how much you guys rely on the major discounts I get.”

"...I’m also still wondering how the hell you get so much special treatment." Clark pondered aloud with a hand held to his chin contemplatively. "Thought of a few explanations. I’m stuck between deciding whether you’re from some secret agency like Tyki or if you just happen to forcefully flirt your way through those poor suckers."

You fell into a short bout of laughter at his silly, amusing ideas. "Maybe a bit of both." Reaching into your briefcase, you resumed your everyday routine of fleetingly flashing the exorcist coat in order to gain certain practical benefits such as free train rides, reductions on prices, etc.

Of course, it was dangerous to recklessly parade the thing around or else you could attract unwanted attention, so you always quickly returned your exorcist’s jacket to your bag. However, things didn’t go as planned today as Clark and Momo snatched the article of clothing and dashed a few feet away in front of you.

"Ya know, I always wondered why you were so bent on keeping this thing hidden." Momo ran his fingers down the lavish black, white, and silver fabric of the coat. "It’s pretty nice if you ask me."

"Guys, stop! Give that back!" You cried out in alarm, reaching out as they only dodged your attempts with shockingly agile movements, a fluid grace you didn’t expect the pair of men to have.

"Don’t worry, we were just curious. Wanted to examine it a bit. We’ll return it to ya right after." Clark reassured, but you nervously continued to chase them around, trying to obtain the Black Order uniform. "Hm, I actually think we met a few guys wearing the same exact overcoat before… Oh yeah, they were on the train and-"

"Exorcist…"

"No…" You whispered in a terror-stricken daze before snapping out of it and panicking as one of the townsfolk moaned inhumanly, body contorting into itself before expanding into a bulbous machine. "That’s it! Give me that back!"

You managed to grab hold of the coat while the two older males were frozen in a petrified shock, pushing them inside the closest building in the vicinity. You threw on the exorcist garb in a hurry, not even bothering to button it shut. Your horrified (e/c) eyes locked on Eeze who was still outside.

"Innocence activate!" You commanded, screeching at the familiar sensation of agony localized at your heart. Biting on your lip with a damaging pressure, causing the sensitive skin to bleed, you held in a yelp at how much your cardiac muscle ached. It hurt so much more than you remembered - guess it would take you a little while to become reaccustomed to the torturous throbbing once again.

The demonic creature aimed its cannons towards the masked boy and you leapt towards Eeze, pulling protectively him into your arms. You dodged the venomously violet projectiles and rolled across the road, back towards the building where Clark and Momo were taking refuge at. Peering behind you and swearing vulgarly despite Eeze being in hearing range, you noted how that one monster precipitated the appearance of dozens more of akuma.

Practically throwing Eeze at the two men, Momo luckily catching him with quick reflexes, you urgently hissed, "Take care of him!"

"(N-name), your skin!"

You cursed, realizing the stinging pain in your shoulder as black pentacles began to form, spreading from the point of injury to visible areas such as your face. "I’ll be fine! Just don’t come out! No matter what!"

“B-but-”

You pressed a hand over your pulsating organ, the parasitic innocence purifying the akuma’s blood bullet poisons. "Even if they’re about to kill me, do not leave." Dashing back into the fray, disillusioned eyes glancing down at your chest, you mumbled, “Even if I am panicking because Momo, Clark, and Eeze are here, at least it’ll make my heart race faster…"

Fleeing from the town to lead the horde of level one and two akuma away, you gasped and heaved, breath rate increasing directly proportionally to your pulse. Four of the level one akuma spontaneously exploded in a fiery blaze. Verging on hyperventilating now, heart irregularly palpitating, you caused five more level ones to melt into a puddle of liquid metal and a single level two to detonate.

"Son of a bitch!" A few of the Millennium Earl’s more intelligent and powerful weaponized humans elevated themselves to a higher altitude, safely exiting your innocence’s range of influence and preparing for the next wave of battering attacks. "Guess I can’t hold back today." You breathed, wincing in discomfort at the corresponding spark of pain within your breast. "Man, I hate being an exorcist."

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Tyki relished both his "light" side and his "dark" side with a deviant sense of exhilaration stemming from the forbidden, a thing so dangerously alluring he could not afford to live without. However, the man strictly kept the two entities separate, never allowing them to clash in the slightest. That was, until you crashed into his life and complicated everything, the fine line between his two lives muddling.

You were a being from the twisted, bloodstained world of his Noah - his sworn enemy, an exorcist of the Black Order. Yet in an unforeseen outcome, you were thrust into the midst of his white life in which he played pretend, acting out the role of a "normal" human who was simply trying to make an honest living (well, only to a finite extent, considering that his make-believe character was a scamming hobo).

The only thing even more ludicrous than the current situation was your perpetual faith in him. An undying trust illuminated your ignorant eyes as you told him your life story - all your secrets, your worries, your fears, your aspirations… it was so absurd that it was laughable.

Your innocent naivety, it made him… made him feel-

"Oh, Noah-sama, please take care when heading forward." A mostly humanoid level two akuma vaguely resembling a canine warned, approaching from the dense forest in front of the dashing, suit-clad male. "There’s a battle going on right ahead near the mining town." Tyki’s amber eyes widened as images of his human companions flashed through his mind. "I’m going to retreat for now. Damned innocence won’t let any level ones or twos get anywhere near its exorcist right now. ...such a shame since she’s vulnerable for the most part." The mechanical creature then hopped away after offering a respectful farewell.

Tyki nimbly made his way forward, cautiously stepping over gnarled tree roots and arriving to a small, grassing clearing. Lying there on the ground was your fatigued body, chest rising and falling at sporadic intervals. Several akuma hovered far above your disorientated body and repeated manning their cannons in another attempt at aiming for your small body, the large distance separating the killer machines from you decreasing their accuracy.

'Alright, everyone, leave it to me. I’ll take care of this.' Tyki sent the order telepathically to all the akuma within the vicinity, also raising a hand to gesticulate his command as the monstrous human weapons ceased their devastating activity. Once they all left, he reverted back into his unkempt human form, shedding his elegantly costumed Noah skin.

Walking over to you, he stared down at you blankly, so emotionlessly that it could have mistakenly been interpreted as indifferent. Your fingers twitched when you heard the footsteps, turning your head in the general direction of the sound and looking helplessly on with unseeing, hazy (e/c) eyes.

"Ah… is that you, Tyki? Sorry, I can’t really tell right now, haha." You mumbled dazedly, familiarly continuing on regardless of whether the person you were speaking to was actually Tyki or not. "My innocence isn’t reacting to anything, so I think that all the akuma are gone. I can finally deactivate it. Good thing you came back when it’s safe. How lucky, I’m glad." During your delusional ailment, you somehow convinced yourself that he was truly there despite Tyki never giving you a verbal response.

And he was there, not that you could consciously become aware of his presence in your present condition. You were so… weak and pathetic right now, Tyki noted in an apathetic observation. Though, your next words spawned shock, taking him aback.

"Why aren’t you saying anything? Oh, I see… it’s alright, you don’t have to worry anymore." You coughed, smiling as warm, crimson fluid dripped from your mouth, completely disregarding yourself. "Eeze, Momo, Clark… they’re okay…" The next moment you finally lost consciousness, eyelids pulling over your murky (e/c) orbs.

Tyki pressed a hand over his face, shoulders shaking in… laughter, perhaps?

You were so… so…

"Tyki-sama, why didn’t you wait for me, lero?" The Halloween themed golem whined, gliding madly over to the Noah in a burst of huffs as he desperately attempted to regain his breath. "I’m s-so tired, l-lero."

"I don’t get why you’re following me, Lero. Why don’t you go play with Road?" Tyki sighed with a dismissive wave of the hand, shooing the inhuman creature away.

"R-r-rude, lero! The Earl of Millennium just wanted me to check in with each of his precious family members, lero!" He grumbled, floating over Tyki’s shoulder and getting of glance of your passed out form, startling at your Black Order emblem. "E-exorcist! Exorcist, lero! Tyki-sama, did you kill the girl and destroy her innocence, lero?"

