An Idiot Apprentice and his Idiot Master
The Fic's Current Story Arc: A Troublesome Interlude
Part 1: Tears before bedtime
Current Chapter's Summary: Cross and Allen just came to town and Allen's injury needs to be dealt with.
Warning: Contains a possible spoiler for chapter 129 from the manga. (If you squint really.)
Edit 08/June/2008: Omake added. Story arc cover illustration coming soon.
"I'm sorry Master!" sobbed a young Allen as he rubbed where his Master had conked him on the head.
Marian Cross had picked this town to stay in during the week for two reasons. The first was because of the rumours of possible Akuma activity. The second was because this place was obscure enough that he was certain the debt collectors won't be sniffing around for a while.
Cross lit his 9th cigarette for the day and they walked on in silence for a while. Allen was holding tightly onto Timcanpy as if it was a stuffed doll and Cross was wondering just how stupid the kid could get. He glanced at his apprentice again. There were signs if he looked for them but otherwise he never would have found out until much later.
"Why didn't you tell me you sprained your god-damned ankle in the last town? If it becomes something serious, you're on your own. I am not dragging around an invalid."
At this Allen shot his Master's back an accusing glare. "That's because we got chased out of town before I could see a doctor, Master." And then there was silence again.
Usually, Allen would have had more to say, especially since they haven't eaten since the escape two nights ago. Cross noted how the boy bit down on his lip to keep himself from making any unnecessary sounds. He was also sweating a lot and it wasn't because of the heat. Seeing his master glance at him , he quickly put up a smiling façade as if nothing was wrong at all. The lump he had managed to hide under his sock earlier was telling Cross otherwise.
"Tch." He couldn't take it any more; life-lasting trauma was one thing but he had never planned on torturing the kid. Punishing and making him learn 'important' lessons maybe, but not torture.
In one swift motion, he picked the kid up by his collar like picking up a takeaway bag. By gods, he was small. But he did grow a bit during the past year they've been together. Timcanpy was released and it settled on the ground before looking up at the spectacle. The boy protested to being handled this way, trying to make his master let go and all the while claiming that he could still walk further. And so the idiot apprentice earned himself another knock to the head that kept him silent and just that much more sore while Cross looked for a medical establishment. The golden golem hovered at it's master's side, seeing that there's not enough people on the street to care.
Not too long afterwards, Cross found a doctor's practice. With his free hand he opened the door and with the other one, tossed Allen inside. The boy skidded face down the corridor and stopped short in front of the doctor's door. There was no one stationed at the receptionist area and there was no response from the doctor's office as well.
Cross found himself stepping on a fallen "Out to Lunch" sign that also requested potential patients to wait inside. Fair enough. For good measure, Cross had also pitched Timcanpy at Allen, who caught it as it hit him in the guts.
"Here's some company. I'm going to do some investigating. I'll come back later to get the doctor's verdict. Use some of the money we've still got left, but I will make sure you earn back triple the amount when you've healed." The main reason why they still had money now was because Cross hadn't had the opportunity to indulge before he had to make his escape.
Allen's nod and resigned, though mortified, look was all he needed to see before he closed the door behind him and went on his way.
xxoxx
As he walked over to the nearest bar, he thought back to recall the time when Allen got that injury. While in the last town, they split up at night fall after Allen found some Akuma going off in different directions. After having dealt with his, he found Allen on the other side of town and from the looks of the property damage in the area, Allen had went all out against the ten Level 1 Akumas there.
That must be what did it.
He remembered that as he was about to compliment the boy for getting ten at once instead of the usual two, the owner of one of the houses showed up. As if being made to pay for the damages wasn't enough, he was one of Cross's debt collectors who called over the others and... well, the rest was history.
After visiting just about every bar in town, Cross learned several things about that place. One was that there was no brothel around, two was that the ladies here weren't very appealing anyway, and three was that all their alcohol was lousy. 'I'm definitely not going to get drunk off this vinegar,' thought a disgusted Cross as he left his most recent pub. No wonder this place wasn't noticeable.
He did hear however that there had been strange occurrences of killings around here, which explained why the town seemed less populated than the all the houses let on. That means there won't be any distractions while he was working here, and it made him want to scowl. He lit another cigarette instead, noting that he'll have to buy a new pack later. There was really nothing else to do except either go to sleep, investigate some suspicious areas, or check on Allen. He decided on the latter, though more for the reason of finding out how much Allen's bill is than for his student's health.
xxoxx
It was very late when he entered the building this time. There was still no receptionist but the doctor himself can be found doing the paperwork behind the desk instead.
