Title: Melody for Struggle
Rating: T
Pairings: Yullen, Laven, Lenallen, Lavalee, etc. Maybe some others if I am in the mood. I'm going to test out some pairings.
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship
Summary: AU. Kanda has to deal with a druggie mother, Allen was an abandoned abused child, Lavi's parents simply didn't care, and Lenalee's parents were murdered. Welcome to their world in the Dark Order Academy.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately I own nothing. Unless I can afford to buy the characters for Katsura Hoshino, then…no.
Warning: This story is probably going to be depressing. Beware though; I might tweak some of the character's personalities to make them a tad bit more depressing. But other than that, I'll do my best to keep them IC. I apologize in advance for grammar/spelling errors.
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Kanda:
"Oi. I'm off."
Kanda peered back into the apartment room, a light scowl on his face. His mother was slumped against a wall, and slowly she slid down the wall until she was horizontal with the ground. Her long messy hair covered her lifeless gray eyes, and her body was sprawled out like a doll that was cast aside. Kanda scowled, and he clutched the tiny white container of pills in his hands as he slammed the door behind him.
"Worthless piece of shit." Kanda muttered under his breath. He threw his bag over his shoulder and headed out the run-down door of his apartment. He ignored the mother calling after her whiney ass child and the poor man painting outside the door. To him, they were all just a part of the scenery.
But the poor man did not see it this way at all. He pushed his glasses higher up his face and looked up from his painting. "First day of school, Yuu-kun?"
Kanda stopped in his tracks to look down at the old man. The man's scraggly gray hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he didn't look as though he had a care in the world.
"Who the fuck are you and how do you know my name?"
The man stared at Kanda dead in the eye. "General Tiedoll."
"You sure as hell don't look like a General."
"I am retired."
"You didn't answer my other question. How the fuck do you know my name?"
"I've been around a while, boy. I've seen things. I'm not as worthless as I look." Tiedoll looked down at his painting. He held it up for Kanda to see. It was a small delicate lotus floating gently in the water. It wasn't finished however.
Kanda didn't say anything. There was no question addressed, therefore there would be no answer.
Tiedoll didn't seem to mind the quietness at all. "I'll finish it before you get back from school. You can hang it on your wall if you wish."
"I don't want your painting." Kanda replied. He didn't really understand why he didn't just leave the poor man already. There was something calming yet infuriating with this man; something that Kanda could just not leave.
Tiedoll sighed. "Nobody appreciates good art anymore." He looked down at his painting sadly. Kanda wondered why the man did not just sell it to buy new clothes, or a meal to eat.
"What's that you got there?"
Kanda tensed immediately. His fingers clasped the container in response. His eyes narrowed and he said, "Nothing."
Tiedoll looked at him curiously. "Drugs." He said more to himself than to Kanda. Kanda flinched. "Mind your own fucking business old man. Get back to your stupid painting."
Tiedoll ignored him. "Don't get caught with them. I suggest you dispose of them immediately before anyone discovers you are in possession of it. People tend to jump to conclusions around here."
Kanda stared at him, curiosity licking behind his eyes. Why didn't the man arrest him? He probably could have gotten some good money for it. Did he want the drugs himself?
Kanda didn't have to wait long for an answer. "I am not interested in drugs. They ruin the beauty of life. They may feel pleasant or intriguing in the moment, but in the end, you only mess up yourself, and you are blinded from the joys in life. They cloud up your thoughts and you cannot think properly. I knew a young boy named Daisya who did drugs. Poor thing withered away." Tiedoll looked down sadly, lost in thought. He cleared his throat and said, "You should get going. You're going to be late on your first day."
Kanda stared at the old man. He could not seem to glare at Tiedoll properly. After a few seconds, Kanda turned on curtly. He was still surprised himself that he had a lengthy conversation with a complete stranger. He shook it off, and continued his journey in long brisk strides. He only stopped once at the bridge to chuck the white container as far as he could into the river. "Damn woman. Only focused on drugs. Only thing she is capable of doing is finding more." Kanda muttered.
When Kanda arrived at the Dark Order Academy, crowds parted as he made his way through. He glared at anyone who was brave, or stupid enough to stand in his way.
There was none.
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Allen:
He stood in front of a full length mirror as he finished buttoning his uniform. He sighed as he noticed his pale white hair had contrasted greatly against the dark black uniform. Allen held a strand of hair delicately in his hands, wondering what exactly had happened with his hair.
He turned away from the mirror and picked up his bag with his left hand, and slung it over his shoulder. He paused momentarily to stare at his hand. It was a mangled red; it looked like a wound that would never heal. It was still in the shape of a hand, and it worked properly, yet his parents abandoned him anyways. What exactly went wrong with me? Allen wondered to himself. Everything about him just seemed…wrong. He had snow white hair, a deformed arm, and a strange scar on the left side of his face. Am I so hideous that no one should look at me? Should I hide my face in shame?
