Disclamer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.
Theme song: Hakan Tuncbilek - Yuzun Gunese Baksa (this is the main theme of the fiction, it was inspired from it, so i highly recommend you to listen to it while reading.)
Hope you enjoy!
First Secret
The rain was pouring outside like strings from the sky; harshly endless.
Raindrops fell as if they were bouncing on asphalt. Echoes resonated with every merciless splash; the morning was still at its finest, but one could easily think of it as a dying day.
The curtains were closed, making the room even somber, but that did not prevent the sleeping redhead from waking up. The melody of the rain was far too noisy to let him sleep at ease.
He moaned as he stretched his limbs a little; Lavi adjusted himself in a more comfortable position, making the blankets shift around him. The young man was drunk with sleepiness, but the rain irritated him and did not let him finish his beautiful sleep.
Lavi hated rainy days.
It had been more than ten years that Lavi and his grandfather moved to the city of the eternal clouded sky, yet Lavi could still not get accustomed to the weather of London. He vividly remembered the first time they had moved in this house, how fresh the capital city seemed to him, how happy he was. But as soon as winter declared its beginning, the rain never ceased.
The weather was nothing like the previous countries'; this one was peculiarly irritating, saddening, devouring, and ruthlessly beautiful.
At some point of his life, Lavi had wanted to get away from this place and start a new life in a sunny and joyful place, but his emotional attachment to the house and the city was too tight to be easily let go of.
It was yet, another day of pure laziness which Lavi was going to waste. The redhead was about to close his eyes and get lulled by the melodic pitter patter of the rain when his phone started to buzz on the wooden nightstand.
The redhead groaned, opening his eyes slowly he turned to the other side watching with a passive figure the vibrating phone and after few blinks Lavi decided to let it be; it was probably not an urgent call, he will call back whoever just called later in the afternoon when he would wake up. However, the phone resumed vibrating again and again, and Lavi's eyebrows furrowed. He cursed under his breath and reached for the phone, then lied on his back, answering the call without checking who was calling.
Lavi let out a tired hum and the person on other line cried out, "Lavi, why didn't you pick up earlier?" making him automatically take it away from his ear to lower the sound volume.
"I am sleeping, Lenalee" he grunted with a low voice, "and could you lower your voice? You deafened me."
"Sleeping at this time? It's already eleven in the morning, for God's sake!"
"My sleeping time doesn't have limits."
"That has no sense at all, Lavi you know that–" but the redhead cut her off before she could finish her sentence, he wasn't in the mood to hear her nagging, "Is there something you need or can I hung up?"
"Lavi," said Lenalee sighed, "Get out of that bed, will you? I am going to have lunch with Kanda in about an hour and I want you to join us."
The half-sleeping young man scratched his right eyebrow; honestly, he had no desire to be out today, or tomorrow, or even the day after that…
He closed his eyes, and spoke only when his friend called out to him again, "Lenalee, you know that I am in no mood for that."
Lenalee was silent for a moment before saying, "I know, but you shouldn't isolate yourself like this. We're your friends and we want to help you."
Somehow, what she had just said irritated him and Lavi hated that feeling. He hated himself for being annoyed with his friend who wanted nothing but help him. Despite that, his current emotional state allowed him nothing but a foul mood and heartache.
"We've talked about this hundreds of times already, and my mind won't change," he said trying to control his tone –hurting Lenalee was the last thing he wanted–, and prepared to hung up, "Have a nice afternoon, I'm going back to sleep."
Lenalee being Lenalee used her last card, which was always a wicked one.
"If you don't come I will tell Komui that you sexually assaulted me." She said, her voice wavering not even once. And Lavi knew her well enough to know that she wasn't joking –even though that lie could possibly be the reason he would be found dead in a dark alley one day.
His eyes went wide open, "Yes, Lena-lady!" the redhead found himself saying, and his friend on the other line hung up after a joyful talk.
The sound of the line being cut echoed in Lavi's head, and he groaned irritatingly, throwing off the sheets off him –his entire body reacted to the hasted shift of temperature. He stayed in that position for a while, thoughts whirling in his head, then proceeded in putting down the phone and sat, running a tired hand through his reddish hair. He regretted instantly his decision of joining them, yet Lenalee made it apparent that he had no choice.
Lavi moaned; wearing his slippers, he stood and walked in the direction of the bathroom. After exiting the toilet he boldly took off his clothes and threw them on the floor, not minding putting them in the clothes' bin and entered the shower.
The perfect tempered water fell on him, cleansing everything, his hair, his skin, and his sins. Lavi simply stood there without moving, too much enveloped in his own thoughts; it was until the droplets turned into sharp little blades of fire and burned his skin that he noticed that he was taking too long. He hurriedly showered and exited it to brush his teeth. He erased the fog off the glass and looked at his body with a bored eye, then ran a hesitant hand over his right eyes –his scarred right eye.
It had already been about fifteen years since he got that scar, and despite not remembering much of the incident, the small thoughts of it were enough to get him nauseous and anxious.
Lavi brushed his hair violently with both hands and let out a muffled groan. 'What the heck am I thinking about?' and hastily wore the bathrobe to leave the bathroom, without giving a last glance to his figure on the last standing glass in the house.
Getting ready was something Lavi hated a lot. He never quite understood the need of being classy and trendy, like Lenalee says. Most of his clothes were chosen by her, and Lavi still ignored why he let her buy clothes for him in first place.
He chuckled; Lavi did know why, but tackling that subject was still impossible.
After going through his entire wardrobe to find a fitting outfit, Lavi felt like a woman. After all, only women had plenty of clothes while complaining of having nothing to wear. The redheaded young man, after wearing plain black clothes, put the umbrella in his bag pack and went down.
On his ways out, the redhead stopped by the frame picture of his grandfather which was hung on the wall of the living room.
It was almost six months now that his grandfather passed away, but it felt like it was yesterday.
The endless hours of crying in his darkened room, alone, remembering the long nights spent together reading books in his study room, the chimney lighted which sent heated vibrations to calm the storms inside and outside of their hearts. Knowing that there would be no longer bickering over the smallest things in that gigantic house, that there would be no echoing voices and laughs from a room to another after nightfall, that there would be no one waiting for him when he got back from a long day of work.
Knowing that he had no family left, Lavi's heart shattered into millions of tiny little pieces, creating wounds which could never be healed.
