The Noblesse and his Love

Chapter 31

A/N: Hello, Author here. So, as you may or may not know, the Noblesse Webtoon has been locked except for one or two episodes a day. I have made the decision due to this and having  limited time to discontinue this fanfic after I upload what I already have written. I have around 30 chapters still written after this point. I am very sorry, and wish I could have continued it. This fanfic was my baby, and I am proud of it. I hope you have enjoyed what I have already published, and look forward to what is coming. I do not know when I will have the rest of it up, but it will hopefully be soon. Thank you so much for your support in this journey!

Thoughts 

*Rai-Lin*

Watching Takio say he lost the will to live destroyed me. He had refused to see how much life force he had lost. I couldn't lose him. I wouldn't. I was about to step in when M did so. M went off, breaking my heart even more with his words. I bit my lip.

Once M went inside, I stepped out of the shadows. Takio's face became panicked as he saw my pained expression. "Rai-Lin, what it wrong? Are you hurt?"

I dove at Takio, wrapping him in a hug. "Never lose the will to live, Takio. I know how hard it can be to keep going, but you have to. We may not have known each other long, but I care about you and to lose you would hurt me deeply."

Takio's arms finally wrapped around me. He rested his head on mine. "I won't. I swear to you and M-21 that I won't. I will fight every day of my life to stay by your side."

I tightened my grip as Takio did as well.

When I finally pulled away, Takio kept his hands on my arms. "I just discovered something," he said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Aris might not have been my little sister, but I think I know who is."

I looked at him weirdly as did Tao. "Who?"

"You." A smile tugged at his lips.

I giggled. "I'd actually be your big sister."

"What? Aren't you in high school?" Tao peered at me as though I was secretly an old hag.

"I am, but that's just because Frankie started the school. I've actually been alive for over 900 years," I said nonchalantly. Their faces were priceless.

"900 years?" Takio repeated. "No wonder you, Raizel, and Frankenstein are so close."

My expression grew sad. "We haven't been together that long. Raizel has been asleep for 820 years. Once he went to sleep, Frankie and I parted ways to try and find him. I've been on my own for nearly all of that time, especially when my friends among the nobles went into eternal sleep," I glanced at Takio. "Their transitions to eternal sleep and Raziel's disappearance nearly killed me, so I know what it's like to not want to live anymore. You just have to find that one thing to keep you here and fight to stay."

Takio glanced down before looking at me. "I already have. The people here care for me, and I've realized what this is. It's a family."

"It isn't just any family. It's our family. Right, little brothers?" I said.

Takio and Tao exchanged grins. "Right."

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The three of us entered the house, and Takio strode up to M. "M-21," Takio said. M's eyes slid over to Takio. "I'm sorry for being like this."

M chuckled. "At least you know."

Takio then turned to Frankenstein. "Hey, can you check the condition of my body?"

"I'll do it." I stepped forward.

Frankie's head whipped towards me. "Are you sure? I know how you hate having anything to do with experiments and checkups ever since-" He cut himself off.

Everyone but Raizel and Frankie glanced among themselves. I sighed. "It's all right, Frankie. They needed to know at some point," I caught everyone's eyes. "I wasn't born with my powers. I was given them, or rather, they were forced upon me. When I was very young, I was taken and experimented on for years. Frankie searched for me during all that time, but it wasn't until he met Raizel that he was able to find me. Together, the two of them rescued me. Frankie killed my captors while Raizel got me out of there. They gave me a new life."

M's knuckles were white from how tightly he was clenching his fists. "How old were you when you were taken?"

"I was three," I answered. M, Takio, and Tao swore with great volume and expression. I grabbed Takio's arm. "Come along. We shouldn't waste any more time. We need to know how much life force you lost."

Takio followed along reluctantly. "I don't want to force you to do something you aren't comfortable with."

"You aren't forcing me to do anything. Besides, it's about time that I get over this hatred. I can help, so I should." I tugged him along even faster.

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Takios's checkup didn't take long, which was good because I was struggling against flashbacks the whole time. Frankie had followed us down to the lab to make sure everything went well. He stared at the results and began to converse with Takio and Tao. I didn't hear them because images were straining against the wall I had built to keep them locked away.

A hand came down on my shoulder. I grabbed it and flipped the person over my shoulder. M hit the ground with a thud, letting out a surprised yelp. I immediately started to apologize. "M, I'm so sorry. I was lost in thought, and I reacted on instinct."

M rubbed his back as he got up. "It's all right. I shouldn't have startled you."

Frankie approached M, while sending me a concerned look. I shook my head. "M, stay here for a few minutes. I'll get the experiment ready," Frankie said.

Tao and Takio exchanged glances that told me they weren't happy. As Frankie walked away, Tao asked M, "What does he mean by an experiment?"

I slipped away, trusting M to take care of Tao and Takio. I needed to talk to Frankie.

I found Frankie fiddling with something near a machine. "Brother," I greeted.

"Yes, Rai-Lin?" Frankie didn't turn around.

"I want to help you run experiments," I said.

Frankie nearly dropped the thing he was fiddling with. Still without looking at me, he said, "I don't think that's a good idea."

I crossed my arms. "I may not be as comfortable in working with experiments as you, but I know how to do them. I've read enough of your writings and watched you from afar."

"Rai-Lin, a simple checkup sent you into flashbacks. If that were to happen during a crucial experiment, you or someone else could be hurt," Frankie finally turned to look at me. "I'm not doing this to be mean. I'm doing this for safety."

I sighed. "At least allow me to help you prep. I don't want to be useless."

He thought for a minute. "Fine. You can help prep," He walked by me before stopping. "And you're never useless." He disappeared into the next room.