Although Allen sometimes felt this way, he knew that he wasn't completely unloved. There was Mana Walker, the man who had taken Allen under his wing immediately, and loved the boy for who he was, not what he looked like. Mana was always a sore spot for Allen, just thinking about his death made Allen's heart lurch. That day, when he sat on Mana's grave, he was broken, and he cried uncontrollably. He didn't even notice when a tall man with flowing red hair drag him away by the scruff.
It was later known that the man was Marian Cross. Allen sighed, and he closed his eyes and leaned against the wall as the memory flooded back before his eyes.
"Who are you? Why did you bring me here?" Allen asked between his sobs.
"Not important. But you may call me General Cross." The man replied as he puffed his cigar. "I have a proposal for you. I'd like you to work for me. You will have to run my errands and do what I say. In return, I will give you a place to stay. What do you think?"
Allen stared at Cross with big watery orbs. What could he say? He was a boy with nowhere to go. He had no idea what other options he may have, so he responded with a broken, "Yes."
Cross blew out ringlets of smoke, "Excellent."
Allen lifted his hand and covered his face with it. The memories buried deep within the subconscious always seemed to rise at the weirdest moments.
It didn't stop there. There was one night where Allen was twelve and he had delivered another pack of alcohol to a drunk Cross.
Cross sat against a wall out on the balcony, puffing on a cigar. The night was particularly dark and the stars were unusually bright. When Allen stepped out on the balcony, he was instantly hit with the aroma of alcohol and smoke. "Drunk." Allen muttered to himself.
"Eh? You got something to say to me, idiot apprentice? You better have gotten some damn good wine." Cross growled. His words were slurred together, indicating he was drunker than usual. He slumped to the side a little.
"No. Here." Allen said as he handed a bottle to Cross.
Cross nodded and took a sip. "Ah." He sighed contentedly.
Allen stood on the balcony for a while longer, wondering whether it was an appropriate time to excuse himself. His thoughts were interrupted however, just as he was about to leave.
"Idiot apprentice, why the hell don't you ever smile?"
Allen looked over at Cross in surprise. "I do smile, shishou."
Cross scowled. "Any idiot can tell that your smile is a fake. You haven't smiled since Mana's death. You still haven't gotten over that yet?"
Allen flinched. He was hurt by the blunt tones of his master. He was trying to form a response until he heard the soft snore coming from General Cross. Allen sighed, and cleaned up the balcony. He stepped inside, closing the door softly behind him. He leaned against the door, and slid down, wondering why he never could form a true smile.
Allen adjusted himself, and threw his bag over his shoulder. His thoughts were a jumbled mess. He called "I'm leaving" as he walked out the door. The memory stayed with him for a while.
Mana, Allen decided, was the only person to bring a true smile to Allen's face. Although he didn't understand why Cross had taken him in that day, or even why or how Cross had found Allen, he didn't question it. He appreciated that fact and acknowledged that although he didn't love Cross like he loved Mana, Cross had still set him back on his feet and forced him back into the routine of life. Allen might have disliked Cross for this, but in the end, they both knew it was for the best.
Allen's walk to school was slow and tired. He tried to ignore the stares that were sent his way as he traveled down the streets. He decided to travel through the countryside to avoid contact with others.
As he crossed the bridge, he noticed a woman with long black hair standing at the riverbank. The woman was staring intensely in the water, as if she was looking for something. She was deathly pale, and he stance made her appear as if she was a ghost.
"Hello?" Allen called out. "Are you looking for something? Do you need help?"
The woman did not respond. Then without a warning, she dashed madly into the river and snatched something out of the water. She clutched the item closely to her chest as she wadded out of the water slowly. Allen looked at her bewilderedly. She did not look behind as she walked away. Allen noted that she was not wearing shoes.
Allen watched her go, wondering whether he should help the lady, or continue on his way to school. After a moment's hesitation, he continued down the beaten path to his school.
As he made his way to the school grounds, people bombarded him from all directions. Everybody was in a frenzy trying to get to their homeroom class on time.
Allen managed to enter the school in one piece, but that didn't mean he wasn't banged up already. Just as he rounded the corner, he crashed into someone, sending them both to the ground.
It was a tall boy with long black hair and cold hard eyes. Papers floated everywhere, and the crowd of people around them stopped; they seemed to be holding their breath.
Allen stared at the other male stunned. He closely resembled the woman he saw earlier today at the river. Perhaps they were related. Allen was about to form an apology when the boy cut him off.
"Fuck! Watch where the hell you're going, you damn moyashi!"
The boy rose to his feet briskly, picking up his scattered items in record time. "Use your fucking eyes you moron! You aren't the only one here dumb shit!"
And then, just as quickly as it happened, the boy left, and life resumed, leaving Allen on the ground confused.
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Lavi:
Lavi sat at the table in his apartment reading a book attentively. He had just begun to reach the climax of the story when Bookman cut him off.
"Lavi! You need to leave now! School starts in twenty minutes!"
Lavi looked up from his book and sighed. He stuck a bookmark on the page and closed the book with a soft thud. "Yeah, yeah I know Panda-jiji."
Just then, a book came zipping through the air and hit Lavi smack in the back of the head. "Oof!" Lavi said as his head slammed into table.
"You're going to be late!"
Lavi peeled his face off the table and muttered, "Yeah, yeah." He stood up, walked to the door, and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "See you later, Pan—"
Lavi quickly ducked as a book zipped in the air over his head. It hit the wall with a loud smack. Lavi looked at it and laughed. "Looks like you're getting old, Pand—oof!"
Bookman appeared out of nowhere and landed a solid kick to Lavi's gut. Bookman stepped off and said, "Learn many things today, idiot." There was a footprint on Lavi's uniform.
Lavi grunted and stood up, almost doubling over. "Yeah." He managed to croak. "Later." Lavi said as he waved Bookman on his way out weakly.
After a few painful strides, Lavi recovered. He sucked in a breath to make sure he was fine. Good. It wouldn't be right to be limping around the neighborhood. People would think he was a hoodlum, when he was not. He was quite the opposite. He was a scholar.
Lavi pulled his arms back behind his head in a relaxed manner. He quickly reviewed why he was doing this at all. The memory replayed in his head perfectly.
Bookman stood bfore Lavi, who was sitting at the table reading 'How to Kill a Mockingbird'.
"Lavi."
Lavi looked up from his book. "Yes?" He responded. He put the book down immediately. He sense that this situation was more serious.
"Your home schooling shall be put on hiatus. Currently I was asked to write a book based on the school nearby, the Dark Order Academy. You do know what the school is for, right?"
Lavi shook his head.
"It's a school for delinquents. Misfits. Druggies. Basically, a place for messed up kids who will probably go nowhere in life. I can't give details on why I have to write the book, but I need information. You will enroll to this school and report back what happens everyday. Everybody you see, everybody you meet, people who act suspicious or not at all, you will report back to me. Teachers included. Understand?"
Lavi nodded. Bookman probably had to write a book on the school because the police were suspicious of the school. Recently, there have been many murders, and there were some leads that teenagers from the Dark Order Academy had performed the murders.
Bookman went on. "But there is one rule, Lavi. You must not get close to anyone attending the school. You trust no one. Any relationships that are formed will only get in the way. Someone you know today could be a murderer tomorrow. This is only a mission for you. We need the information. Once we get it, I'll remove you from the school immediately. Remember, you are not here to make friends. The only use you will have of 'friends' is to get information."
Lavi nodded. "Understood."
"Good. Do not fail."
Lavi sighed, and he ran a hand through his messy red hair. This school business was a pain, but he could do it. If Bookman required it, then Lavi would attend to it. This was all because his parents threw him out, many years ago. Lavi's parents never cared much for him anyways, so when Lavi made the threat that he was going to leave, they threw him out. Luckily, Panda-jiji had come to his rescue and had taken him in. Lavi had little time to be lost between.
The school was everything you'd expect to be. Kids were everywhere, papers were scattered, and there was the classic paper airplane flying around. Lavi caught it and threw it back into the air, grinning. So far, school was enjoyable.
Suddenly, the busy aura in atmosphere changed. It grew cold, and the hallway grew silent, and everybody stopped moving. They were crowding around something.
Taking this opportunity, Lavi pushed his way to the front, excitement growing with every step. He wasn't in school for half an hour before something happens.
"Fuck!" A voice echoes through the hallway. "Watch where the hell you're going, you damn moyashi!"
Moyashi, hm. Lavi thought to himself as he finally makes his way to the front. This guy is Japanese.
There was an angry boy with long black chopped hair sitting on the floor across from a baffled confused white haired boy.
The chopped hair boy rose to his feet briskly, picking up his scattered items in record time. "Use your fucking eyes you moron! You aren't the only one here dumb shit!" And with that, the chopped hair boy left, and life resumed, leaving the white haired boy on the floor.
This guy looks too innocent to be worth anything. Lavi thought to himself. But Bookman's words floated in his head. , "…people who act suspicious or not at all, you will report back to me." Lavi shrugged. Opportunities didn't knock twice. He stood over the boy and held out his hand. The boy looked up at him surprised. He took Lavi's hand and pulled himself up.
