A/N: Oh my Lero, I haven't posted anything in so long . O_O To hopefully make up for a little of that, here's a relatively long one-shot. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: No, I do not own -man. Yes, I do own the random people. Any questions?
Lavi beamed widely at the confused stares and barely controlled laughter as he strolled down the busy city street. His companions walked a ways behind him, not wanting to be associated with the fool in a bright purple Jester's hat. Lavi fell back to walk in stride with the other two Exorcists. "Beautiful morning for an Innocence hunt, don't cha think?"
Kanda glared at the ridiculous hat, with the small bells attached to the ends ringing with each step the Stupid Rabbit took. It was getting to be very annoying, the faint jingling that followed their group. He turned his glare on Allen, who was walking calmly next to him. It was his fault that the Rabbit was wearing the hat in the first place. Something about a dare for winning a game of poker. One would think what with the Bean-sprout's history of cheating, most people would avoid such a situation.
"Would you please stop glaring at me Ba-Kanda?" Allen murmured, grimacing. "It's not my fault Lavi decided to wear the hat all day. Link told me to have him take it off before we got into town…something about "The Dignity of an Exorcist"." Link had quickly departed to book them a hotel room. Apparently Lavi and Kanda were enough to handle if Allen went postal due to the Fourteenth. Kanda would simply be glad for a reason to kill him.
"But why would I? This hat is soooo comfy!" Lavi grinned evilly, shaking his head so the bells rang. A bell adorned end smacked Kanda in the face. He turned red, attempting to not murder Lavi in public…it was proving difficult.
"Go jump off a cliff and die." Kanda growled.
"I think we should start our search there!" Allen exclaimed pointing out a large sign advertising a carnival of sorts.
Lavi gave him a questioning look. "Why?"
"Because, strange things tend to flock to carnivals and circuses." He held up his left hand. "Exhibit A."
Kanda replied with a simple "Che" but headed in the direction the sign indicated. Lavi and Allen trotted after him. The approached the large, bustling area. "So…does this mean you're a Carnie?" asked Lavi. He dodged Allen's punch and ran straight into a tall man in a top hat. "Ah, sorry," he murmured, ducking away.
The man grabbed his arm. "Where have you been?" he hissed. Lavi blanched. Was this man an Akuma? "Your act starts in three minutes! Go finish getting in costume." The man waved over a couple of men in leotards. "You two, make sure he gets ready."
"Wha? Hey wait!" Lavi looked around wildly as he was dragged off towards a large tent. "Allen, Yu, help me out!"
"Good luck!" Allen called, grinning. "Just hope you don't have to eat fire!" Lavi yelped before disappearing into the tent.
"Good riddance," snorted Kanda. He briskly set off towards the center of the carnival, where what looked like a shopping area was set up. Allen scrambled to keep up with his long strides. Vendors shouted there wares as the duo passed. They were promptly silenced with a glare from Kanda.
They walked a ways, weaving through the various shops and tents set up, asking for strange occurrences and looking for Akuma. This was difficult as everyone they talked to seemed to have some sort of a crazy, uncle's cousin's sister's twice removed "Crazy Uncle Billy" who had a vision of radishes taking over the world or some such nonsense. Due to multiple people saying this Allen swore never to eat radishes again, just to be safe.
After about an hour of wandering through the incredibly large carnival area, they'd been to: food, clothes, household items, and voodoo sections of the Bizarre Bazaar (as a random salesman had dubbed it after trying to sell them what looked disturbingly like a vulture).
Kanda stopped suddenly as they passed between sections dedicated to jewelry and weaponry. He spun around, sword at the ready. "I know you're there. Show yourself!" he shouted. Normally, he would have gotten a strange look or even a passing stare, but here…nothing. Kanda seemed extremely agitated. Allen figured the joyful mood was burning him or something.
Allen looked around, worried that an Akuma was going to attack them in front of all these civilians. He shifted his stance, preparing to attack or defend the helpless vendors. Though the weapons section could probably take care of themselves…they looked sort of scary…
Instead of bullets whizzing by, or massive explosions (Allen's usual 2:30 appointment) he was instead met with a whimpering. Kanda, furry blazing in his eyes, marched over behind one of the weaponry stands. He reached down and yanked up a small object, then proceeded to march back over to Allen. Kanda glared at him, holding the "thing" in front of his face as if to ask what it was.
Allen finally focused on the thing dangling from Kanda's hand and was met with the very small, very scared face of a little girl. He yelped, before snatching the child away from the feral Japanese man. "Are you crazy?" Allen roared, gently setting the child down before rounding on his companion. "No, wait, scratch that, you are crazy!" Allen exclaimed when Kanda opened his mouth to argue.
