Please read and let me know whether or not you liked it! Suggestion for new chapters are more than welcome ;)

Note: English is not my first language, so if you come across errors, please let me know!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of D Grayman


Chapter 1: Growing up

It was somewhere in the afternoon that Bookman was held up in the room he had rented for the coming days, thoroughly working on another extensive log. War never seemed to stop, giving the old historicist no time to linger. The human race was pitiful, solving minor disputes by drastic means, but since Bookman could not deny he was human as well, he never vocalized those thoughts in public. Instead he devoted his life to recording the history of the world in an unbiased, impartial way, constantly trying to separate himself from trivial feelings like love or hate. For those emotions affected his impartial observing greatly.

By the time Bookman finished the list of casualties he had recorded in the past three days, the older man noticed a shifting sound coming from the other side of the room. In the opposite corner sat his young apprentice (currently going by the Persian alias Khalif), his back against one of the two beds the room occupied and an opened book resting on his knees. Whatever was on the nine-year-old's mind, it certainly did not contain the literature he was supposed to be reading right now. The child was fidgeting, constantly throwing subtle gazes at his teacher, which did not went unnoticed by Bookman.

After a few more minutes of being gazed at, Bookman stopped the movement of his writing-quill and sighed audibly. "Mind telling me what got you so worked up that you can't continue reading silently?"

The sudden question visibly startled Khalif as he jerked up, aware of his incorrect behavior. "I… uhm," searching for words the young apprentice fumbled with the book pages. Then he shook his head, probably deciding whatever the reason of his distraction was, it was not worth telling his teacher. "It's nothing."

Bookman highly doubted 'nothing' would be able to interfere with one's reading, but as Khalif did not explicit his statement, the older man let it rest. Instead he prompted the boy to continue his assignment and hurry up finishing reading.

For a small amount of time Khalif actually succeeded in doing so, that is, until Bookman rose from his chair in order to stow away the pile of parchment he had accomplished writing. Him standing up somehow triggered his apprentice to become distracted again as the young boy once again glared up to him, examining the elder man from head to toe.

"Hé, ji-ji?" Khalif finally vocalized his thoughts upfront. "Exactly how tall are you?"

To say Bookman was surprised by this question would be an understatement. The sudden interest in the height of the teacher was thus random that Bookman had trouble maintaining his composure. Even though the older men did a fine job acting indifferent to the subject, Khalif must have felt his surprise as the boy started chuckling silently.

Needless to say, Bookman was not amused and sent the apprentice a strict glare that made the boy stop the act abruptly. "As funny as this may seem to you, I certainly do not comprehend why my current height is to any importance. In any case it is not necessary for you to know in order to read the literature I instructed you with."

Khalif nervously scratched the part of his nose that crossed with the black cord of his eye-patch. A gesture he often made when he was about to say something that might not please the older man. "It indeed has nothing to do with my reading, but…"

The hesitation made Bookman roll his eyes as he knew Junior would not be able to concentrate on his work unless he had spoken his mind. "But what? Either complete your sentence or don't start it at all."

"Well, as Bookmen we are supposed to be observant of our environment, right?" A small, mischievous twinkle sparked in Khalif one uncovered eye as he waited for the older man's reply. Bookman however noted the sign of a childish act coming up and therefore reacted on guard.

"That is correct."

"Then, it is in my interest as an apprentice bookman to be curious about the height of a fellow historicist with whom I have travelled a significant amount of time." Khalif stated, a grin appearing on his young face.

Bookman, by no means taken back by the eloquence of the nine year-old, simply crossed his arms and opposed: "It is indeed an important quality of a bookman to be aware of his surroundings, including such minor looking facts as measurements and other comparable features. However, " he quickly added. "as important as that may be, it still does not excuse you from completing the assignment you have been given."

At this resolute answer Khalif puffed his cheeks and muttered something incomprehensible, clearly in no mood to listen to the elder's words.

Bookman raised a brow. This was exactly why he disliked children. They were either happy of moody and even though Junior certainly was an excellent successor (as he was both intelligent and observant) the younger one sometimes acted a bit too much like his age.

"Stop acting like a child." Bookman demanded as he walked back to the desk he had been writing on.

"I am a child."

"You're an apprentice bookman."

"I am a child apprentice."

"You're an apprentice bookman who just happen to has the same age as a child," countered Bookman without mercy. "This does not include you to act like one."

With that Khalif went silent, pouting slightly in the corner of the room.

Placing himself behind the desk, Bookman let out a soft sigh. He wasn't sure whether the increasing rebellion of Junior was merely characteristic for his current alias Khalif or if it had something to do with the kid growing up into a difficult age. Either way, it was testing Bookman's patience and the older man chose to ignore the difficult outbursts of the child as much as possible. However, the boy had come up with some rather fine reasoning (before he spoiled it with his childlike behavior) which was why Bookman decided to give him a little bit of credit. Just a bit.

"My current height would be 140 cm (4'7'')."

And even though Bookman had his back turned to the younger one, he knew all too well the cheerful smile that was now visible on the child's face. It was a good decision Bookman assured his wavering mind, since his sentence was followed by a welcoming silence. The qualm atmosphere had finally return, only now and then interrupted by the sound of turning pages.


A.