"Thank you." The boy said.
"What's your name?" Lavi asked.
"Allen Walker. What's your name?"
Lavi smirked and closed his eyes momentarily, as his bangs covered his eyes. When he looked up and opened his eyes he said, "Lavi. Lavi Bookman."
Chapter One: Allen Walker. Lavi chuckled softly to himself.
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Lenalee:
Lenalee sat up in her bed, looking out the window. She stomach was in knots. She was anxious about the day that was about to unfold. Slowly, she swung her legs out of the bed and began to undress, slowly changing into her uniform. She wore a black mini skirt with a white shirt and a black tie. It had a black sweater to go along with it. She pulled up her black thigh socks and slipped on her shoes.
She walked into the kitchen and began making coffee. "Nii-san!" She called. "Are you up?" As she waited for a reply she twisted her hair up into two neat ponytails. "Nii-san?"
Her brother Komui walked into the kitchen slowly, rubbing his eye before placing his glasses on. "I'm awake." He said in a soft voice. Lenalee smiled. "Coffee?" She offered.
"Yes, thank you." Komui held up his bunny coffee cup and Lenalee poured in the black coffee into it. Komui took a sip. "Ah. Are you reading for today?" He asked.
Lenalee placed the coffee down. "Nervous, really." She said without looking at him.
Komui grimaced. "I'm sorry. I dragged you into this, didn't I?"
Lenalee spun around. "No, no." She said hastily. "I don't want you to go to this school alone." She shifted uncomfortably. "I don't feel comfortable about this school though. I don't understand why you picked this one, especially after…" She trailed off, and fiddled with her tie.
Komui sighed. "I know this is not the best school around. It's the worst in fact. But that's why I picked it. Everybody is afraid of this school, but I know there are good people here. And I'm going to do my best to educate these children, good or bad. Maybe some of them will come around and realize there is more to life, and begin living in the light." Komui paused. "And if we find the murderers, bonus. The world will be a better place."
Lenalee stared at the linoleum floor, feeling truly uneasy. It was quiet for a few moments, and Komui broke the silence. "We better get going. This will be the only day we can walk together to school. For the rest of the year, I'll have to get up earlier to get to the school." Lenalee looked up in alarm.
"Don't worry." Komui comforted. "You'll make friends. Besides, you already know Johnny." Lenalee nodded. Komui glanced at the clock. "Oh! We have to leave now or I'll be late meeting Reever at the school. Let's go."
Later at the school…
Lenalee watched with sad nervous eyes as her brother gave her a wave and half sprinted down to the office where all the teachers were meeting. Slowly, she uprooted herself from the spot and began walking down the hallway. There were so many kids; the hallway was noisy. Everywhere she looked, people were in pairs. For a moment she felt as though she would faint from a sudden wave of claustrophobia. There was nothing worse than being in a crowded place with nobody you know. Alone.
Lenalee ducked twice, for a paper airplane had almost hit her. People kept moving in different directions, she was getting a headache. Then suddenly, everybody stopped moving and turned to look at a spot at the end of the hallway. She stood on her tiptoes and craned her head to see what everybody was looking at. She gave a small shriek as a redhead pushed his way through the crowd, almost knocking her off her feet.
Suddenly, a set of words echoed down the hallway.
"Fuck! Watch where the hell you're going, you damn moyashi!"
Lenalee, growing aggravated with the mob of kids, began to push her way to the front. When she reaches the front, she sees two boys on the floor. One looks absolutely angry, and the other looked utterly lost.
Lenalee immediately empathized with the latter. Maybe, Lenalee thought, we could stick together.
"Use your fucking eyes you moron! You aren't the only one here dumb shit!"
Lenalee winced. That must suck. Being yelled at on the first day of school by someone other than a teacher. In front of a crowd of uncaring eyes. Lenalee shuddered at the thought.
Then suddenly, the crowd is moving again, and she is dragged away from the boy. Wait! She panicked. Maybe I could be friends with the boy! But there was no use fighting it. The crowd of kids were traveling in different directions, and poor Lenalee was soon lost in the midst of it.
Phew! This took a while to write, but I think that I am completely satisfied with it. At first I had a plan on what was going to happen, but then it was soon ignored, and the story unfolded itself. I think it turned out rather well.
I am actually looking forward to writing this story. Although I have no idea where this story is going to go, I still want to continue!
WAIT! For those of you who just add stories to favorites or story alert, could you please kindly leave a review? Constructive criticism or any other type of review (besides flames) is always welcome! Please review!
Hm, would it be rude of me to ask for 5 reviews?