Hello everybody!

This kind of popped into my head one day, so I thought I would go with it. Now, I must admit that Lavi's younger brother was modeled after Joshua Shepherd from Silent Hill: Homecoming, but I was just so inspired. T^T

Summary: Lavi is just a teenager trying to cope with the loss of his brother Joshua. But what will happen when an abuse victim comes to live with him wearing Joshua's face?

Warning: This story is UN-BETA'D! Please bear with me if I made some grammatical errors. Also, there's violence and mild language.

Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. The series and its characters belong to Katsura Hoshino.

Please, please please enjoy! I appreciate feedback!


He staggered backwards, resting on the wall behind him. He held himself steady with bloodstained hands. Another punch came at him as his father threw ugly names at him, blaming him for his troubles and the death of the boy's mother.

Another punch sent the brunette flying. His father stepped forward. The boy could see the murderous intent in his eyes.

"Dad...stop..." he pleaded, but to no avail. His father went to the kitchen to grab an "old favorite", a bloodied knife. He returned, grinning like a madman. The boy tried to scramble away, but there was nowhere but a corner to cower in fear.

"Allen...tonight, my troubles END!"

He swung the knife downward, stabbing Allen in the shoulder. The brunette cried out as his sadistic father twisted the knife in his shoulder. He withdrew the blade, grabbed Allen's left arm, stabbing over again and again. After a while, Allen's whole arm went numb. His father withdrew the knife again, but cut a design over his son's left eye. Suddenly, the door was kicked down as men in black SWAT uniforms swarmed the house. They seized Allen's father and hauled him to jail, while they strapped Allen to a stretcher and rushed him to the hospital.


A red head looked through the examination room window. Inside, Allen was fast asleep under sedation. The stress caused to the boy caused him to almost lose his mind when he arrived at the hospital, or so the red head was told.

The red head's name was Lavi, a 17 year old teenager working as a student guest counsellor at the hospital. He had been assigned to work with Allen Walker, a 15 year old child abuse victim, the boy he looked at now. Lavi sighed sympathetically at the boy. In a school picture, Allen had brunette hair. This hellish experience was causing it to turn white. No doubt another world of trouble when he returned to school. The red head was tapped on the shoulder. It was Dr. Ryan, the doctor that took care of Allen the night before.

"Doctor." Lavi addressed him.

"He's just about to wake up. He's calmed down quite a bit. If you like, you may go in and talk to him," the doctor said. Lavi nodded.

"Thank you."

Lavi entered into Allen's room. He frowned when he saw Allen's arms in restraints. The red head quietly took a seat beside him. Allen became aware of his presence, looking at him through stunning silver eyes. They were alot calmer than the frenzied pair he wore last night. Lavi smiled warmly.

"Allen? Um, I'm Lavi. I'm a student guest..." he didn't want to boy to feel patronized. "...here at the hospital. I'm here to help you."

Allen's eyes shifted to the ceiling.

"Funny...this isn't what I pictured heaven would look like," he said, much to Lavi's surprise.

"This isn't heaven." Lavi said. Allen looked at him again.

"I didn't die last night? Aren't you an angel?" he asked. Lavi smiled, blushing slightly.

"No, you're still alive. And I'm not an angel."

Allen's eyes floated back to looking at the ceiling.

"Oh. I'm still alive," he said. His hands trembled inside the restraints. Lavi reached out towards the boy, putting his hand over one of Allen's. The now white haired boy did not resist this kind of comfort. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Are you sure I'm not dead?" he asked again. Lavi nodded.

"Positive."

"Well, I'm kind of afraid to be alive right now." Allen confessed.

"I'm listening, if you wanna tell me."

Allen shook his head. "Not yet. Soon, I'll get over it soon enough."

A knock came at the door. It was a nurse. It was time for Lavi to create his assessment of the boy. The red head sat in the hospital staff room, writing his impressions and recommendations for Allen. His concentration was broken by Kanda, an orderly.

"Hey, Kanda." Lavi said, still writing. The Japanese man growled.

"Man, some patients here are pains in the ass!" he complained. Lavi sighed.

"Nothing's changed, I see," he said, still writing.

"Not really. But Lavi, I heard about what happened...are you doing alright?" the stupid orderly asked.

Lavi's fingers let go of the pen. A month before, Lavi's 14 year old brother Joshua lost his life in a car crash. The bond between them was deep, so Lavi wasn't completely over it. Not after the time he spent as a zombie in his own house. Coming back to work was an ordeal in itself, as Joshua died on the way to the hospital Lavi worked at now.

"It's only been a month...do I look alright?" Lavi replied.

"Well, I thought you would be over it by now..."

"He was my brother. He's all I had left. You know, this boy I'm assessing looks so much like Joshua, now that I think about it." Lavi said. Kanda took a glance at Allen's photo.