"Ah! Pardon me for a moment," the doctor said as he pushed the stack of paper to the side and smoothed his crumpled attire. "Are you Allen Walker's guardian?"
"Yes," There was no need to elaborate. "Mind if I take a look at the bill?"
"Of course not, sir. And it's already been paid for too." The man's hand glided over the tabletop and snatched a lone piece of paper that was precariously close to being lost among the other documents, but there was no other one like it. Allen was the only patient that day.
'That's a nice figure,' Cross thought evilly as he looked at the numbers on the bill. "How is he anyway?"
"He has an ankle fracture that was left too long. It also had a lot of stress put on it. He's been in a lot of pain and I'm afraid he will experience more until it heals, which will take a few months."
"..."
"Sir?"
Cross was not going to spend a few months in this god forsaken hole in the ground.
"Where is he?" Cross asked with an underlying tone of voice that hinted at danger.
"He's asleep in the ward upstairs and has been since the cast was put on. Excuse me, sir?"
Cross climbed the stairs, letting the unsuspecting doctor think that he was just a worried adult.
He had to pause, however, when he saw the figure lying in bed as still as a corpse, were it not for the rise and fall of his chest. 'A child', he thought. 'A child that was born to be a weapon; born with a heavy destiny on his shoulders.' Cross stepped closer and noticed that in sleep, Walker couldn't hide the truth of his pain. How he had managed being dragged at full speed from one side of the British Isles to the other while hiding this sort of pain from him and still be sane was a mystery.
Tim, who was situated next to Allen's cast, shifted off the bed and it was all it took to make Allen cry out and cause tears to form at the corner of his eyes. There was no doubt that he was suffering.
Well, Cross was going to make it all better.
"Wake up idiot apprentice."
Allen opened his eyes to see Judgement's barrel against his forehead and it was all he could do to keep his eyes from popping out of their sockets. "M- Ma- Mas- Master??" He stuttered, trying to turn his gaze from the cold metal against his skin. The pain he had been feeling suddenly felt very distant.
"Listen up idiot apprentice. The doctor told me that it would take months for that injury of yours to heal. I'm giving you two weeks. Two weeks before I drag you off your sick bed myself. You don't want that." Cross was like a black demon with pinpricks of light for eyes, his grin a wicked sickle and his overwhelmingly evil aura was almost tangible.
He knew his Master was dead serious just as much as he knew that his Master was asking for nothing less than a miracle.
Allen continued to eye Cross's fingering of the weapon; the miracle was looking better and better every second.
"Yes, Master!" Allen managed to squeak.
"Atta boy, Allen." Cross flashed a much more humane smile across his face.
"...You can put Judgement away now, Master."
xxoxx
How to read Omakes:
(Skip to after the next 'xxoxx' for the actual Omake!!)
These Omakes are going to be short scripts. They are formatted like this:
Omake
The Title is Here
Description of setting or other notes will appear like normal sentences.
The speaker/s: (actions/feelings of the speaker/s will be formatted like this) Normal conversation will be normal text after the speaker/s.
Another speaker/s: This is how dialogue only lines will look like.
Yet another speaker/s: (This is how an action/feeling only line will look like)
xxoxx
Omake
The Reason Why The Black Order Couldn't Find Cross
The Finders: (really don't want to have to pay for the General's expenditures) Well... Cross might be somewhere here but... let's look somewhere else instead...
Cross's Debt Collectors: (won't say anything for fear that they would never be able to wrangle all the money owed out of Cross if the Order gets to him first)
Questionable Establishments: Two words, "Customer Confidentiality".
The Exorcists and Other Generals: (stand out too easily and were totally avoided)
Komui: ...this is getting us nowhere. (depressed aura)
Disclaimer: Allen Walker, Cross Marian, Akuma, Exorcist and "D.Gray-Man" belong to Houshino Katsura.
Author's Note: This is the first part of a story/small arc. The 2nd part is in progress, and there might be more stories after this one under the same name.
In my opinion, Cross is kind in his own way, and I think Allen has become a better person from his experience. Maybe.
For those who read my General Allen Walker fic, thank you for the reviews, alerts and faves! (: Unfortunately, I'm afraid it might end up quite different, since I have found a bigger plot that I might either have it's idea added to, or do another story entirely. Don't expect anything yet, but I hope you all might enjoy this meanwhile.
Sayonara to any hope for good first semester grades from university. D: