Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man, or any characters that are affiliated to it, but I did come up with the idea of Kanda using Lenalee's hair ties
I brushed my messy white hair aside as I gazed out the grimy window into the snowy landscape outside. It had been a decade or so since I had truly felt like a carefree child, but that all changed when Mana had passed away. My biological parents abandoned me because of my deformed left arm, and Mana became my unofficial father. It was tough being apart of a traveling circus, but the times I spent with him were priceless. I was rude sometimes and, people who know me now, wouldn't believe me to be the same kid I was back then. When Mana died, I ended up with having General Marian Cross as my master. Being with that man gave me other responsibilities that I would rather not explain... But I will admit that I still do get nightmares from my experiences.
I looked back into my dark living quarters, I didn't even bother lighting a lantern. No matter what I do, that place always looks forbidding.
"Allen!" My thoughts were interrupted by the sing-song voice I know as Lenalee. With a quick rap on the door, a chinese girl with lush black hair burst into the room without waiting for an answer.
"Allen, my brother says that he wants to talk to you..." Lenalee paused when she saw the look on my face. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"No, I'm fine," I tried to smile a little, but it looked more like a grimace more than anything else. "Is Komui in his office?"
"Yeah, he was doodling on his notebook when I left to get you, I think he was trying to sketch out the blueprints for another Komorin." We both shuddered from the memories of the Komorins so far.
"Well, lets hope not!" I grined, turning around to face her. We both walked out of the room into a tall circular foyer with little walkways along the wall. My room just happened to be on the level above the main floor, so it wasn't much of a trek.
"Hey Allen, were's Timcanpy?" Lenalee looked up at me, her dark eyes sparkling in the dim light that the small lantern gave us.
"He's wandering around headquarters, but I don't know where he specifically is. Do you know why Komui wants to see me?"
"No, but I do have my suspicions..." We were both silent for the remainder of the walk, until we reached the door to the Supervisor office.
"Allen?"
"Yeah?"
"Please be safe..." Lenalee looked down at her boots, letting her hair hide part of her face, but from what I could see, her cheeks became quite pink.
"I'll try to be, but knowing your brother, I don't think I will." Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and closed it behind me. The office looked like a tornado passed through. It was absolutely filthy with loose papers everywhere, and full bookshelves lined the otherwise barren walls. On the other side of the room was a small desk that was covered with papers as well, but unlike the ones on the floor, these had coffee stains so intense that even neat handwriting was illegible. Looking small behind his desk sat Komui with his blue bunny mug in his hands. Apparently the coffee was freshly brewed since the dark, thin liquid was still steaming.
"Allen, I'm sending you to Turkey, I think there might be... Allen," Komui's voice dropped to a mere whisper and his eyes narrowed, "I want you to find General Cross, he has gone missing in Paris, and you are to bring him back. I will send you off with Lenalee, and Lavi, Krory is still in a coma, and Kanda is still in the infirmary because the head nurse won't let him leave... Allen?" The color rushed out of my face, and I nearly fainted at the sound of Master's name, but I wasn't surprised that he went missing in Paris... Knowing him, he probably got sidetracked by some wine and "feminine companionship"
"I'm fine, but can I please do something- no, anything besides finding Master?" Komui sighed.
"Allen Walker, you were the last person known to have seen him last, and you were his only apprentice, so you know him better than anyone else. It's not like I want him to be found, but we need his support right now!" Knowing that anymore complaint wouldn't make a difference, I ignored my feelings, wiped my face clean of any emotion, cleared my throat and replied with a simple "Yes sir!" I looked at Komui while he contemplated upon the sudden change in response.
"Is that all sir?"
"Yes, that is fine, you are dismissed." I abruptly left the study, hoping that the toxic fumes coming from within didn't leak out of the door. Thinking about how Master had gone missing again, I sighed and unconsciously walked into the cafeteria. My darkest secret is that I stress eat, so I wasn't surprised to find that this was my first destination after meeting with Komui.
"Hey Jeryy, I would like 18 bowls of soba, 9 plates of medium-rare steak, potatoes, and spinach, 21 bowls of Chicken Tikka Marsala, and Lamb Saag, as well as 28 plates of pigeon, and rabbit, and a little sample of guinea pig and llama with 12 mugs of green tea... And 31 dangos please!" As I listed off my meal, Jeryy just kept on nodding, like this was a normal sized meal, but even this was quite large for my appetite.
"Coming right up!" Within a half hour, I was sitting at a table about to start eating when a lean young man stopped behind me, looking at my meal.
"Tch, Moyashi (Beansprout)..." His voice was filled with annoyance with me, and I didn't know why. The smart thing might've been to ignore him, but for him to be disgusted with me for no apparent reason was too much for me to handle.