"Nope, haven’t just yet." He maintained noncommittally and ignited his lighter, about to bring the petite flame to to a cigarette only to drop the cancer stick when Lero flew to his face in a rage.

"W-w-what?! Then you should get to it, lero!"

"Maybe later. I’m not really in the mood right now. I mean, it’d be a bother since I’ve already gone and dressed as my 'light' side."

Turbulent smoke practically spurted from Lero’s head in a fit of rage, but before the golem could further complain, another voice piped up.

"Huh, I could’ve sworn I faintly sensed some innocence before- ooh, here’s the little exorcist bitch!" A new level two akuma arrived to the disorderly scene late, rabidly salivating merely at the idea of annihilating you. "Eh? Who're you?" He looked at Tyki, who was currently dressed as a vagabond, in confusion before Lero cleared up the misunderstanding, shrieking for the akuma to show Tyki some respect. "Oh, I nearly didn't recognize you there, Noah-sama! I apologize. It’s a pleasure to see you this afternoon." He peered between you and Tyki, then chuckled sadistically to himself. "Were you about to finish her off? It’s alright, you shouldn’t even have to touch trash like her. Let me handle this - I’ll completely ruin her, nice and slowly, torturously. I won’t be satisfied until I’ve destroyed not only her body, but her soul as well. Oh what fun it will be~!"

Tyki gazed at the level two, unmoved, before monotonically uttering out a dispassionate command. "Die on my mark." The akuma spluttered, shaking his head fearfully but upon Tyki snapping his fingers, the beast imploded before he could even begin pleading for his life.

"W-what are you doing, Tyki-sama, lero!" Lero’s black void eye sockets widened as he agitatedly choked, "You killed one of the Earl’s dear akuma, lero!"

"He was getting on my nerves - I said I would take care of the exorcist and so he should’ve backed down like the other akuma." Tyki shrugged composedly, rather unconcerned at what just transpired. "He stepped out of his place. The Earl has no need for akuma that can’t follow orders."

"But Tyki-sama, he must’ve been out of earshot when you gave that command, lero. He couldn’t have known-"

"I still consider it his fault."

The umbrella golem exhaled in annoyance. "I could understand destroying an akuma to torment the exorcist like Road-sama had, lero, but this akuma seemed rather delightful if you asked me. Didn’t seem to do anything wrong in my opinion, lero - only kindly offered to eradicate that exorcist girl, lero." The golem’s jack-o’-lantern opened mouth frowned as Lero muttered, "If you don’t dispose of this irritating insect of an exorcist, I’ll have to tell the Earl, ler-"

In a flash, the pumpkin topped umbrella-like golem found his head within the crushing grip of Tyki’s hand. "Hm, don’t be a little tattletale, Lero." Tyki spoke in a clipped tone as his grasp tightened warningly, the gold of his optics flashing coldly - dangerously. "No one likes a tattletale."

"O-okay, I won’t tell, lero! Just let me go, lero; I can’t breath, lero!"

Tyki released the frantically shrieking golem from his clutches and knelt down, lifting you up into his arms. He then turned towards Lero with a feral grin, pronouncing his final words.

"Don’t you dare interfere. I’m just dying to see how this plays out~."

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You abruptly gasped, shooting up from where you had been resting on the modest bed which consisted more of thin, ragged sheets than mattress.

"Hey, you’re finally awake, sleeping beauty." Tyki drawled lazily, blowing out a hazy cloud of gray, cigarette smoke. In contrast to his unperturbed underreaction to your awakening, Clark and Momo broke into wailing sobs and basically jumped you, crushing your body between theirs.

"H-huh, take it easy, guys! It’s not like I’m dead, okay?" You coughed out at their smothering embrace. "Come on, Momo, Clark - you two look so uncool. Even Eeze and Tyki, that manchild, seem to be more of an adult than you hooligans." The child politely refrained from suffocating you in a death-hold, inconspicuously wiping at his watery eyes, while said manchild huffed in mock offense at your snide insult with a grumpy pout (which only served to further your point).

