Rose Colored Violet

Rose Colored Violet
By Michiyo Ichimaru


Author’s note: I was, indeed, inspired to write this after reading The Fine Line by Niamh Arawn, and of course, merely intrigued by the relationship between Lavi and Tyki and what I might be able to portray of it. Note that this was indeed written as part of a writing workshop also meant to improve my writing skills and capabilities, as well as interest readers. So I hope you will enjoy it and might say something afterwards in a nice e-mail, review, or even an IM about it. Not only am I open about writing, but about discussion of any fandoms or pairings, since I, too, am a fangirl at heart. Without further ado, I’ll give you what you came here for.


[Chapter One
[Fragile Bookend


What had he been told about purpose again? Lavi tried to remember exactly how his master had put it into terms for him. For him, it wasn’t a simple answer of ‘you do or you don’t’ and it certainly shouldn’t be so simple that it could be explained in a few choice words. That’s why he had been trying so hard to remember his master’s words, to the point of utter frustration. After all, even though he was just Panda, the Panda was the most knowledgeable person he knew. No one knew more than that old man. After all, that was his job; his ‘purpose’.

And so his line of questioning had brought him sadly full circle, back to the question at hand. What had Panda told him about purpose? It was imperative for him to remember so that he could properly record his observations on the Noah. What was their purpose? To help the Earl, he told himself, and then rejected the thought a moment later. Were they really helping the Earl, or were they helping themselves? It was both and so it couldn’t be either. Then he was still left with the infuriating question: What was their purpose?

The soft sound of laughter erupted behind him. Using the ball of his foot, Lavi quickly exerted enough force to spin the chair around and come face to face with a very white, very amused Noah of Pleasure, hand ready to grab his hammer. His laughter; the way he covered his face, as if trying to hide it to save Lavi’s pride from further injury looked so damn human. It took little acts like this to continue to remind Lavi that he was indeed dealing with a human. Perhaps a super-human, but a human all the same. The concept of expressions, emotions and movements matched. Even their thoughts fit most of the patterns. It made him furious. To him, there weren’t enough things separating the Noah from humans.

Based on every recorded observation, in those senses they were completely human. He snarled, “You-“

“-didn’t knock. I beg your pardon, but you didn’t look like you would willingly entertain guests with such a face.” The Noah stepped in right in the middle of his sentence, despite noting his unfriendly tone, butting in and cutting him off quite effectively as he walked, quite normally and completely unaffected by Lavi’s threatening voice, over to the desk to look over Lavi at his work. “The Clansman of Noah have been observed as a group of humans capable of breaking the limits placed on humanity in certain areas.” Tyki read, an amused grin growing larger, the more he read. “Observant as usual, boy.” He said, stealing the papers. “But it seems unfinished.”

Lavi scowled. “State your business, Noah.” He practically growled out the last word: the title he called Tyki by. It wasn’t ‘man’ or ‘you’ and there was no way in hell that he would address him by name… rather, Lavi knew that it was safest if he continued to call him Noah. If he were to call him something else, he thought it might be like forgetting what this man really was and addressing him on human terms. That would be one very dangerous move that he wasn’t willing to make.

“Not business.” He chimed, waving the papers indefinitely. “Pleasure. My white self becomes bored so easily. I thought it might be pleasant to find out what has you making such a dreadfully unpleasant face.” As distasteful as it was, Lavi knew that Tyki wasn’t lying. If he had other plans, he would state them. If his plans changed, he would say so. But he wouldn’t lie. He didn’t mix business with pleasure. Regardless of his title, he was the kind to put business first, even if just to get it out of the way. Quickly taking the papers from Lavi and seating himself on a clean spot on the desk, Tyki made it very clear of the role he was giving Lavi now. “So, now… please, do entertain me.”

It was strange, but knowing that he wasn’t going to remember Panda’s words, Lavi felt inclined to ask him. After all, even though it was his job, some things intrigued him. Those were the things he simply couldn’t leave un-recorded. “Alright, Noah, maybe you can help me, if you don’t feel like you have anything better to do.” Tyki inclined a rather skeptical eyebrow, but did nothing to stop him, noting that he still growled out the word ‘Noah’. “What is your purpose? All of you, that is. Or maybe just you. Maybe it’s different for all of you… I don’t know. So why don’t you fill me in?”