"Kanda, my name is Allen. If you start treating people appropriately, and with respect, then maybe you might feel better about yourself, and you might be in a better mood, which would benefit everyone." Even though my voice itself was fairly quiet, the tone of my voice was controlled and dark, even menacing. Suddenly, the idle chatter that seemed to fill the hall fell silent, and I could feel everyone's eyes on my back. Everyone wanted to know what would happen next. I suspected that everyone was wondering if Kanda would finally get what he deserved, but I didn't want to be the one to deliver punishment.
"Tch..." Kanda only gave me a dirty look with his chocolate brown eyes and walked away with his soba, flicking his black pony-tail behind him. Relieved, I began my hearty feast.
It was then when I realized why Kanda might've been in a sour mood. A week or so ago, I had discovered that Kanda used Lenalee's hair-ties, and I made the mistake of telling Lavi. Lavi thought that it was his duty to go and announce that to the entire Black Order, finders and all. Ever since, I hadn't run into Kanda, or even seen him, so I forgot the whole ordeal.
"Oi Moyashi!" Crap! That annoying go-lucky Lavi was back...
"My name is Allen." I gritted through my teeth.
"Komui told me that we were going to look for Cross together with Lenalee, where do you think he might be since he must now be far away from Paris?" Lavi continued like I said nothing, which irritated me even more, but I just had to wear my poker face or I would be no better than Kanda.
"He's probably still in France if not in Paris, being in a large city makes it difficult for debt collectors to find one specific person. Plus, don't forget that he's also a womanizer, and Paris is known as the 'City of Love'. During my apprenticeship, I found that Master was fluent in French, English, and Italian. Knowing this, and that he is a huge alcoholic, I think he might ether be in France or Italy, but I would start with Paris..."
Late evening found me packing a small suitcase with a few clothes. My travels with Master taught me to always pack extremely light, so out of habit, I continued doing so, even if it was ridiculous. I was humming to myself a song that I wrote with Mana when quick knock interrupted my thoughts.
"Allen?" came a small whisper, "Are you awake?" I stood up abruptly.
"Yeah, do you want to come in?"
"Yes please." The heavy wood door opened and Lenalee poked her head in. "Hey Allen, are you worried about what's going on?" I warmly gazed at her, my stormy grey eyes reflected in her own. I sat at the edge of my twin sized bed, and invited Lenalee to join me by waving her over.
"Lenalee, are you okay? Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"I'm fine..." She tried to smile, but I knew that was just to make me feel better.
"We both know that you aren't just fine." I frowned at her, knowing that she would protest otherwise. She sighed.
"I had a nightmare," She looked away at something far beyond the wall in front of us that I couldn't see, and shuddered at the memory. "The sky was blood red and the water was ink black, I was sitting on top of some of the ruins of a tall building that I recognized, but I didn't remember where I saw it. The worst of it was that... That..." Lenalee's eyes started to tear up as she clutched her skirt, a simple black skirt that flattered her in so many ways even if it was part of the exorcist uniform.
"Lenalee, it's okay, you don't have to go on explaining if it's that traumatic." I subconsciously reached out and grabbed her fragile hand, holding it tightly in reassurance, letting my feelings for her flow into my grip.
"Allen..." She whispered, her eyes full of the sadness she kept within until now. It was obvious that she was holding it all in until now, she had no one to talk to, no one to go to or lean on when the going got tough. Her head leaned against my shoulder, and her tears dripped onto my white blouse.
"Lenalee..."
After what seemed like an hour, I gently shifted my position, as to not wake her since she fell asleep within minutes. I laid her down and shifted her under the covers. As for me, I finished my packing and leaned against the bed, waiting till morning, eventually falling asleep. 'Good Night, Lenalee...'
A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the one-shot! Anyway, I would like to mention some things in the story that may have been confusing:
-This story probably took place after the Ark section, before the Akuma attack on headquarters, so there is a spoiler alert concerning that
-Why have Cross missing in Paris? I think that question may answer itself. Cross is a womanizer and an alcoholic (he prefers wine), Paris is well known as "The City of Love" (for those of you who have been there, I have never been to Paris, so what I've written was based on assumption).
-For a touch of comic relief, I thought that maybe the secret to Allen's never ending appetite would be stress, since he has had a lot of stress throughout the D. Gray-Man series
-As far as Allen's unusual sense of taste, I had him order soba (this could be one of the many reasons that Kanda strongly dislikes Allen), steak, potatoes, and spinach (I think that particular combination of food is British, and Allen is British himself), Chicken Tikka Marsala and Lamb Saag are both Indian dishes (Allen went to India with Cross at least two times), Pigeon and Rabbit are both Egyptian dishes (in Egypt, Pigeon is stuffed with rice, and roasted. Typically, you order two pigeons since one is only enough to fill a young child), Guinea Pigs and Llamas are eaten in Peru and are considered delicacies (I heard that a Guinea Pig tastes like chicken, and a llama tastes like steak, though I have never tried either one), green tea is supposed to be really healthy (though white tea is healthier), When Allen ordered 31 dangos, I meant the dessert from India, not the African wild dog (as far as why he ordered them, I heard that Allen's favorite food is a Materashi Dango).