"You're right."

Lavi signed his report and ushered a goodbye to Kanda. In his mind, he compared Joshua's eyes to Allen's. He tried shaking it off. He bumped into Allen's doctor in his daze.

"Sorry..." Lavi murmured, not paying attention as his report slipped out of his arms, crashing all over the floor.

"Ah, shit," he hissed. Two hands stopped him.

"Lavi, I have a favor to ask you." Dr. Ryan asked. Lavi looked up at him, nodding.

"Could you take Allen into your home for a bit?"

The red head's face fell.

"Uh..."

"It would only be until his papers go through for foster care." The doctor said.

"I don't know if I would be able to handle it." Lavi said.

"What do you mean? He has an excellent record at school, no criminal record..."

"That's not it. He looks like my brother Joshua."

"Oh, would Joshua not be comfortable with a twin?" Dr. Ryan asked condescendly. Lavi glared at him.

"Doctor, Joshua is dead. He lost his life in a car accident a month ago."

The doctor's expression changed from annoyance to sympathy.

"Lavi, I didn't know...I'm sorry."

The red head didn't reply.

"I'll try my best."

"Thank you, Lavi. Really, I mean it. Just let us know if it gets to be too much."

Lavi faked a smile and continued picking up his report.

"You can go tell Allen the news, if you like." The doctor said. "I can pick these up."

"Thanks, I'll go tell him."

Lavi didn't really want to see Allen. Not while he was still mourning Joshua. He was only steps away from Allen's door. From the window looking in, Allen saw Lavi and smiled. The red head's mind didn't see Allen; it saw Joshua, smiling. Alive and well. But Lavi knew that was a lie. He turned around and ran, heading outside. He sat on a nearby bench. His attention was drawn to the sound of a siren. An ambulance was coming into the hospital. Lavi sighed, watching the ambulance. As soon as the ambulance reached a corner, Lavi knew that was the exact point where Joshua died. Of course, he remembered the incident like it was yesterday...


Lavi and his friend Eddie were coming back from a party. They had been drinking, only moderately, but it was enough to cause an accident.

"Oh! Ed, we have to go pick up my brother." Lavi remembered.

"Okay, where to?" Eddie asked.

"Jake's house. Eddie, are you sure you're okay to drive?"

"Oh yeah! I'm more sober than you."

"Fine, I trust you. Let's go."

The drive there went along smoothly with no problems. Joshua was waiting outside of Jake's house. He smiled and waved the car down.

"Hi, Josh! How did your visit go?" Lavi asked. Joshua climbed in and the car took off.

"Good, good. Hey, have you been drinking again?"

"Yes, but we're sober enough to drive."

"Lavi, maybe you should sober up at Jake's house. Eddie, turn around!" Joshua said.

"Don't worry about it. JESUS EDDIE, THE LANE, THE LAANEE!" Lavi yelled.

It was too late. Eddie had swerved into oncoming traffic and crashed into a mini-van. Eddie's small car rolled over 3 times before resting back on its wheels. Luckily, Lavi was not injured, but Eddie was not wearing his seatbelt and was killed instantly. Joshua was unconcious, but clearly injured.

"JOSHUA!" Lavi undid his seatbelt and got out of the car. He struggled with the back car door, eventually breaking the door off its hinges. Lavi had managed to pull Joshua out when the ambulance arrived.

"Please, let me go with him!" Lavi pleaded with the paramedic. The paramedic shook his head.

"I'm sorry son. There's not enough room."

"NO! He's my brother! I have to be with him!"

The paramedic ignored him and got into the ambulance, driving away. Lavi yelled, running after the ambulance. He managed to hitch a ride to the hospital, following after the ambulance. When the ambulance turned around a specific corner into the loading bay, Lavi felt something leave him. Like something was torn away from his whole being. He ran after the paramedics rushing Joshua into an operating room. Lavi could only watch as the doctors tried to resuscitate his brother. Joshua's lifeline, heartbeat and pulse fell into a straight line, followed by a loud long beep. The doctors looked sadly at his brother.

"Call it," one of them said, picking up a chart.

"Time of death, 11:11:12 PM." Another doctor read off of her watch.

Lavi's heart dropped. His stomach felt sick. Suddenly, Lavi was grabbed by policemen that followed him to the hospital. Lavi yelled Joshua's name over and over as he was dragged away. He was hauled to the police station on charge of hit and run. His testimony was taken and he was given a pillow and blanket.

Lavi didn't cry that night. It felt like all his emotions had been stripped away from him. Of course, he felt some relief when he was told none of the people in the mini van were killed, but he felt numb after losing his brother and his best friend. He became lost in his thoughts and eventually drifted to sleep.


Well, the ending felt kind of weird. Actually, this whole chapter did. -.-

But please remember to review! Feedback is what would help make this story better!

Arigato!

:3