Author Notes: Sad sad sad… I got inspiration for this while listening to some old songs. XDD I realized that I put in really cheesy lines. lol.
Disclaimer: I don't own D.Gray-Man or anything related to it.
The soft rich sounds of a piano echoed through the Ark. Turning her head to stare at the tall white tower in the centre of the Ark, a voice asked behind her, "Lenalee?"
"Ah Chaoji, do you mind if you go on ahead first? I just remembered I have something to do." She smiled apologetically as her black golem furiously flapped its wings beside her head. The new Chinese exorcist nodded and headed off towards another door down the empty cobble stone street with his golem hot on his heels.
Following the melody, Lenalee found her way to the source of the piano piece. The door was left slightly ajar as if to welcome whoever walked past. Knocking on the door politely, the melodious tune halted abruptly. "Come in, Lenalee." A familiar voice beckoned for her to enter the room.
Closing the wooden door behind her, she marvelled at the snow white room; nearly everything in the room was a white colour. Holding up a solitary finger, Lenalee watched as the large golden golem swiftly soared across the room to rest on her finger, "You've grown again, Tim." Lenalee giggled as Tim grinned, showing off his small sharp teeth.
"Did you just return from a mission?" Allen queried as he let his fingers brush across the piano keys' smooth surface.
Lenalee nodded, "With Chaoji. Then I heard the piano, so I came here."
"Just in time; I needed some help." Lenalee stood beside Allen as Tim flew off to perch on Allen's head. With a sigh, Allen continued to speak, "You know, I was thinking; if I tried to compose a piece about my life, what would I come up with? Then I thought, maybe an ever-changing melody would perfectly depict life's highs and lows… Here, listen to it and tell me what you think."
"Allen," Lenalee blinked her purple eyes in wonder at the sheets of paper that had been scribbled over with odd symbols in pencil, "Why are you composing all of a sudden? You never seem to – " Despite her questions, the white haired exorcist ignored her and proceeded to play the music she had heard earlier in the cobble stone streets of the Ark. The piece started off with a continuous note in the left hand while a simple slow melody was played in the right; after some time, the lonely melody turned into a louder melody, often ornamented with turns. The melody then changed again, this time into something warm and gentle then into a dramatic section where block chords were used extensively; Lenalee guessed this was the climax. The melody then transformed once more, into a soft melody that made one feel both sad and joyful at the same time.
"Well?" Allen looked up with a charismatic smile.
Lenalee clapped with a smile, "It's really good!" She had never been told about Allen's past, but she knew it was unpleasant from what she was told and from what she has heard in his composition.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The interior of the abandoned cathedral was a mess; pews and pillars were smashed, statues had parts of their bodies missing, once blooming flowers were now trampled into the dirt and the paintings on the ceiling of the cathedral had cracks spread over it with smears of ash and missing chunks of stone visible surrounded by the once perfect painting of cherubs drifting amongst the clouds, playing small harps and singing. The colourful windows of the cathedral were either shattered into millions of glass shards or luckily kept intact. Sunshine spilt into the cathedral's inside, making motes of dust and other particles visible in the light. Everything was still and silent except for the girl who sported numerous physical injuries and the equally injured boy who lay motionless on the ground parallel to her with a left hand that had long sharp black fingers dripping with crimson liquid.
"Allen…?" The girl's voice shook as she whispered his name while cautiously approaching the motionless figure, one step at a time. When she reached him within a one metre radius, the once white armour that once enveloped him like sunlight disappeared and his arm returned to normal. "Allen?" She called out his name more urgently this time as she lifted the boy's upper body a little so that he rested on her arm, making blood smear along the sleeve of her exorcist uniform. With a steady hand at each shoulder, she shook the boy gently.
As he leant against her arm, Allen's grey eyes gradually opened, shining a brilliant shade of silver as the sunlight reflected off his pupils, "Ah Lenalee…" He coughed, spraying more blood onto the girl's dirty uniform, "I'm… Not going to last much… Longer am I?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Lenalee frowned as tears cascaded down her cheeks and dripped onto Allen's face, making her tears run down his cheeks. She hugged him, making Allen bury his face in her neck as she sobbed, "You'll be fine Allen, you'll be fine…"
"Lenalee, help me apologize to everybody… For not being able to hear them say 'welcome back' anymore…"
"Don't say things like that, you'll be alright! I've already contacted the finders, they'll be here soon!" Even though she kept saying that he would be alright, she could feel his heartbeat fading into silence as each moment passes and his breathing becoming slower by the second. She could feel his life being drained away, like unstoppable water slipping in between her fingers.
"I… Kept my promise. I said I would stop the Fourteenth… And I did." Allen smiled against her neck. Lenalee kept quiet as Allen continued, "And about that composition… The reason why I composed it…" Allen paused here and whispered into Lenalee's ear before his voice became laced with fatigue, "I'm feeling really tired… I'll sleep a little…" Then he was gone. His voice, his smiles, his reassuring warmth… Gone like the wind. In Lenalee's heart, her world starts to crumble into pieces, never to be reconstructed again.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Walking into the busy Science Department with emotionless eyes, Lenalee wordlessly handed out mugs of freshly brewed coffee to the scientists. The scientists take their mugs, but are surprised by the heat of the aromatic liquid contained in the mugs; and yet, Lenalee didn't react to the extreme heat that burnt against her palm. Arriving at the last desk in the Science Department, she placed the light blue mug on the desktop and was about to turn and leave when Komui called her back. "Yes, brother?" Her voice sounded like glass; serene yet empty.
"This," Komui pushed a bulky envelope towards her, "It's for you from Allen. It was on his bed in his room." Lenalee forced a smile as a sign of gratitude and returned to her room. Once in her room, she sat down on her bed and stared at the familiar handwriting printed on the envelope before flipping it over and opening it, spilling out its contents onto her lap. Picking up the first piece of paper in the small bundle, Lenalee unfolded it and started reading it.
Dear Lenalee,
By now, I must be gone. I'm so sorry I couldn't stay with everybody until the end of the war… I truly am. Especially you, Lenalee; I'm afraid, I can't keep our promise.
During that time we spent in the Fourteenth's Room, you must be wondering why I decided to compose something all of a sudden. I really don't know how to express my feelings but put simply; I wanted something that could've proved that I had existed – I needed evidence that I had once lived live as Allen Walker, and not as the Fourteenth. Memories fade as years go by, like how a helium balloon drifts into the sky, disappearing into the sky. So I thought; I want to leave something behind to prove that I have existed as Allen Walker – Mana Walker's adopted son and an exorcist of the Black Order.
To be honest, if I was given a chance to play the composition over and over again even though I would have to die in the end; I would play the piano. Because then, at least, you would be able to hear it and everyone else would be able to hear it. And if you hear the piano piece, you'll know that it's just me, playing the piano forever in your heart.
Allen.
As she read the letter, tears streamed down her cheeks once again. Putting aside the letter, she unfolded the other sheets of paper. On those sheets of paper were the same mysterious symbols she had seen before in the Fourteenth's Room. 'That silly Allen… Giving me this is useless when I don't know how to read it.' Lenalee wiped away her tears and smiled at the sheets of paper filled with symbols. Closing her eyes, she started to hum the introduction of the music only to find the rich sound of the piano echoing in her head, just like Allen had said in the letter.