People expressed their condolences, whispering promises. Saying that it was okay, saying that it will be okay, that they knew how he felt and how hard it was to deal with. They said that they will always be by his side, that they were one phone call away, but all disappeared when the first time the sun sat without his grandfather beside him.
It was until then that Lavi had understood how hypocrite the lies and fake smiles he always offered to people were, and that made him hate himself even more.
Lavi walked out of the house to stop by the mailbox, like he always does. He took out his set of keys and hastily searched for the right one, he then proceeded in opening the red box only to find one outstanding envelope. The redhead raised a brow and took possession of the item to study it closely. It was a simple golden envelope with nothing written on it; the only thing present on it was the red eye-catching seal. His sole green eyes narrowed trying to figure out whose crest it was, as he was sure that it was not foreign and that he had seen it before.
However, before he could open the envelope his phone rang; it was Lenalee, again. Lavi jolted by the single thought of how angry his green haired friend might be right now, so he rapidly tucked it in his backpack and ushered out of the residence.
"Yes Lena-lady?"
"So, where are you now?" She asked. To Lavi her voice was melodic and sweet despite the fuss in the background; her voice had the strange power to calm down his demons.
The redhead did not have a hard time closing the gate, hiding his keys and adjusting his backpack with only one hand as the other held the phone. It was one of the many things he learned while working as a lawyer; he had to phone many clients, take care of many papers and eating at the same time.
You see, Lavi was not very fond of headphones, Bluetooth headsets and letting assistants manage his important matters. "I just got out of the house, where're we meeting?"
"Great! So you will find us at the regular restaurant, Kanda is already there waiting and I'm on my way. Don't take long."
"Roger that green leader," he chuckled, "See you in about half an hour."
"See you!"
Lenalee and Kanda were probably the only people Lavi could be honest with; those two have been his friends since high school. Though they later enrolled in different universities, they stayed in touch and frequently hung out together.
Lenalee was the sweetest person you could ever come across, and Kanda… well Kanda was your regular asshole.
Lavi first met with the Japanese man through a hard punch, which left a mark on his face for several weeks. It was pure coincidence that the redhead stumbled on a grumpy Kanda on the first day of highschool; a middle-aged and messy-haired man, who reeked of the damp smell of oil paint, came to him later that day to provide apologies for his son's violent and not-intended act. Kanda stood next to the man with a frowning face and crossed arms; the raven haired teenager had said that the punch was intended for someone else, and had expressed his apologies to Lavi with difficulty, and Lavi found that very amusing.
The very next day, Lavi discovered that Kanda happened to be his classmate –an antisocial classmate. Despite threatening the redhead with a Japanese sword, Lavi kept on bothering Kanda, saying that he was an interesting person. Lenalee broke into his life right after that, as she was the childhood –and only– friend of the samurai wannabe teenager.
Lavi bounded very well with the two teenagers and they easily became friends despite their many differences; even Kanda became comfortable with Lavi's presence.
The three youngsters spent unforgettable highschool days, and when Lavi thought that he would lose touch with his two bestfriends, they proved him wrong as their friendship became stronger than ever after choosing different majors and schools.
Today Kanda was a promising architect. He had been working in the firm of Komui Lee, Lenalee's older brother, for a couple of years now and had confessed to Lavi few months ago that he was intending to leave it to start his own business. The raven haired Japanese man did not change much; he was still the prick he used to be, heck, even his hair style was the same! In Lavi's opinion, Kanda was too much of a traditionalist, not that the redhead could ever say it out loud.
On the other hand, Lenalee was an interior designer who managed her own work and opened a small office, but that did not stop her from working with her brother from time to time on some projects. One could say that the job was perfect for her; Lenalee was a fashionista after all!
The late Bookman had co-founded a law firm with his longtime friend Klaud Nine, and a few years back when he retired, Lavi took his place. Lavi was not brought up to be a good professional lawyer who had to take over his grandfather's business as most people thought, on the very contrary, his grandfather had always supported him on following his heart and choosing whatever he pleased because it was his own life, not another one's. And it was exactly what the redhead did. Becoming a lawyer had been his goal, and he succeeded.
Yet, after the death of his grandfather, Lavi lost all taste for life, and so he dropped his work. Nine was a nice and comprehensive person; she had provided him an unlimited break to properly mourn his loss without imposing a salary cut. And so, for more than six months now, Lavi had been doing nothing but staying home and slacking around.
Arriving to his destination, Lavi opened the door and instantly the sweet smell of delicious food tickled his frozen nostrils. Jerry's restaurant has been the place the trio frequented since their highschool days.
There were three reasons why they never changed the place, first: because Jerry's food was the best, second: because it was not very far from their houses, and lastly because it was the only near restaurant which had Soba in its menu –Kanda's favorite food.
The waiters and waitresses welcomed their regular customer with wide smiles and glittering eyes; the redhead was appreciated by everyone in the place because of his cheerful personality, even if his late moods had been nothing but morose ornamented with tired and forced smiles.
Tilting his head to the side, he saw Lenalee waving at him from the table they usually sat by, smiling.
"Glad you made it!" the green haired young woman said when Lavi made it to the table.
God, that girl was a fucking saving grace.
"Hey fellas!" Lavi grinned, and Kanda growled, "It was about time, you took too damn long!"
"Kanda!" Lenalee said with a grave tone, giving him a mother's stern look, "What was I telling you just now."
The raven haired man clicked his tongue and Lavi chuckled; Lenalee was really a mother hen.
He had missed the feeling of being at ease, forgetting about his pain and simply laughing everything out with his closest friends.
Lavi asked his friends how they were doing with their work, but Lenalee easily changed the subject and said that talking about work was the last thing she wanted right now. So their conversation continued on, speaking about different topics; while the two of them spoke in a cheerful manner, Kanda sat indifferently in his seat with his arms folded on his chest. His eyes were closed; however, if one thought that he was not interested in their chitchat, then they were dead wrong. Lavi and Lenalee knew Kanda too well, and they were certain that he was closely listening to their talk without having to join them in.
When the waiter finally came to take their order, Lenalee excused herself to the restroom and it was until then that Kanda strained a little on the table to finally speak.
"It took you long to get out of there; I still can't believe Lena managed to convince you," The Japanese man said after Lenalee was out of sight, afraid to be heard. "So, how did she do it?"