"Tyki found you and brought you back-" Momo spluttered inconsolably as Clark cut in next, continuing his sentence for him.

"And we weren’t sure if you were gonna wake up at all! We thought we lost you!"

"As long as my heart remains beating, I don’t plan on ever leaving you guys." You sighed in exasperation, wringing out your shirt that had been soaked by their tears only for the grownup men to resume sniveling overdramatically at your touching declaration. "GUYS, SERIOUSLY, YOU GOTTA STOP THE CRYING!"

Eventually they managed to quiet down and you, being in an even better mood than usual, decided to cook the little makeshift family a homemade dinner for the occasion (you had to ignore the older men’s joking comments about you being the housewife in a polyamorous relationship with them, and upon hearing Tyki’s playfully teasing remark, answered on reflex, "If anything, you’d be my bitch, Tyki.").

Unfortunately, life goes on… time refused to remain docile, not permitting you to continue your peace-filled existence with your close-knit hobo family. Thus, fate provoked the next series of tragic events which would only prompt more regrettable errors.

...And so his subsequent mistake was intervening…  

The sound of a resounding crash echoed through the house as glass plates fell from quivering hands. Not paying any mind to the surprised shouts of your roommates, you slammed open the door and sprinted outside to meet what you had seen, awaiting you, from the open window.

"...how did you find me?"

Black wings beated in sync as a gravelly, forbidding voice resonated from the Black Order golem stationed outside the living quarters of your vagabond companions. "Why are you so surprised, (Name)? There’s no escape from God’s will." The winged communicating device continued projecting the man’s message. "Did you really think that we wouldn’t be able to track you down? It was only a matter of time, which was merely accelerated by the use of your innocence. Of course we noticed it. For your insubordination, you will be punished accordingly once we bring you back to the Order."

"Bring me back?" You mumbled out dumbfoundedly with jaded eyes, face devoid of emotion.

"We’ll be deploying a couple of our people to escort you there. Don’t try to run again. It’s futile. See you in a few days, (Name)." With a buzz of static, the message ended and the ebony colored golem flew to a landing post to keep an oppressive eye on you.

You dumbly stepped back into the house with a hand held to your throbbing head, heart surging at an agonizing pace. Smiling weakly at the three men and single boy, you breathed out, "H-hey, sorry, I guess I’ll be leaving soon. It was lovely meeting-" You collapsed to the ground, hacking and wheezing direly, yet unable to pull enough air into your lungs.

"W-woah, (Name), are you- holy shit, Tyki and Clark, help me out here!" Momo cried, unsuccessfully attempting to drag your frail body to the bed as you despairingly resisted with every ounce of willpower to remain where you were. "Oi, calm down, we just want to move you to a more comfortable place!"

You desperately grabbed onto Tyki’s arm with a confused distress, his head snapping towards you, spiraled glasses becoming crooked in the sharp movement, revealing his eyes. "I-I don’t want to go. Don’t make me go! I never wanted to leave!" Tyki Mikk adopted an expression you had never seen on him before, his face being the last thing you registered, and you fainted.

A heart attack…

When you came to three days later, everyone was at your bedside save for Tyki, who had abruptly left on an impromptu mission. Every house in the area was on lockdown, the ground rumbling with vibrations triggered by explosions from a nearby battlefield.

"What the hell’s going on?" You yelped, leaping to your feet despite the males’ protests. You squeaked when the Black Order golem from before flittered about in a frenzy outside the sealed window.

Once you opened it up, the little machine rushed inside and screamed out status updates, static sometimes interrupting the various voices as they communicated with each other. "Attention all exorcists! If you are near … come at once and …" "Noah, there’s a Noah! Help me-" "The third unit … wiped out … send reinforcements …" "S-so many are dead … please … God save our …" "(FULL NAME)-!" You recognized the last speaker and shivered at the cold, indifferent tone he used. "Get your ass out here! We need all the exorcists … you will fight … sacrifice yourself … a martyr … for the sake of God-"

You shrieked and dove for cover, Momo and Clark imitating your actions and shielding young Eeze as a pair of rather small and compact, but nevertheless incredibly dangerous level twos leaped through the open window and into the living room. The larger of the two akuma sprung up on its hind legs and snapped the golem into its mouth, compressing the communicating device into a mangled mess within jagged teeth. Before you could even think to activate your innocence, the coarse voice of one of the akuma rang out.

