Colors

The day didn't start any different than any other day really.

Well, may be that wasn't completely true. Although it was late November and there was a chill in the air, the sun seemed to be shining brighter than most days out of the month. It was a nice change, since most of the week had been nothing but clouds and cold gusts of wind, signifying that winter was approaching quickly and soon the orange and brown leaves would completely fall, and the vibrant colors of the landscape Allen loved so much would die out, leaving a frosty layer or silver and white on the earth.

As he made his way down into the mess hall, he couldn't help but to think he was forgetting something important. He shuddered slightly as the cold air seemed to be seeping into the halls he walked by, his layers of clothing failing to warm him. He picked up the pace in order to warm up and get to his meal faster. Perhaps he could do some training in the forest with Lavi afterwards, if said redhead wasn't too busy of course. Ah, that's right, he thought to himself, Lavi is supposed to get back from a mission this morning. Allen smiled to himself as he mused about his friend and his antics. That boy seriously had to have some sort of death wish with the way he liked to tease Kanda.

Then he realized how unusually quiet everything was. Despite the Order's castle having massive proportions, the sounds of scientists working as well as finders chatting and wards muttering quietly amongst themselves could always be heard. He stopped to listen for a moment, wondering slightly if the members of the order were up to something. There were no sounds of anything being destroyed, so all thoughts of Komui releasing another Komurin left his mind as quickly as they came. Allen sighed, feeling silly; Lavi no doubt would have rubbed in his face the fact that he was standing in the middle of a hall way with a funny expressions on his face. Of course everyone was quieter than usual; they were all tired after having to move because of the Akuma attack. He really couldn't expect for people to be up to their normal behavior, especially so close after losing so many in such a short amount of time. The level four Akuma nearly did him in too, but had it not been for Kanda, Lavi and Lenalee's new innocence, he probably would have died that day.

Come to think of it, Allen hadn't seen any of his friends yet. By this time in the morning he would at least have seen Lenalee bringing some coffee to the (overworked) science department staff, or Kanda as he made his way to the training grounds. Lavi should have also arrived by this point. For some reason, he really wanted to see his best friend at the moment, to ask him how his mission went, if he encountered any problems at all, if his innocence was working properly, if he had done anything stupid and managed to get kicked on the head by Bookman ( which he probably did). Lavi was such a wonder, really. How that boy managed to be so energetic and cheery was something that never ceased to amaze Allen, how bright his green eyes could get while in the company of those he cherished, or how impossibly wide he could grin even while Kanda pointed his sword at him and threatened to hurt him for what seemed the hundredth time, or even how he could pull off memorizing every little detail, as if it were absolutely natural for him to do so.

That boy was so bright, it was really a wonder for him how Lavi could pull all that off.

He glanced around the hallway. God, the Order was truly a gloomy place to live in. Cold, gray stone was the only thing he could see. The walls seemed empty, with the exception of the eventual torch or door. No wonder Lavi always was so cheery. Introducing some color into their lives was the best thing anyone could do in that place.

Again, Allen felt something was amiss. As he turned around more and more hallways wondering slightly how it was possible for people to not get lost in such a huge place, he noticed the still atmosphere. Wait, that's not right. The cafeteria was only a few feet away and still there were only low murmurs instead of the usual noise one might expect to find in such a crowded place, even if it was morning. It was almost as if the whole room was in some sort of solemn near silence. It really didn't make any sense. There were groups of finders here and there, but they had their heads down, as if in silent prayer. Although the smell of the food in the plates was delicious, almost no one was eating. He couldn't see Kanda anywhere either, and that didn't make any sense either. Kanda was usually at the cafeteria by this time with his usual order. He slowly, almost gingerly walked up to Jerry in the food line to ask what was going on, but just as he reached him a hand fell on his shoulder.

"Walker, Komui needs to see you in his office," said none other than Howard Link. He had something of a pinched expression on his face. Like something was bothering him, and he couldn't get it to stop.

"Can I eat breakfast first, or is it urgent?" He asked the supervisor. Link just shook his head.