The colors drained out of Lavi's face, and he gulped, "This is Lenalee we are talking about, and you know her better than me, do you… really want to know?"
"On a second thought, no thanks, I'd really appreciate sleeping tonight without having nightmares." Kanda retreated having understood everything from his friend's face.
"I'm back!" Lenalee said, and both man tensed a little, "So what were you guys talking about?"
Kanda coughed and Lavi stuttered, "You know, stuff…" She raised an eyebrow, and he continued, "Like the weather…"
"Men are really weird creatures." She muttered shaking her head lightly while taking a seat. Her peppery facial features changed soon after noticing their food arriving.
Food was the only thing that could ease up a depressed, angry or tired Lenalee.
When the plates were served to their respective owner, the heated resumed once again.
"…Honestly, that pizza man was the worst! From that time on I decided to stop order my pizza from there, the icing on the cake is that it was not even edible!" Lenalee whined taking a bite from her pizza, "There's no better food than Jerry's!" Kanda let out a small hum in confirmation to Lena's statement as he calmly ate his beloved Soba.
"Oh, I just remembered," Lavi said, putting down his fork to turn around and tug his hands in his backpack, "I received a weird envelope this morning, wanted to open it, but didn't have time."
"A letter? Like in the Chain Letter?" Lenalee said, eyes shining with curiosity.
A cold shiver ran down his spine, "Well, I hope it isn't." Lavi never quite understood Lenalee's fondness of horror and terror, in both movies and real life.
Back in high school Lenalee was the naughty teen of the trio who always wanted to go investigate weird shady places at night. Her obsession went as far as creating a club in high school, which she had named, 'LenKanLav, paranormal investigations'. The green haired goddess had once asked, more correctly, forced them to join her in a night expedition throughout an abandoned building in their school, which was rumored to be haunted. The building was soon to be demolished by the school as it was in ruins and Lenalee said it was then or never; their little investigation led to the discovery of a room which walls were covered with pictures of high school girls, there was even the picture of Lenalee! But unfortunately, that was not where it stopped, going deeper in their investigation, the trio had found the remnants of human bones and when they tried to get in touch with the police they found the culprit standing behind them. And a fight ensued.
Of course, none of them came out of it unscathed; Lavi ended with a broken leg, Lenalee with many cuts all over her body and a sprained wrist, and finally, Kanda with a deep wound in the chest after fighting with the psychopath who happened to be a chemistry teacher in their school.
Thank the lords Kanda had decided to take his sword, Mugen, with him –Lavi had never loved Mugen as much as that day.
The trio became famous in town, and even more famous than before on the school grounds. Simultaneously, on the other side of the coin, it was the main reason the adults responsible of them restricted their outings until they enrolled in university. However, being the troublemakers they were, it did not put a limit to their foolishness.
They used to be young, naïve and full of life, whereas now, Lavi felt that they had terribly aged.
He put the envelope in the middle of the table, and the trio stared at it pensively.
Lenalee tilted her head a little, never getting her eyes off the object of interest, "I've seen this crest before, but I don't remember where." She said, putting her index at the extremity of her lips. Lavi looked up at her and nodded, uneasiness building in his stomach. He knew it, that crest was familiar.
Suddenly Kanda growled, "Hurry up and open it imbecile. And if it's a letter, read it out loud."
Lenalee chuckled, "Even Kanda is agog, who would've thought."
Taking a deep breath, Lavi broke the seal and the envelope revealed a golden paper; it was an invitation.
'Dear Mr. Bookman,
The entire Noah family has the great honor to invite you to the party which will be held in honor of the Earl of the Campbell on the eighteenth day of this month in the Campbell Manor situated in Beelsby, North East Lincolnshire.
We would be more than happy if you accepted to join us on that memorable day.
Yours truly,
The Campbell family.
Ps: following the bad weather conditions, it will be preferable if you could come a week before the event. You can bring your family or friends with you if you wish.
A party is similar to a flower,
It lasts only few hours,
But it leaves in the heart,
Unforgettable sentiments.'
The trio kept quiet for a moment, and then Lavi spoke, "Campbell? Who's that?"
"Beats me." Kanda said, resuming eating his soba.
Lenalee shrieked bringing both hands to cover her mouth, eyes glittering, "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Oh. My. God!"
Kanda exclaimed, "What the fuck?!" a spoon of soba in his mouth.
"You've received a letter from the Campbell? And on top of that an invitation to go to their manor? Oh my God, Lavi I can't believe it!" she started to clasp her hands excitedly; "You're going right? You're going! Please tell me you are!"
"Hold on a sec, Lenalee," Lavi began, trying to calm his friend, "I don't even know who they are, there's no way I am going; plus traveling to God knows where in such weather is completely out of question!"
"Lavi!" she whined.
"Who the fuck are the Campbell anyway?" Kanda meddled in while fanning for Lenalee, who seemed to be hyperventilating, using the envelope.
"I can accept Lavi's stupidity and ignorance, but you Kanda! How could you?" she opened her eyes big rounded at Kanda.
The redhead sweat dropped, "Did you just say I'm stupid…?"
She joined her hands and started, "The Campbell family, one of the oldest and wealthiest families of Britain. It is said that they used to be one of nobles who worked directly under the Kings and Queens of our country, and now, they had apparently isolated themselves from society to live in the Yorkshire where they held a peaceful life!"
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"Their manor! The Campbell manor is one hell of a place! And visiting it is the dream of every architect!"
"But I'm not an architect and neither you are." Lavi pointed out at Lenalee
"Ah, that Campbell one. I'm an architect, but I'm not interested."
"Kanda!" seeing that her puppy eyes did not work, Lenalee recomposed herself and cleared her throat, "Listen Lavi, this is a once in a lifetime chance, who knows what we will come across in this adventure; you should not say 'I'm not in the mood or something', you should work your way out of this." She then slammed her hands on the table, "Let's take it and go on a wonderfully unforgettable journey!"
"Why did she talk like an old cartoon main character?"
Kanda scoffed, "beats me. Moreover, we? Don't tell me you want us to go with him, Lenalee."
"I'm not going anyway."
"Seriously, you guys!"
"Listen Lena," Kanda said, trying to act like the eldest of the trio, "for the first time in my life I have to, unfortunately, agree with that imbecile rabbit."
"Imbecile? Unfortunately? Why are you guys so mean today?"