"C-careful!" The other monster hissed out warningly as his demonic partner spat out metallic chunks of what used to be the Black Order’s golem. "Boss only wanted us to get rid of the golem. He specifically told us not to damage the house or any of the people inside it!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Noah-sama’ll have our heads if we break something… or someone, in this case." The selectively destructive akuma replied with a roll of its eyes to the second one’s nagging. "Let’s just get out of here." They peacefully exited the residence, leaving the human inhabitants inside flabbergasted and stupefied in astonishment.

"W-well, that was weird…" You quickly shut the window again, pulling the curtains down, unwilling to risk a second chance encounter with the akuma. Holding a hand to your rapidly beating heart, you exhaled and slowly sunk down to a seated position. Eyes lowering to the ground, you let out a low chuckle and then crawled over to your trunk, pulling out your exorcist’s coat.

"Don’t tell me you’re going out there." Clark spoke incredulously, but you only shook your head and smiled bittersweetly with a stubbornly determined glint to your eyes.

"Hey, Eeze…" You murmured softly, transporting your cloak over to him and settling it into his hands. "I have a feeling I won’t be needing this any longer. I want you to have it - the fabric is pretty versatile in its uses and the trimmings can be melted and sold for a pretty high price since they’re made of pure silver."

The child shyly prodded at the coat, not sure of how to react to your generous gift nor entirely sure if he should accept it. Eeze’s eyes sparkled at the buttons though and his uncertainty gradually dwindled until it was completely diminished. "Wow! These are just like the ones Tyki brings me!"

Your eyebrows raised as you sharply inhaled in shock when Eeze brought back his collection of silver pieces, some of them being the buttons off the exorcist uniform, that Tyki "found" for him. Eyes widening distinctly at the startling epiphany, you stood up numbly as a sense of nothingness washed over you. But then your conscious awareness returned and you turned to smile wryly at your friends, then started for the door.

"What are you doing, (Name)?!" Momo chided, noticing that you were lingering suspiciously near the home’s exit. "That’s crazy! You just woke up! You’re in no shape to wander around where it’s dangerous!"

"Sorry, but I’m going out there… not as an exorcist and not in the name of God, but because I finally have something I wish to protect." You smiled so gently and sincerely that it could induce awed wonderment, then hurried towards the door, slamming it open and closing it quickly once you were outside.

Charging rashly into the fray and initiating your innocence, you expected to be barraged left and right with bullets, slashes, and other attacks of the like. Yet, all of the akuma compliantly stayed away and dutifully ignored your existence. It was as if you were a ghost hidden among an oasis of tranquility within the bloodied chaos.

Finally, you reached the heart of the battle, where the densest and most brutal fighting was occurring, gaze landing upon the sturdy back of a sophisticatedly dressed man. He was holding up a juvenile exorcist who couldn’t have been older than sixteen by the throat. Mercilessly, he implanted what appeared to be a dark butterfly, emanating a toxic purple aura, into the exorcist’s lower abdomen. She was dead in the next instant.

"Hey."

The Noah stiffened at the sound of your voice before turning around to acknowledge your presence, almost guiltily as if he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. His top hat conveniently obscured his face from your view, but you knew better than that.

"Stop playing around, I know it’s you." You sighed, heart threatening to burst out of your chest, the innocence within reacting violently to the enemy of God. "Did you really think I wouldn’t recognize you, Tyki Mikk? Now how could I forget such a handsome face?" Joking half-heartedly, you pursed your lips at how the comedic words seemed to deflate in their felicity as they left your mouth.