The bloodshed that was likely to follow was stopped…or more likely put on pause for today, as the little girl burst into wailing tears. Kanda took a step backwards away from her, as Allen in turn stepped towards the child.
Her small fist were bunched at the corners of her eyes, making her baggy blue dress bunch up at the shoulders. Her red hair stood out in stark contrast to the faded garment, rivaling Lavi's red mop in the vibrant color. A basket of what looked to be lilies, in varying colors of white and yellows, lay in the crook of her elbow. Tears ran down her slightly dirty face, leaving trails.
Kanda had fled into the Jewelry section, leaving Allen with the child. "Hey…are you okay?" he asked gently, trying not to scare the girl anymore. He figured she may need therapy after being swung around like a rag doll by what had to be one of the scariest people she'd ever seen. The child opened her bleary brown eyes. Allen gave her a small smile. She blinked slowly and sniffled a bit before lowing her hands to her sides.
"I'm Amy!" she burst out suddenly, catching Allen slightly off guard. "Who're you?" she asked, sticking out a small hand to shake.
Allen smiled again, surprised at the little girls boldness, and shook her tiny hand. He felt a bit like a giant, which only lightened his mood. "I'm Allen. Nice to meet you Miss Amy."
She stood a little straighter at being referred to as "Miss". "Would you like to buy a flower Allen?" she asked, catching Allen off-guard yet again. What a…strange request.
"Well, um, my… friend has all the money right now, so maybe later…" Allen trailed off, unsure of what to do. He flinched as he saw the little girl's eyes well up with tears once again. "Don't cry! Eh, just let me go find hi-!" Allen was cut off as a shrill yell of "Thief!" echoed through the bazaar, followed by what sounded like Kanda yelling. Allen, knowing this could only be trouble, set off towards the epicenter of the noise, Amy trotting close at his heels.
-0_0-
While all of this was taking place, Lavi was standing alone in the middle of a circus ring, his face painted with purple lines, almost looking like claw marks, extending from his hairline over his eyes, and ending at his jaw. His hair was pulled back in a short ponytail. He looked around, nervous at all the people starring at him. He kept his face calm, trying to contain his curiosity at what he was expected to do, mingled with the slight desire to run.
A man came out and announced that Lavi, now apparently named "Alphonso", was going to perform a juggling act. Lavi gave a small sigh of relief. Allen had taught him how to juggle recently. Surely he could manage a simple juggling act, right? Lavi grinned at the crowd, confident he would give them a show. That is until he saw what he'd be juggling.
Lavi stared, eye twitching slightly, at no more than seven knives. Sharp knives. He looked at the acrobat who'd brought them out. "Are you serious?" he croaked. The woman giggled at his shocked look and skipped off. Lavi eyed the knives in his hands. Maybe he could throw them at the Ring Master and make a break for it? No, the Strong Men would probably get to him before he could escape…He grimaced, looking at the weapons in his hands. He'd have to do it…
Murmuring a quick prayer that the circus had medical insurance, he started to juggle. Lavi's visible green eye was narrowed in concentration as he started with three of the knives and slowly added another. Eventually, he found a rhythm and realized he would likely survive this. A grin slowly spread across his face, as he successfully launched five of the knives into the air. He was readying himself to catch the final two knives he'd thrown, making the total number of airborne deadly objects above his head seven, when he heard the screaming outside. His arm reflexively reached for his hammer, before he realized he couldn't catch the knives. Lavi ninja rolled out of the way as the knives landed where he'd been standing, all making a loud thunk as the sliced into the ground.
Lavi picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. He could almost make out what the woman was screaming, but was more shocked to hear Yu yelling with her. With a last glance at the stunned crowd, some of which were moving towards the door to find the source of the noise, Lavi left the tent.
-0_0-
Allen wedged himself between people, keeping a firm grip on Amy's small hand as he tried to reach Kanda through the crowd. "Leave it to him to make a scene…" he grumbled.
Allen finally made it out of the circle, gasping at the fresh air and looking back to make sure he hadn't lost his charge. Amy gave him a curious look before her eyes locked onto something behind him. She darted in front of him with a cry of "Sissy!".
"Wait!" Allen shouted, afraid the little girl was running into an Akuma. What she was running to instead was a tall girl, probably around 17 or 18, with short cropped black hair and green eyes, her face pulled into a scowl. Her clothes were dark colored and loose -likely made for travel or battle- fitted. The things that stood out the most about her were: the belt around her hips, on which was attached a multitude of pouches, and a sheathed knife; the pendant she wore with a stone, which Allen immediately recognized as Innocence by it's green color and faint glow, held on a by metal claw; and finally, the tall Japanese Exorcist she had in a headlock.
Allen gapped like a fish. Kanda was swearing like a sailor (which the girl matched in turn) his head locked between the girls arms. He struggled to break free, likely unwilling to draw his sword in front of so many people.