Without minding Lavi, the Japanese continued his explanations, "We don't know who those are, we're in the middle of winter season, I have work to do, and so do you. And that stupid rabbit has to hibernate. There is no way we can go."
"Actually Kanda, we do know who those are, winter is not a problem and neither us working is. My brother will gladly give you a week off under my demand, and I can do what I want, plus there is no way I can let Lavi hibernate all winter."
"Try being logical for at least once; we are not going." Kanda insisted.
"Hey guy… why are you arguing over this? It's not like I'm going."
"Lavi you shut up." Lenalee said with a clear voice and Lavi jerked.
"Komui will not let you go." Kanda smirked, crossing his arms to his chest.
"He will."
"Let's say he will accept, but it doesn't change the fact that neither I nor Lavi wish to go."
Lavi sighed, "Thank you for your wisdom, Yu." Thank the lords Kanda was on his side.
"Shut your trap stupid rabbit, and if you call me by my name again I will fucking kill you."
Lavi decided to retreat in his seat and speak from a further distance in case something hit him and he accidently died.
"Listen boys, this is not a democracy. We are going. End." Lenalee declared.
"Why are you still deciding?"
"Give me one good reason to go." Kanda retorted.
"You guys know that I'm not going, right?"
Lenalee smiled, shaking her head lightly, "You shouldn't play with fire Kanda. If you don't come, I'll, for example, show the world your infinite collection, which you are weirdly proud of, of–"
Kanda's eyes went wide open, and he slammed his hands on the table, shouting, "Wait!"
"Or perhaps, the truth on what happened last Friday the 13th with Johnny–"
"You win, you win. I accept."
To think that one day the almighty Kanda will lose a fight…then again, these were the frightening powers of Lenalee.
"Yay! We're going!" she beamed, and the two men watched her with tired eyes, then Lavi pointed out.
"Hold on a sec, you guys know that I don't want to go, right?"
"Lavi," she turned, her happy face was gone and replaced by a twisted smile, "If you refuse, then I'll do what I told you this morning, and speaking of which, my brother is working on a new Komurin prototype…"
"I'll go, I'll go. We'll all go, it's that, right? The wonderfully unforgettable journey!" he let out an uneasy laugh, exchanging his pain with Kanda through stolen eye contacts.
"I have a question, though." Kanda said and Lenalee pouted at him, "What is it?"
"How come Lavi was invited while saying he did not know these people?"
"Now that you say it…"
"Oh come on, it's not like it is an invitation to be killed by a maniac! Maybe they knew his grandfather, the letter says Mr. Bookman, so they weren't exactly addressing it to Lavi." Lenalee said as a matter of fact.
"Grandpa never spoke of them."
Lavi knew most of his grandfather's acquaintances and the Campbell were never mentioned, not even once. And that brought back the question of the familiar crest on the envelope.
Lenalee shrugged, giving fast and probable explanations to the troubling question of Kanda, "Maybe they lost touch, they live in Yorkshire after all, and it's quite far from here. Gives you one more reason to go, don't you think Lavi?"
Lavi reluctantly nodded at her statement, deep in his thoughts.
"Now," Kanda said, putting down his empty plate while curiously eyeing the greenhead, "Mind telling us the reason you want to go? It's not about the architecture, now, is it?"
Lenalee innocently batted her eyelids, a small smile brightening her face, "Something that will make you wish to be there as soon as possible."
However, after travelling there, meeting the Campbell and discovering what was meant to stay buried, the trio wished they had never went there.
~o*0*o~
Lavi lifted his bag and stared blankly at his room. Today he was leaving for the Campbell manor with Kanda and Lenalee.
If someone was to tell Lavi three days ago that he would be going on a week-length vacation to Yorkshire to attend a party held by the Campbell family, he would've laughed his heart out. Yet, there he was, holding his trip bag and exiting his bedroom.
He climbed down the stairs toward the hallway in a steady pace. Lenalee had called the night before to inform him that she, accompanied by Kanda, would come and fetch him in a taxi so that the three of them would be in the airport on time. Lavi had not taken much luggage with him, few casual clothes, a formal one for the party and a few needed items. He was still hesitant to this entire travelling story even if Lenalee had spent three hours on the phone with him, speaking joyfully about it.
The redhead put his bag on the floor and sat on the comfortable armchair of the living room which. Both elbows resting on the armrests, he sank in the leather furniture, peacefully closing his eyes.
He was running away, he knew that perfectly, but there was no other way; Lavi was not going for a change of air, he was running out of this place. Lavi did not have another option, and that sickened him to the core. He fumed in that lazy position, deep thoughts going round and round in his mind.
The ringing of the bell woke him up from his reverie. Lavi got up with difficulty from his place, grabbed his bag, and walked to the door, not glancing even once at the picture frame of his grandfather on the wall by the entrance.
It was the smiling face of Lenalee that he saw upon opening the door; he noticed that she had held her hair in a ponytail. Lenalee rarely did ponytails, maybe it was to attract the adventure vibes like in the movies where women always held their hair in ponytails.
She kissed and hugged him good morning, and he reluctantly did the same; they chitchatted for a while by the door, but were soon interrupted by a grumpy Kanda who was riding shotgun. Lavi held his hand as a sign of apology and the two hurried to the taxi.
"Took you too damn long, stupid rabbit!" Kanda growled as soon as the two got in the car, and Lenalee scolded, "Kanda, watch your words!"
"Sorry man." Lavi said, and Kanda clicked his tongue.
The flight was scheduled at four in the afternoon; it was Kanda who took care of everything as none of them was as tidy and punctuate as he was. Everything was prepared. Their flight was not that long; it took them less than an hour to reach Humberside Airport. From there they took a taxi Beelsby, where the Campbell Manor was located.
Beelsby was a small village that was the source for the River Freshney; it had a population of approximately two-hundred people. It was a simple and homey place; moreover, the air was cleaner and purer than that of the city. After riding off the taxi, the trio asked around for the local taxi man of the village and finally found him standing with a group of men noisily chatting. They approached him with their luggage in their hands.
"Excuse me sir," Lavi said politely to the tallest man of the group who was identified as the local taxi man, "Can you take us to the Campbell manor?"
He had not anticipated the sudden silence of the men upon hearing his sentence; their faces drained, and all excused themselves but the man to whom Lavi asked his question.
"Sorry young man, I cannot." He said, scratching the back of his head and averting his eyes from the trio's.
Lavi looked around but all the taxi men had flown away from the scene, and when the tall man with the sharp nose tried to discreetly walk away, Lavi spoke once more, "Do you know someone who can take us? Everyone seems to have disappeared."
The man stopped in his tracks and kept silent much to Kanda's annoyance, who growled, "Hey did you hear him, Mr. Sharp Nose?" and Lenalee pinched him.
Lavi sighed at his friend's temper and awaited the man to storm toward them to demand excuses to his behavior, but weirdly, he did not. Instead he slowly turned his head and said in a strangled voice,
"Cross the village to the west, there you will find an old man sitting next to the haystacks with a big grey hound. Ask him."
"Alright, thanks!" Lavi and Lenalee beamed and walked away, with Kanda on their tail.
"I hope," the tall man whispered, watching as the trio disappeared between the houses, "I truly hope that he would refuse."
Finding that old man was no hard deal; he was exactly where the tall man had said he would be, smoking a cigarette. His face was hidden by a dirtied old hat. His hound, whose eyes were following their every step as they approached them, was beefy; he quickly sat up when they stopped by them.
When Lavi asked the old man the same question he had previously asked, the man answered without looking up,
"That would be twenty pounds."
"What?" Lavi asked stupefied. He held his hand in front of Kanda to prevent him from doing anything stupid.
"Why is it so expensive?" Lenalee inquired, "Even the taxi that brought us here was less pricy."
"Because going there is risky," he answered, looking up to them.
"There's nothing risky here to make it that expensive." Kanda meddled in and the man let out a husky laugh.
"You townsmen should not take these woods lightly. Plus, if you haven't noticed, no one will accept to take you there but me. Choice is yours."
The trio exchanged questioning looks, and then decided that accepting was their last hope. "Alright," Lenalee was the one to say, "We accept."
The old man, whose nose and cheeks were bright red, threw the cigarette butt after taking one last breath in it and stepped on it hard with his black dirty farmer boots; his clothes were messy and filthy. He wore what seemed to be a maroon scarf, though Lavi wondered if it was its original color or if it was the accumulation of years of dirt; his big-sized, black suede coat shielded him from the cold. He whistled to the dog, and the two walked over to a chariot that was stationed next to the red barn; he caressed the two horses that were linked to the chariot and told the trio to come.
"Wait," Lenalee said, her index pointing questionably at the chariot, "This is your vehicle?"
"Got a problem with that?" he answered as he rode it.
"Twenty pounds for that?"
"Listen little missy, we are going through the woods, you don't expect a car to cross a messed up road, do you?"
Kanda clicked his tongue for the nth time, and Lavi mustered his thoughts, "Let's go guys, the sooner the better." and they walked over.
The wooden chariot was old and very dusty; it was simple, the passenger rode on the back where the two long seats stood naked, without shelter. Lenalee and Lavi sat next to each other, with their luggage at their feet, on the seat facing the road and Kanda sat in front of them with the old man's dog on his left.
The horses started moving, led by the old red-faced man; the chariot moved dangerously against the rocky road, forcing the three travelers to hang on the broken armrests. It took them few minutes to exit the village and enter the woods.
The road broke down the monstrous woods and outstretched to the dark horizon that only gave view to more threes. In contrast, the chariot's creaky sound played a harmonious melody with the woods' sounds. As they went on further deep in the woods, the manor started to be visible on the small hill straight ahead of them. The grumpy charioteer whispered small words in a low and small voice to his two beautiful horses. The previously silent dog, which was sitting next to Kanda, suddenly raised his head toward the sky, positioned himself in a positing of attack and started to grunt toward the sky.
"Quiet!" his master barked back, and the dog did so, letting out a small cry of defeat.
At the same time a wolf's howl was heard and an enormous flight of black birds passed noisily over their heads, mingling eerily with the cloudy sky. The stillness of the atmosphere was frustrating and Lenalee started to feel the cold reaching her well-hidden body.
"Are you okay, Lena?" Kanda was the first to notice the young lady's discomfort and she smiled tiredly, "I'm fine, don't worry."
The old man coughed hoarsely, then said, "You fools shouldn't have come here."
"What did you just say?" Kanda grunted, turning his head to look at the driver.
"Kanda hush!" Lavi said, "I beg your pardon?"
"This place… it's cursed." He answered, never taking his eyes off the road, while the sinister melody of the woods kept on replaying its chorus. "Only fools dare to venture in that cursed manor."
"Sorry old man, but we don't believe in ghosts." Lavi chuckled, trying to ease up the unpleasant atmosphere.
"It's not a ghost story, no, not at all. That family is cursed, it has always been; if you cherish your life, I suggest you nicely go back to your homes. This place is dangerous."
"What do you mean by cursed?" Lenalee asked with a tiny voice, but the man did not answer.
"He's just messing around Lena, don't mind him. He looks quite crazy to me, so these must be some messed up stories he came up with." Kanda shrugged, turning back and Lenalee cried at her friend's comment, "Kanda!"
"Believe what you want to believe, but be careful, very careful." The man uttered in a thin voice. Then he once again drowned in silence.
The trio shrugged off his behavior despite its eeriness, but Lenalee was deeply troubled. She kept on a superficial smile so that her two friends would not be worried; true, she was the one who encouraged this trip, and she was the horror-addict of the group, but somehow, she had a feeling that what she had done was wrong.
Perhaps, it would have been better to not come here at all. After all, that manor was rumored to be–
All of sudden, the chariot stopped moving and the trio was shaken from their places.
"Hey!" Lavi shouted to the charioteer. "Why stopping so suddenly without notice?"
Since the beginning of the hiking, the old man turned his head and faced them for the first time. Kanda's eyes fell on the charioteer's blue one. It was only for a fragment of seconds, but Kanda believed to have seen a revolting burn scar which dominated the right side of his wrinkled face.
"This is the furthest place I can reach, the rest of the road you have to walk. Getting near that cursed manor is the last thing I want." He said, spitting on the floor.
What the trio learned about this man was that he was stubborn and did as he pleased, so they simply –and gladly– rode down the dirty chariot and stood far from it to leave him a large place to turn around the horses.
Lenalee said, smiling, "Thank you for bringing us here, and we're sorry for the disturbance."
"May the odds be in your favor…" the old man whispered before setting off.
Kanda was the only one to hear those prayers.
The charioteer retreated as if he was escaping from death, never looking back, to finally disappear from the view. The trio kept quiet for few moments, looking around them. Then Kanda said, "Fucker. Let's get going before it gets dark." Lenalee nodded silently and Lavi looked up at the manor which was extending behind the woods.
It was a walk of approximately half an hour; it was a good thing that none of them took heavy luggage or it would have been difficult to climb that road. As they entered the avenue of the Campbell Manor, dead trees expanded all along the alley, inviting them in with their long and sharp branches. The gatehouse in front of them had craved on its top the letter 'C' ornamented with two flowers on its sides.
When they reached the gatehouse made of rocks, which was adorned with spiky plants, the three young adults watched with amazement the beautiful building in front of them. In the middle of the courtyard was an ancient marble fountain that was obviously not working; however, it was full of dirty water and plant remnants.
The trio climbed walked past it, analyzing their surroundings. And then they climbed the wide steps of the entrance, to finally stand at the door, anxious. They exchanged small glances, trying to prompt the other to ring the bell. In the end, it was Lavi, the master of the invitation who did so.
Approximately, half a minute later, the gigantic wooden door was opened and a young woman dressed in a black silk dress and an apron received them, "Welcome home, master T–" but the maid stopped in mid-sentence when she took notice of who was at the door. She was at first shocked, but soon her professional profile came back.
"Good evening, may I help you?" she said, her eyes travelling on them.
"Hello, this is the Campbell manor, right?" Lavi asked, sending her a flirtatious smile that she brushed off.
"Unmistakably, yes, and who might you be?"
"We are–"
Suddenly, a man's peaked voice was heard alongside hurried footsteps, "Maid, why isn't my brother inside yet?" The maid jolted when the owner of the voice stopped next to her frowning at the sight of the trio, "Who are these people?" he said addressing to the maid.
"I ignore that, Master Sheryl."
The tall and thin man, whose ebony hair was held in a firm ponytail, said, his eyes narrowing, "Useless person."
Feeling offended for the innocent maid, Lavi spoke in a rather high voice, "Excuse our intrusion, my name is Lavi Bookman and these are my friends Yu Kanda and Lenalee Lee. We came here upon receiving an invitation from the Campbell family."
What right had this man to speak in such manner to a woman?
'Bookman?' The man named Sheryl raised a stupefied brow, "Hand me this invitation." He ordered boldly, outstretching his hand toward Lavi who quickly consented. "O-of course."
The two strands of hair which fell on his face danced vividly against the blowing wind. Sheryl wore midnight blue formal clothes that reflected his pale color; he practically stole the envelope from Lavi's hand and hastily tugged out the invitation to read it.
Lavi noticed the sudden change in the man as he read the small piece of paper; his eyebrows furrows and lips moved slowly, pronouncing every syllable under his breath. Sheryl turned around the envelope and examined the broken seal, 'This is without doubt the seal of the earl, but…'
"Is there a problem?" Lenalee inquired after a long silence; the man looked up to her, his facial features still the same.
"You may come in," Sheryl said, and the maid opened the other side of the door. "I am Sheryl Kamelot Noah, the fourth son of the current Earl Campbell."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Lavi said in a try to be civilized with that bold man who happened to be one of the lords. However, Sheryl brushed him off and continued,
"You can leave your luggage at the door; the servants will take them to your appointed rooms, whereas you will follow the maid to the sitting room.
"Yes, of course."
Sheryl threw them one last skeptical glance then turned to face the maid, "Take them to the main sitting room, maid."
The maid bowed, "Yes, master Sheryl," and then he disappeared behind the right turning of the entryway
"If you would please follow me."
The trio nodded, dropping their bags at the door to walk behind the maid. They crossed the entryway, climbed the left side stairs, which were covered with a red carpet that mixed well with the brown color of the place, and then took the first left turning upon reaching the top. There, at the top of the stairs stood on the wall an immense picture; the carved frame was wooden and the picture was unmistakably painted. It depicted a well-built man with black long hair that fell on him like cascades; his face was tilted to the right and his pitch black eyes gaze harshly at the far distance. The man was wearing grey formal clothing and a long hat. Lavi stared at it until it was out of sight.
The décor was breathtaking; Lavi could see Lenalee squealing silently from happiness from the corner of his eyes. Even Kanda, who kept a calm demeanor, was taken aback with the design of the manor.
The white, ornamented ceiling was high above them, holding in crystal chandeliers; the red walls were full of canvases and small torches. Vases, trinkets and bibelots stood shinning gracefully on the ancient furniture that rested against the walls. And it did not stop there, at the extremities of each door they met, stood some familiar sculptures.
Lavi wondered if there were some original ones amongst those sculptures.
When they arrived to what Sheryl called the main sitting room, the maid opened the doors and said,
"Please make yourselves comfortable, the Earl will soon come to meet you. Now, if you will excuse me."
And the trio was left alone.
"Oh my God!" Lenalee said, jumping and Kanda sighed before making himself comfortable on an armchair, "There she goes again."
Lavi chuckled and followed the Japanese man to sit on the sofa next to him.
Lenalee walked all around the sitting room, examining every corner. It was a large purple room which was dominated by the presence of a stone chimney and a golden framed mirror above it. The walls were covered by canvases and the corners by furniture and vases. In the middle were two large low tables with golden, round glass nesting table, and around them rested four large sofas and two armchairs.
"This place is so beautiful," Lenalee exclaimed joyfully as she watched her reflection on the mirror. "In your opinion, what does the Earl look like? Oh! I hope that he is a handsome middle aged man like in most TV shows!"
Kanda rolled his eyes, resting his face on the back of his hand; he glanced at Lavi, who was shyly sitting on the sofa next to him, and examining the place silently. And when Kanda was about to utter something to him, the doors were suddenly thrown open, making the trio jolt in surprise.
There at the door stood three men and a young girl accompanied by four servants. The eldest man of the group, who was standing in the middle, was the first to enter the sitting room. He was tall, chubby, and well clothed; he had a fair skin colored with a slight beard and mustache. His medium-length black hair fell on his back. He walked elegantly over to them, and the two sitting guests automatically sat up to meet their hosts.
"Good evening, my dear guests." He said cheerfully, extending his hand toward a handshake, "Let me introduce myself, I am Adam Campbell Noah, the current Earl of the Campbell family."
Lavi and Lenalee happened to be the only two persons to be intimidated by the presence of the Earl.
"And this is Sheryl Kamelot Noah and Feedler Noah, my sons and the cutest girl of all time, Road Kamelot Noah my granddaughter."
Both Sheryl and the long haired man named Feedler shook the hands of the three guests, while the little purple haired girl, who had a lollipop in her mouth, waved sweetly at them.
"Lavi Bookman, pleased to finally meet you."
"Yu Kanda."
"Lenalee Lee, glad to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine!" The Earl said, "Please take a seat."
Kanda and Lavi sat back to their previous places with Lenalee next to the redhead. The Earl sat in the second armchair which was in front of Kanda, and his family members on the sofa to his right.
The servant walked in after that, entering a kitchen trolley with them, which nested a Victorian tea service and cake plates.
"Are you perhaps a relative of Mr. Bookman?" Adam asked and Lavi nodded.
"Yes," Lavi said, slowly, "Yes I am, he is my grandfather."
The Earl did not falter, but his two sons did; their eyes wide open.
"Grandfather?" the young girl named Road spoke in a candy voice, "I never knew that Bookman was married and had children, let alone grandchildren. Where are your parents?"
Lenalee blinked at the girl's attitude; it was impolite of her to talk about the late Bookman without using honorifics or anything of the sort. He was not a person of her age, for God's sake!
Lavi shrugged, "They died when I was a child, I do not remember much of them."
"How did they die?"
"Road, be polite." Feedler said, glancing over to the girl sitting at the other extremity of the sofa before apologizing to Lavi, "I'm sorry for her behavior, you do not have to answer that."
Sheryl retorted, "My cute Road did nothing wrong, Feedler, she is just a curious child. Let her be."
"No, it is fine," he laughed, scratching the back of his head, "We used to live in Wales, and a fire happened."
Road tugged out the lollipop out of her mouth and her lips formed a small 'o' to accentuate her stupefaction. "Is that how you lost your right eye?" The two men kept quiet and the Earl spoke, "That's enough Road. We are sorry for making you speak about unpleasant events."
"It's fine. It happened a long time ago, so…"
"Don't say that," the Earl said, sadness overwhelming his voice, "It is never fine, we never forget, we just…live with that truth."
Lavi lowered his eyes, watching indifferently as the servants served them tea. 'Live with it, huh…' the redhead had never thought he would be able to do it; living with the pain, he would not stand it.
Adam took possession of his teacup and asked, "And how is your grandfather doing? Why did he not come with you?"
Kanda glanced at Lavi, unsure of what to do, but it was Lenalee who took control of it, "Actually, about–"
However before she could finish her sentence, Lavi cut her off saying, a small smile covering his sadness, "It is fine, Lenalee." His index caressed the teacup; this was the first time that he was actually pronouncing the words dead and grandfather in the same sentence. The hosts looked at him, waiting for his answer.
"My grandfather died six months ago."
Lavi was not sure how he was able to say it; he was not sure why their hosts were so shocked, but what he was definitely sure of, is that the acute sound of the cup hitting the ground and breaking into tiny pieces was undoubtedly real.
"Earl!" Road cried, jumping toward him, "Are you alright?" right after her the two other men walked to him, worry written all over their faces.
Upon hearing the sound, maids entered the sitting room; in their hands were cleaning handkerchiefs and a first aid kit.
"I-I am alright, don't worry." He said, but that did not ease up his family members. They helped him change his place so that the maids could clean the mess. The trio kept quiet at the unexpected commotion, not knowing what exactly triggered such reaction.
"I'm sorry," The Earl sighed, putting his right hand on his eyes, "I– we did not get wind of it. This news is horrible for me; your grandfather was a good friend of mine…the last friend I had."
"We present you our sincere condolences, my child." Feedler said, nodding lightly.
Lavi smiled, "Thank you, I appreciate it."
Lenalee hated seeing Lavi in a negative state of mind; she slowly reached for him and put her left hand on his, trying to be supportive. She knew that he was grateful for everything she had done for him, but she also knew that he was still aching.
"So," Lenalee voiced, trying to change the subject, "You had said in the invitation that the party will be in honor of the Earl, but what are we exactly celebrating?"
The four Campbell family members looked up to Lenalee and seemed unsure of what to say, until Road spoke.
"On the eighteenth day of this month, a week from today, will be the twenty-fifth anniversary of Adam becoming the Earl of the Campbell family. We will be celebrating that memorable day."
"Wonderful, isn't it?" Lenalee cheered, looking at Kanda, trying to get a reaction from him, but he did was shrug.
Sheryl, who had been silent since earlier, finally spoke, "Maid," he called, "Accompany our guests to their rightful rooms, they must be exhausted from the long road."
"Yes, master Sheryl." She answered, bowing.
"You can have a small rest until dinner is served; the maid will show you everything you will need," Feedler enlightened.
"Alright," Lenalee said, getting up from her seat.
The trio moved out behind the maid, leaving their hosts sitting comfortably in their places.
They walked what seemed to be a tiring way; perhaps it was the exhaustion of the travel that was finally appearing. They climbed down the stairs that led to the west wing of the manor; as a separation between the main and west wings stood a closed giant, stone tower. They walked past it, and took the first stairs on their right upon reaching the open corridors. They climbed to the second floor, took the second turning to their left and entered what seemed to be a complete different house. The design of that floor was different from all the other ones; the walls and flooring were wooden made, and the ceiling was bright red. They walked down that hallway to finally reach a dead end.
The maid stopped and opened the door of the first room to the left, "This will be your room, Miss Lenalee." Then, she proceeded in opening the one next to it, "This one will be yours, mister Lavi."
And finally she reached for the one facing Lenalee's room, "And this will be yours, mister Kanda."
The trio nodded at the maid and Lenalee thanked her.
"The bathroom is on the third left turning down this hall. You can rest for now, dinner will be served at nine o'clock in the dinning room. Someone will come and fetch you at that time. If you need anything, there is a button next to the beds; push it and a servant would soon come to you. Now, if you would excuse me."
~o*0*o~
For Kanda, it was an odd place sheltering even odder people.