He raised his head, somber eyes of a lustrous gold striking against his darkened skin. A line of stigmata scars ran across his forehead like a sprinkling of unholy, black stars. "Good, now I can stop pretending." Tyki’s face then split into a wide, deranged grin connecting both sides of his head as he finally found the right words to say, those just perfect words he had been searching for to give voice to the feelings you aroused from him. "I want to destroy you."

You should have found him disgusting, hideous, grotesque, but instead, you smiled.

...Because your subsequent mistake was gratitude…

"Go ahead." And once again, you applied a defibrillation to his composure and took his breath away. "I always knew I’d die young, being a parasitic type. But first, I wanted to thank you. You… did this for me, didn’t you? Attacked the Black Order so that they couldn’t take me away." Stepping forward without a hint of hesitation, you wrapped him, your enemy, a Noah, a monster, into your warm, accepting embrace. "So, thank you, Tyki."

"...wow, just what are you, (Name)? You make things so hard for me." The Portuguese man’s eyes became mellow as he exhaled in exasperation. His arms tensed, straining from his unscrupulous desire to ruin, but progressively relaxed and slid around your waist. "An exorcist thanking a Noah, it’s absurd. But- I’ve decided not to kill you just yet." Tyki, rather gently for a savage Noah, tucked stray piece of (h/c) hair behind your ear. "I find you so endearing." His gruesome grin flashed for a split second as he licked up your cheek as you shuddered at the obscene action in fear, embarrassment, arousal…? "Look how fast your heart is racing for me~."

Using his ability to choose, he reached into your chest, fingers coming in contact with your vibrating innocence and becoming singed by the hostile, holy energy. However, he did not destroy this particular artifact of God’s power, instead feeling your heart beating within the palm of his hand.

Two opposing, mutually destructive and hateful, forces were what made up the star-crossed pair (for you could not exactly call it lovers) of you and Tyki Mikk. Oh how laughably tragic it was…

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...And his succeeding mistake was trying…

"Huh, I think they’ve really given up." You remarked upon realizing that the Black Order had not sent another escort to you since the last skirmish involving an unnamed Noah, which solely you discerned to have been Tyki. "Anyway, shouldn’t you be out at the mines with the others right now, Mr. Double Agent Bad Guy?"

"Bad guy? I’m hurt, considering how I was so nice to you." He drawled playfully, feigning fake indignation at your mocking nickname. "I didn’t kill or even slightly maim you, so that has to be worth at least some good guy points." However, you knew he couldn’t care less about the point system, let alone gaining so called "good guy points". "Besides, even now I’m watching over you like a guardian angel." You knew he was finding a sick humor in the twisted irony of his words. "I’ll keep you company here for a few more days just to absolutely make sure that the Black Order really isn’t planning on taking you back later. So don’t worry your pretty little head, (Name), I’ll protect you~."

"My hero." You interjected dryly with a roll of the eyes.

He ignored your sarcastic retaliation to his own mocking and continued bluntly, "After all, I can’t just let them take you away when I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had with you around."

"Woo, I get to be Tyki’s plaything! I’m absolutely honored, Mister Mikk!" You applauded exaggeratedly as he watched fondly you with a pleased mirth.

He then smoothly removed his glasses, eyes suddenly dark and sultry. "I want to try something." Tyki leaned forward, the action fluid and suave almost as if practiced, tilting his head for a better angle.

You mirrored his movements, entranced by the sin within his smouldering chestnut brown eyes that held a hint of fool’s gold, and your own eyes fluttered shut as your mouth met his. Tyki sensuously pressed his lips harder against yours and then took your bottom lip into his mouth, playfully nipping it before sucking on its tender flesh.

But before his salacious tongue could slip in between your virginal lips, your slow reaction time eventually caught up to your consciousness as you finally realized just what you were doing. Gasping, you pulled away from Tyki with a feverishly florid face, bashfully hiding your kiss-bruised, reddened lips behind a coy hand. Your male counterpart, on the other hand, only observed you with delighted amusement at your demure display.

You chuckled at the absurdity of it all - an accommodator for sacred innocence merged for an instance with a wicked, malicious Noah, the enemy of humanity. But for some reason, you could no longer bring yourself to care about how much further you could disgrace yourself within God’s eyes.