A low whistle came from Allen's left. The white haired boy looked over at Lavi, who'd made it through the crowd. "That girl is kicking his ass…" Lavi commented, looking at the spectacle his friend had caused, an amused smirk on his face.
'Sissy, can you let the mean man go? Mr. Allen needs money from him," commented a small voice, silencing the girl's swearing.
She looked down at Amy, surprise showing in her bright eyes. She adjusted her grip on Kanda, silencing with a hand over his mouth. "You stop swearing in front of my sister thief!" she growled, as if Kanda had been the only one using language that would have made Mana whack them both over the head.
Kanda glared at her. Allen took a tentative step forward. "Excuse me, but what seems to be the problem with my…associate there?"
"He tried to steal from my shop!" the girl barked, glaring at Allen. He flinched.
Kanda wrested the girl's hand away from his face. "I did not! I was trying to tell you that you have Innocence and-" He was cut off as she tightened her grip around his throat. "Shut it thief," she replied, sounding bored with the situation. She turned her attention back to Allen. "You pay for what he was tryin' to steal and I'll call it even," she said in a flat, monotone voice.
Lavi sighed, stepping forward. "How much?" he asked, pulling his wallet out.
"200 pounds."*
Lavi stared at her as if she were crazy. He turned to Kanda. "What in the world were you trying to take?" he asked, his voice rising. Yu owed him soooo much!
"This." The girl held up the Innocence around her neck. "I don't see why the idiot went for this one though. I'm wearing it."
Lavi dropped the money he'd taken out of his wallet in shock. She had Innocence?
The girl released Kanda, who'd been slowly turning blue, and walked up to Lavi. She dropped to the ground and began to collect the money. "Oi!" she snapped at Lavi. "Help."
Lavi assisted the girl in gathering up the money as Kanda hobbled over toward Allen, giving the girl a wide berth. "Frickin' crazy…" Kanda glared at her. His face was already bruising. Allen figured she'd gotten in a few punches before he'd arrived.
The crowd quietly dispersed as if nothing had happened. Allen squinted at the girl, who was chatting with Lavi as if nothing had happened. "Maybe she's an Accommodator?" he asked Kanda quietly.
"How should I know?" snapped Kanda, looking at Allen like he was something strange in his path. The looked over at Lavi, who was talking into a Golem.
Lavi walked up then, the girl following warily. "Say hello to Kita everyone. Kita, this is Allen and Kanda…but you've met Kanda, right?" Lavi's joke fell flat at the glare from both parties. "Hehe…anyway, I've explained to her the whole Innocence mix up, and she's agreed to meet a Finder to sort it out."
"Wait…shouldn't we take it?" asked Allen, confused.
Lavi put his hand behind his head and adverted his gaze. "Well, um…she said that if it really is as important as I said, she'd rather deliver it in person…" Lavi trailed off, almost as if he didn't want to continue.
Kita beat him to the punch. "I am not leaving the fate of the world to some boys who I beat the crap out of anyway," she replied calmly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Kanda glared, his eye twitching. He turned on his heel and stalked (more like limped) off towards the town. "Oi, where are you going Yu?" Lavi called.
"To the Inn. I'm done here."
Lavi turned to Kita. "Well, I've set up your meeting with the Finder. His name is Toma, nice guy. He'll tell you what to do."
"Thanks." The girl turned her back and went to pack up her stand.
Allen sighed, ready to leave, but turned back at the slight pull on his sleeve. He looked back to see Amy holding up a flower. He kneeled to her height. "Here," she said. "This one's on the house." She smiled at him as he accepted the flower.
"Thank you Miss Amy."
"You should put it on your coat!" she said, looking at him expectantly. He sighed, and conceded, attaching the lily to his Exorcist's jacket. The little girl smiled again, then stood on her tip-toes and gave him a pat on the head. "Good boy."
Lavi gave a snicker. Allen bid farewell to the sisters and they followed Kanda's trail. It wasn't hard to catch up to the slow moving Exorcist. Lavi put an arm under his shoulder and helped his friend hobble to the Inn.
Allen brought out the key Link had given him when they parted. The trio walked into the spacious room. Link sat in an armchair in the corner, reading a book. He looked up at the group quickly, then continued with his book. He froze, then slowly stood up, closing the book with a snap. He looked at the ragtag group that had just entered, what with Allen's flower, defiling the uniform, then moving on to Kanda and Lavi, on who was bruised and limping, the other still wearing that accursed hat and face make-up.
Link walked up to them. Lavi and Allen shared a guilty glance. Link stopped, taking in the spectacle one last time. He opened his mouth, and Allen prepared for the scolding…which didn't come.
Link brushed passed them with a simple, "I don't want to know." and left in search of a better reading spot.
A/N: Please review!