Drastic Measure
A -Man Fanfiction
By SailorLight22
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Sighing tiredly, Komui glanced at the last medical chart in his folder, shaking his head at the hastily scrawled words. Why a future record keeper would have such abominable penmanship was beyond him, but at least the boy could be counted on to remember the information from his chart well enough to submit a new one.

Hearing a rapid knock at the door, he straightened, calling for the boy to enter. Taking in his casual appearance, he remembered that despite his hale and hearty demeanor, the redhead had only recently recovered from the child-Noah's attack on his mind, leaving him briefly unfit for duty.

Motioning him toward a low examination table, he took a last look at the horridly scribbled words, pulling a clean form from his desk drawer. "I need you to copy this, preferably in something other than chicken scratch. You mind?"

The boy shook his head in amusement, looking over the lengthy form. "Everything on one chart now, huh? I guess it saves on paper, keeping the uniform stuff with the medical and Innocence things, though.." Muttering to himself, he set to work, filling the provided spaces with surprisingly legible print. Flipping the pages, he frowned slightly. "Was my last uniform sheet as bad as this..? I thought you filled that one out."

Scowling, the scientist fidgeted with his coat buttons. "I lost the damn thing. You know what was on it, don't you? You haven't grown that much in a few months, just put all your measurements on there." Ignoring the redhead's quiet snicker, he listened to his pulse, noting that it seemed a bit fast. A quick look at his skin was reassuring, though his cheeks were mildly flushed, and his normal-sounding breaths showed no sign of lingering infirmity from his severely strained ribs.

"Have you had any more trouble sleeping? Nightmares, or anything like that?" The Exorcist hummed distractedly, finishing the last set of questions.

"Not like it was. Sometimes I have dreams that wake me up, but I just take a bath or shower to get tired again." He handed the man the completed form, stretching his arms over his head. "It sucks that I wake up though. I usually don't want to." The man blinked at him in surprised concern.

"You don't want to wake up? That's a bit disturbing, Lavi.." Snorting, the redhead waved a hand at him dismissively.

"I don't mean ever, 'Mui. It just seems like I always wake up at the best parts." Shaking his head, he gestured for the man to continue.

Frowning, the scientist glanced at his notes. "Is it often enough to cause fatigue, or disrupt your daily routine, eating habits and such?" The Exorcist smiled faintly, leaning his weight backward onto his elbows.

"No, I'm getting sleep. I daydream a lot though, but that's all right.. As far as eating, I've been craving Chinese like crazy.." Sighing, he closed his eye with a laugh. "My routine doesn't really matter, you know. Gramps says I'm fused, so he can't revert me anymore." Hearing the man's confused hum, he sat up. "He can't change me. Rhode did something to me, made me do something to me. I'm not exactly like I was, but I'm still Lavi. I'll be Lavi forever." He grinned at the scientist's raised eyebrow. "It happens. When he finishes up here, he'll leave me. That's usually what happens when a Bookman can't switch identities, he just keeps the life he has."

Komui shook his head angrily. "That's- How could he? Haven't the two of you been together since you were a child? You can't possibly say that you're fine with that, just giving up and settling for whatever he thinks is best!" Taking a breath, he made to continue, but the boy cut him off.

"I'm not just settling for anything. I like being this person, and I've never been able to say that, not once! You aren't getting a bad deal either, Mr. Supervisor. I might not be able to do that job anymore, but I can still do this one. Hell, my synch rate will probably go up, since I don't have to worry about giving too much to the Innocence now."

Rising to stand, he laughed. "I mean it. I really am happy to stay like this. I've had a lot of time to think about it, and I've noticed that things are different now. Lavi doesn't feel fake anymore, but there's a lot of things I really didn't know about myself as him. Like the fact that I don't really want your sister." Snorting at the man's thunderous expression, he moved toward the door. "Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to yell at me for that.. Do you have everything you needed?"

Shaking off his exasperation, the older man quickly skimmed through the papers, nodding. "Looks like it.. It makes sense now that I can actually read it. All right, shirt size, shoes, hip, inseam.. Wait, you've got an extra one, here at the bottom."

Opening the door, the Exorcist grinned wickedly. "You said you needed all of them.. There wasn't a space for that, so I just put it at the end. Don't think about it too much, it'll come to you eventually. See you around, 'Mui."

Staring at the closed door, Komui frowned slightly, looking at the neatly-printed chart as he pondered the boy's odd response. Adding his own notes to the page, he blinked at the extra number, bolting to his feet as the other's random statements abruptly made sense. "He- LAVI! You get back here this instant!"

Jerking open the door, he prepared to embark on what would surely be the first of many rabbit hunts.

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Well, there's that little bit of crap paradise finished.. Hope it meets with approval! Please review, hey? It's only polite..