Tyki had been right to choose this room; this boy. Nothing had amused him this much in such a long time. “Purpose?” he laughed. “All that thought and this is the thing that you were contemplating so hard? Such a face, for this?” Lavi felt insulted. Killing this guy seemed really tempting, even if it was beyond his capabilities, he wouldn’t mind trying. But Tyki stood up and scanned the room suspiciously, making Lavi more inclined to watch him closely. He felt like he was going to get an answer, and he shouldn’t interrupt, for his work’s sake at least.

Reaching across Lavi and his desk, Tyki’s hands snatched up the beautiful crystal bookend that had been sitting on the left side of Lavi’s personal books on the desk, nearly causing an avalanche. Lavi reached out to stop the books from falling just in time. “What was that for?!” he yelled in irritation. “Give that back, Noah!” He tried stealing it back with only one hand, the other stilled to keep the books up. Tyki just ducked out of the way, taking the bookend with him back to his seat on the desk.

“Now tell me, boy, what is this thing’s… purpose.” A shiver ran down his spine at the deliberate pause in Tyki’s sentence. Despite the awkward feeling, Lavi didn’t feel like it was threatening. In fact, the sound corresponded with something like sorrow in his books. But that couldn’t be right, now could it. ‘Could it?’ he wondered. The answer seemed obvious and yet, not. But he wasn’t letting this Noah get the best of him. No, not a chance.

“Idiot! It’s a bookend! Of course it’s meant to hold my books up!” He shouted, holding his hand out again, silently demanding it back. But Tyki didn’t move to return it. He turned it in his hands, examining the smooth figure and chuckling darkly.

Nonchalantly, Tyki lifted it up above his head and, with a wicked grin on his face, let the beautiful crystal plummet to the floor; smashing it into a huge pile of crystal pieces, too small to be put together again. Lavi’s eyes widened in complete shock and disbelief. “And now it’s not.” Tyki said, looking at it sadly. “A bookend… if it’s purpose was merely to hold up books, I wonder why they wasted so much money turning it into such a beautiful sculpture…” Getting up, he took a heavy rock off one of the shelves and placed it where the crystal had been. “-when an ugly rock can do the same thing efficiently.”

“Defeats the purpose when you waste so much money on something you could find outside for free, don’t you think?” Tyki laughed. “And then all that’s left when it’s purpose is defeated… is a pile of shiny crystal fragments. The way they glimmer in the sun is so beautiful, but it’s not really useful anymore, is it? How unfair, when it never had that great of a purpose to begin with.” He laughed, scooping up the fragments with his gloved fingers. “People use things like these for their own purposes. They show them off like trophies. Peope enjoy having beautiful things.”

“And when they are destroyed, there’s no loss. There’s always something else that can do the same thing; maybe something even more beautiful. So it died for a pointless purpose: used and then thrown away. Lavi was afraid to ask where this was going. “What is your purpose, boy? Can you say?”

Lowering his eyes to the floor, he instinctively looked at the place where Tyki was standing: the place that the crystal shards had been a second ago. “I… record history. My purpose is to watch the movements of the world without getting involved in it. I am a third party, completely removed. You can’t make history and write it at the same time. That’s what Bookman told me, anyway. I believe in those words.”

“Really?” Tyki mused. “Tell me, boy… what is the purpose of knowledge?” he said, letting his melted gold gaze bore into Lavi’s.

“To use it to become stronger, smarter; to…” Lavi stopped, feeling Tyki’s smile widen cruelly.

“Now tell me what your purpose is again? Are you not collecting knowledge that you can never use?”

Lavi’s eyes widened again. He had never thought of it that way. Whenever he got out of line, the Panda put him back in line. But hearing this Noah, this… man, say it that way, he realized where this was going. “I’m just like that pile of crystal, aren’t I?” he laughed humorlessly. Tyki smiled, dumping the crystal shards on the desk in front of Lavi.

“Humanity wears you like a shield. You collect knowledge for them to use. They are safter for it. You merely become a tool for them. Because if you can’t act on it, then it’s not really knowledge for you. Standing back and viewing it without heart, you are merely copying things that any person could. And when you die, another unfortunate human being will take your place. If you act according to their plans then there won’t be any loss. If you act like they ask you won’t have made any impressions; and you won’t leave a mark, hardly human… a tool. Just like this.” He said, motioning to the shards.