'This was odd too. Normally, Lenalee would have been the one to ask him to come see her brother, not Link; for another one, Link's meeting never really ran too long. Yes, he was a member of CROW, but they never kept him for the most part of the morning given that he had to supervise Allen in case the Fourteenth awakened. Something was nagging him in the back of his head. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Links face was paler than usual, and his expression was more solemn than normal. Allen thought of how Lavi would do something silly to lighten the mood by either smiling or patting Allen on the head, or going on to tease Link by calling him "Two Dots."

Still, Allen left the cafeteria, closely followed by Link. The closer he seemed to get to Komui's office, the darker the hallways seemed to get, and the gloomier the atmosphere seemed to get. Still he went on, and by the time he reached the door to Komui's office, he had a bad feeling at the pit of his stomach. He knocked softly, almost silently, but his knock was still heard as a muffled "Come in" sounded out.

Opening the door slowly, Allen walked in to find Komui with a tired expression on his face, Kanda standing off to the side, his expression unreadable, and Lenalee sitting on the couch in front of Komui's desk, her shoulders shaking slightly and her face buried in her palms. For once, Allen wished he had been blind, for behind Komui was a Bookman, looking uncharacteristically broken. He knew something was definitely not right in that picture. Where was Lavi? Komui motioned for Allen to take a sit somewhere, but Allen refused preferring to stand where he was and get the small meeting over with. Hopefully Lavi would come in sometime soon now and cheer everyone up. Even Kanda looked different, for crying out loud. Where was Lavi when one needed him to ease the mood?

"Allen, you might be wondering why I called you here." Komui said in a strained voice. His eyes shone as if he wanted to cry but could not. He noticed he also looked paler and more tired than usual. The feeling of dread on the pit of his stomach intensified as Komui said each word. It was almost like a dream really, all the right elements for it were there. The low voices, the solemn looks of people as he passed by them, his friends not even bothering to look up as he walked in. It felt wrong. All of it.

"There really isn't any easy way to say this Allen, I'm sorry."

"Where's Lavi?" Allen asked now panicked. If he was about to receive the news he thought he would, he wanted to be dreaming. No, not Lavi of all people. Wasn't he his best friend?

"Allen, Lavi died last night by an akuma bullet…" Past that, Allen couldn't hear anything else. Now he knew why Komui had asked him to sit down. Lavi was dead. Not injured, but dead. No. It was a joke right? Lavi couldn't die. He was too alive- too colorful to die. Especially by an Akuma bullet.

Someone like Lavi gave vibes of life, not death. Never.

Allen felt his knees weaken, and took a seat next to Lenalee, his eyes filling with hot tears that had yet to burn a trail down his face. Lenalee started to shake more, and finally Allen realized she was sobbing quietly in her hands. His shoulders were shaking too, his vision was cloudy. Lavi was gone. Just like that. Now he couldn't watch him smile at him, or fight besides him or even laugh at his antics. No more green eyes staring at him incredulously as he wolfed down massive amounts of food, or teasing Kanda about his long hair, or even flirting with Lenalee. It was all gone.

Weeks went by quickly after the news of Lavi's death. The funeral service offered in the Order wasn't much comfort to any of them at all. Kanda was quieter and snappier than usual, and Lenalee just cried. Allen stared at the closed casket that symbolized his fallen comrade. None of it felt real anymore. The reds and green from Lavi were now just a memory to follow Allen forever. The grief he felt was left to consume him, just like it had when Mana died. God, how it hurt to have the people one loved taken from him. He still wondered whether God cared enough or not. Either way, it didn't matter anymore.

Someday, he would finish off the Earl, and that day, he would finally be able to live with Lavi's memory in peace. Because to take away such vibrant colors from the world was almost a sin. To snuff a life so precious to others was unforgivable. Allen glanced out the lake in the forest surrounding the Order, and briefly smiled as it started to snow. Lavi would have loved this, he thought as he slowly sat down and began to prepare himself for the future battles to come.

"Lavi, where ever you are, please take care."

In the midst of the world covered in white, the memories of a world full the colors he loved were all his eyes could see.

Okay, I really don't know what to say about this. I was feeling angsty so here. First story of DGM, so tell me what you think. Thanks for reading this.