His first impression on the manor was good; it was a beautiful place, which he had the intention of visiting every corner. However, his first impression of the owners was quite bad. That Sheryl man seemed like the type of people Kanda hated, arrogant, bossy and obnoxious. The way he had spoken to the maid earlier was too offensive; he had no right to degrade of a person's worth even it was his employee. That little girl was also uneducated; too meddlesome. Please, who allows children these days to sit with guests? The brown haired man with that weird hair style, whose name Kanda forgot, seemed normal, but Kanda quickly changed his mind when he saw him putting too much honey in his tea. The Earl seemed like a calm dignified man, perhaps the only normal one; however, his reaction to the death of Lavi's grandfather was intriguing. Why had the news affected him greatly? Were they that close? If they were, then why hadn't Lavi been told about the Campbell before today?
Kanda held Mugen in his hand, contemplating it.
It had been a long time since he had offered to himself some relaxing holidays. Kanda had drowned himself in work and rejected every opportunity Lenalee and Lavi used to offer him.
It was not a question of time, not at all. Komui was a strict and easy-going boss; even he had asked Kanda to take some free days for himself as he noted that Kanda was too much of a workaholic who hadn't taken a single day off since he started working in his firm. For Kanda, working himself to the top was a must. He wanted to be a professional who managed his own business without needing help from other. If it wasn't to gain experience, he would not have worked for Lenalee's older brother, who had a terrible sister-complex. Being dependent on other people was frustrating and unacceptable to Kanda
Kanda did not know since when this obsession started; perhaps it was always there.
Ever since he started living with Froi Tiedoll, an old, irritating, bothersome and gluey painter who was also his foster father, Kanda had hated the fact of being taken care of; that was perhaps the main reason he had moved out of the familial house back in highschool and started working a part-time job. His father, as Tiedoll liked to call himself –much to Kanda's annoyance–, had obviously objected the very idea of his son moving out and so had his two foster brother, Mary and Daisya. It took them time to accept Kanda's stubbornness and let him do as he pleased. Of course, being the overly-affectionate father he was, Tiedoll visited him every day to check on him; it took him a while to get used to the situation, but his love for his son never ceased.
Kanda certainly reciprocated his family's love and affection, but had a hard time expressing it. Or to be exact, he did not want to express it. That was something innate; it had nothing to do with the fact that they were not blood-related, it was simply his nature. Even with Lenalee and Lavi he acted the same way, there used to be an exception once, but today, there were none.
Kanda changed his clothes after he finished tidying up his clothes and items in the room, and hid his sword under the bed. He stretched his limbs, tiredness building in him. He walked to the sole window of the room and watched as the faint rain, that announced the arrival of a storm, began falling silently over the, now, darkened manor.
Kanda was worried about Lavi.
It was something he would never say out loud, and Lavi knew that much. The man had been drowning in his exorbitant sorrow for months now. Kanda knew that losing a family member was difficult as he had lived the death of his foster brother Daisya. Death was something inevitable; it could happen without notice anywhere, anytime, to anyone out there. No one knew, no one knows and no one will ever know. It crawled silently over the body, slowly immobilizing it and whispering hope, to finally clutch deep and hurtful needles with all its might. The dying person suffers, but on the contrary to the living one, their suffering has an end. Even for Kanda, the mourning over Daisya's death took him time, that is why he understood what Lavi was going through, but their reactions were not the same. Lavi was taking too much time while isolating himself and confining himself in his four-walled room.
Many people reached out for him, Komui, Johnny, Crowley, Miranda, Mary, himself and many other, but he had rejected every kind hand offered to help him get up. His state was worsening.
Lenalee was their last hope, and in the end, she proved to be the best support for Lavi. Ever since Kanda introduced the two to each other, they shared an instant attraction and bounded quite well.
Truth to be told, the main reason Kanda had accepted to come here was to get Lavi have a change of air, well Lenalee's threats also played a role, but Lavi was the essential one. He partially opened the window to let in some clean air; Kanda did not mind it being cold, he was fond of the cold weather.
The window of Kanda's room, which was situated on the second floor of the west wing of the manor, gave view over the back garden of the manor which lead to what seemed to be a chapel. Odd, Kanda thought.
This place was most definitely odd.
There in the long distance, among the trees, Kanda noticed a white figure walking peacefully down the way of the backyard leading to the woods beyond the brown chapel. Kanda kept on following the figure with his fierce eyes, until it disappeared in-between the somber woods.
Kanda did not know what that exactly was, but he surely hoped that their stay in this manor would be harmless.
~o*0*o~
When Lavi opened the door of his room upon hearing a knock, he didn't expect the person to be Lenalee. Her presence did wonders to him.
"Hey." He said stepping out of the way to let her enter; she ushered inside playfully, a wide grin plastered on her face.
"I can't believe it," She spoke, turning around in circles with her hands above her head, "I can't believe we actually came," then dropped on the bed, and hugged a pillow.
Lavi couldn't help but ask, "Did you go see Kanda?"
"No, and I won't, you know him. He's a maniac when it comes to tidying up his things; better not disturb him." She retorted without missing a heartbeat.
"Yes, true." He coughed, hiding a tiny smile of relief. Knowing that his was the only one to be visited made him greatly glad.
"Everything is beautiful and magical, even this feather pillow is!" the green haired young woman resumed giggled. Lavi stood by the window smiling, content to see his friend in such joy.
Truth to be told, even he was glad they were here despite being against it in first place. It was a changing, to both him and his friends.
"I feel like this adventure will be the most memorable one in my entire life." She confessed, appeased by the silent mood and clean air, with eyes closed and pillow still against her chest.
"So do I." he muttered, "so do I."
Invitation for Death
A/N:
Hello, thank you for reading the first chapter of Echo of Noise! I hope you enjoyed it!
*Le me who has a mountain of -posted and not posted- ongoing fanfics, decided to write this idea that has been eating my brain lately*(do I have a death wish or something?)
Let's see, the rating will be T because there would be nothing too explicit, if I dare say. Though some scenes might pop up here and there in a future chapter or two. Kanda has a mouth, we all know that, and there would be some creepiness, so~
To be honest, I already have two DGM stories in my computer waiting to be written, but this one was too overwhelming to let it be. So I started it. As for the updates, do not expect them to be frequent, but I promise to do my best!
One last thing, my apologies if you happen to stumble on some errors, I just finished writing and revising it and it's already 2am in my part of the world (sleep is calling me)
Well, thank you again for reading; some feedback would really be appreciated!
See you~