It was painful. Despite that, Tyki didn’t lie even once. This was painfully true. Painfully cruel, but completely real. Now his voice was no more than a whisper when he asked again, “What is your purpose? What is it that you choose to give your life up for?” Tyki smiled. The boy had learned something painfully cruel about purpose. Your purpose turns out to be nothing more than the thing you choose to give your life up for. Still, after coming all this way, he wasn’t going to let that be the end of it.

Leaning down so that he was eye-level with the broken boy, he sighed. “I’ve decided that I don’t want any part of this “purpose” business. I’m the Noah of Pleasure, as you know. I’m nothing so noble, and the thought of giving my life up for anything or anyone isn’t my style. So I’m going to be selfish. I hope you don’t mind. After all, I can’t give you the information you wanted for your records. But I’m sure you’d rather leave it empty than fill it up with lies.”

The Noah had been quite entertained. Even if he was leaving the boy a little worse than when he found him, at least he had been able to educate him. Maybe in the end it would help him. He shrugged. It didn’t really matter, did it? After a person’s purpose has been fufilled, the only thing left is death. That’s the whole idea behind a purpose. It’s supposed to be the ultimate accomplishment. But what about those who don’t choose their purpose? They don’t even get the satisfaction of a job well done or the happiness that comes from achieving that. Some people are only doomed to suffer.

He figured if he didn’t have a purpose, then he could do things his way: he could have his white and black self. Tyki could serve the Earl and play with the Exorcists and still have his family to come home to when he was white. It wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying without all the pieces.

“If you don’t have a purpose, then instead of finding something to die for… you must have found something you want to live for.” Lavi said softly, before the Noah could reach the door. It was Tyki’s turn to widen his eyes in shock. Smiling, he turned back to the exorcist and nodded.

“Perhaps. Or maybe I’ve just decided that I’d rather force God to come take my life himself, rather than just give it up. Regardless, what does it matter? Does it intrigue your knowledgeable self?” he teased, making the boy flinch visibly. He would never be able to look at his job the same way again, Tyki grinned, pleased with himself. He hated those kinds of people, used or not, they were the worst sort. To give themselves up for some sort of purpose was to limit themselves and that was just weak. Those kinds of people were just asking to die, he thought.

Lavi stood up on trembling legs and moved himself forward, shaking. “Tell me…” he said, barely above a whisper, “How do you do it?” Their eyes met: Tyki’s were shocked again. Maybe this boy wasn’t so useless. In his position, choosing to live his way meant dissolving his purpose; to affect history meant he might very well destroy the Bookman legacy. He might severely hurt the people that used him once. It was too good for him to turn on.

“You’re serious, boy?” Tyki asked, although he was already aware that he was. “Then I can teach you.” This was going to be much more fun than he anticipated, Tyki thought gleefully.

Lavi nodded. “Just let me get my placeholder…” he said, searching for the ribbon the old man used to save his places in records. Tyki rolled his eyes, grabbing a blank sheet of paper and jamming it in the book where he had stopped and slamming it shut.

“See? Works just as good as your silly placeholder. And a piece of paper has a better chance as a placeholder. If you made a mistake while writing on it, it would just be crumpled up and thrown away, right? It’s in a safer place there.” He chuckled, grabbing the boy’s wrist and pulling him along. “Now let’s see if I can break you of this nasty little habit. Maybe you can be of some use to me, too: amusing my bored self. You might even save a few people if you take up enough of my time.” Lavi shivered. He wasn’t lying.
Repulsive as it was, he didn’t fight it.

Maybe if he was lucky, he would learn the first peace of useful information he had ever learned for himself. He completely forgot what he was trying so hard to remember earlier. It wasn’t important, he thought, feeling particularly rebellious. It never had been.


[Author’s finished notes: Finishing the first part, I wondered if I had really conveyed all the ideas I had properly. Regardless, I am pleased, although I’m not sure about the characterizations. Don’t worry… I’m not making Lavi into a spineless follower. He will resume his feisty self soon. As soon as I get the second part done, that is. If you have ANY time, please leave a review, e-mail, or instant message me if that’s your thing. Regardless, I’d like to know what people think. Thank you for reading, I hope to continue soon.
- Michiyo Ichimaru