"Ha, I might as well have kissed the devil."

And this indifference may as well have caused your imminent downfall.

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"Tyki Mikk… may I ask a favor of you?" You entreated simply with a docile resignation to the unsuspecting Noah who composedly raised an inquisitive eyebrow in response. "I would like to die this Tuesday, on the anniversary of day we first met."

His jaw slackened at the unanticipated shock, dumbly releasing the cigarette that had been burning between his lips. "The hell are you going on about?"

"My innocence is going to expire any day now. I can feel it in my heart… both literally and figuratively, how weird but kinda funny in a way." You answered straightforwardly and rather blandly for such a confession. "When that time happens, I will fall."

"Fall?" He reiterated to experience a better sensation of the word, images of the Suman Dark incident suddenly coming to mind and leaving the taste of sour acid in his parched mouth.

"Before that occurs, I’d like you to destroy my innocence - which will consequently destroy me along with it now that I think about it. Oh well, that’s just how it goes, I guess." You shrugged inconsequentially, but your facade of unconcern faltered momentarily as you frowned and chewed on your lip pensively. "But Tyki…" Turning to him, you grabbed his hands in yours and adamantly made your final request. "I want you to do it yourself. Not with teez, but yourself. You have to promise me that, okay?" At his speechless nod as he didn’t know how to answer in words, you smiled graciously yet plaintively, the expression evoking an unprecedented surge of a peculiar longing in him. "Thank you."

Tyki was surprisingly courteous for the next few days and somehow convinced Clark, Momo, and Eeze to take the days off even without providing them with a reasonable rationale. Your little vagabond family basically partied nonstop to a borderline inappropriate extent and you drank - drank to your heart’s content. It was an ironic and queer procession… almost like you were celebrating a series of consecutive birthdays rather than counting down the days one by one until you reached your deadline.

When the clock struck midnight, signaling the literal start of Tuesday, Tyki, keeping his word, quietly led you out into the forest. Donning his Noah skin, his complexion turned ashen gray and his eyes flashed a dangerously captivating gold. "What am I supposed to tell Eeze, Clark, and Momo? Especially the last two - they’d blow a fuse and get snot everywhere if they were to discover you were dead."

"Tell them that the time finally came for me to hitch a ride upon the wind. Tell them that I've become a free spirit."

"Cliché as always, (Name)..." He shook his head at you and sighed in exasperation before his amber eyes became slitted and the corners of his mouth curled up in a cruel expression. "Just to make things clear, you just were a toy. I never actually cared for you." He thrust his hand into your chest without actually coming into contact with any other flesh but your heart and wrapped his fingers around your pulsating organ.

"Of course, of course. You’re a Noah, after all. But…" You hacked up a thick mixture of bile and blood and could feel his digits enfolding the complete circumference of your heart. Smiling weakly, you raised a shaky hand to his face. "You know, in a different world… I think I could have loved you."

...After all, your last mistake was falling for him…

"I’m going to Hell, now aren’t I?" You chuckled faintly and closed your (e/c) eyes, foolishly pleased at the fact.

"Well, I guess I’ll meet you there."

You grinned widely at him, his subtle but specific use of diction not escaping your notice. "I’ll look forward to it. ...thank you, Tyki." You raised your head to face the glittering night sky in a tranquil contentment. "Here’s to a new world-"

And then he crushed your heart.

Afterwards, Tyki Mikk took off his hat, holding it to his chest and lowering his head, offering a moment of silence in respect. Then a full understanding of just what your death would mean finally dawned upon him, piling on like thick slabs of brick as the world weighed down his shoulders in a forced state of penitence, and Tyki twitched agitatedly. He clutched a quivering hand to his face, his whole body shaking as inhuman eyes dilated and unhinged laughter escaped his trembling vocal chords.

(Such a saying existed that laughter was but a stone’s throw away from crying. But could it ever possibly apply to a Noah? Improbable… that is what he’d say.)

Oh, what fun it was to live a double life~!

R
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...His last mistake was lying to himself…