A/N: This story contains yaoi, first of all, and will eventually contain lemons. It also contains Neko!Allen as well as some other surprises I'm unwilling to spoil for you, Reader, so you'll have to wait on those. It will be Yullen, as well as Lavi/Lenalee, though I'm undecided on how in-depth that relationship will be.
For now, it essentially follows the main timeline of the DGM anime, though how long this will go on is anyone's guess. It's a partial AU - some back-stories, as well as several other things, aren't the same as the anime.
The usual disclaimer applies, and all I ask is that you enjoy the ride. :)
Lavi
"Seriously?" a boy with fiery red hair asked, dumbfounded. His single, vibrant green eye - the other covered by a patch - was trained on a slender, unconscious, white-haired boy in abject curiosity. A lazy smile was stretched across his face.
A short man, elderly but still vigorous, only shook his head in response, his face twisted into an expression of mild disbelief.
"I've never seen anything like this before. Not even in Bookman archives have I seen... anything even remotely similar." His voice was tight, though he showed no other obvious reactions.
The redhead didn't miss the significance of what the old man had said, and his smile disappeared.
The youngster was curled into a fetal ball on the desecrated ground, almost appearing to be dead but for the shallow movement of his chest. The half of the boy's face that was visible was pale and unblemished, but the redhead could see part of something angry and red peeking out from the other side. His closed eyes were partially hidden by tangled white hair.
Now, the boy's appearance was a bit shocking already, but the younger redhead's abject curiosity actually originated from a pair of furry white ears sitting atop the boy's head, nestled comfortably in his hair, as well as a slender white tail clenched protectively about his thighs. The ears were pressed flat to the boy's head, and his face was scrunched in obvious pain.
Suddenly, the boy jerked, curling further into himself, snapping the observers out of their trance. The redhead rushed over to the boy, cursing, and cautiously placed his hands on his flank, where a disturbing amount of blood was seeping through his clothing.
The redhead frowned as he assessed the state of the boy. Carefully, he peeled the sticky fabric off the boy's side, cringing as the wound was revealed.
"Shit. This doesn't look good, old man." The redhead bowed, frowning at the stranger suffering on the ground before their very eyes. "What the hell do we do now?"
There was a pause. A monotone "Hn," was all the redhead received in response, and so he continued to frown at the helpless boy, his brows bunching together.
It wasn't like they could just bring him to headquarters to get him medical attention— not with so many questions unanswered. Who was this? What was this? Was he dangerous? Was he… an enemy? He could be a spy... an akuma in disguise… a Noah.
But… I couldn't just… his fist clenched in frustration. Just as he was about to stand, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder.
The redhead looked up in response, only to see a claw-tipped finger pointing straight at the boy's left hand, which was splayed and open with his palm against the ground. Lavi blinked when he saw that the limb was completely black, the color continuing up his arm and disappearing below what was left of the boy's clothes.
A small, symmetrical cross was glowing red, though faintly, on the back of the boy's hand. Even if the color was off, it was definitely familiar. The redhead could feel the same energy pulsing from the odd stone as he could feel coming from the hammer strapped to his leg.
He frowned.
Well, a similar energy, at least. They definitely weren't the same.
That brings up more questions than it answers, though, Lavi thought, frowning.
"Lavi." the elder said. Lavi turned to look at his mentor, easily catching a small roll of bandages that were thrown his way. Lavi blinked at them dubiously. "I'm going back to Headquarters to report ahead. Be extremely careful. His condition may be critical." At that, Bookman disappeared without another word.
After taking a few minutes to gently wrap the bandages around the boy's midsection, Lavi lifted him carefully. Settling the surprisingly small creature against his chest and mounting his hammer, he began the short ride back to Headquarters.
(Shortly Prior) Lavi
"Sir Exorcist, Chief Komui needs to see you in his office. It is urgent," a finder said, bowing courteously.
Frowning, Lavi stood from his table, sharing a concerned look with Lenalee and sighing over his unfinished lunch. He hurried to Komui's office.
Upon entering the room, he saw Komui sitting behind his desk, his hands steepled in front of him and his face serious. Bookman stood stiffly next to the desk, looking off into a corner, aloof as always. The atmosphere was unmistakably tense.
Lavi sighed, pasting a smile on his face.
"So, what's the deal, Chief?" he asked.
Komui's eyes were unreadable behind his glasses. "This is a bit serious, I'm afraid," he said with a frown. "There is an unusually large group of Akuma near our southern border that we've been watching move for some time. So far, we've been able to decipher neither a pattern behind their movements nor a purpose, but regardless, they're moving too close to HQ for my comfort," he said seriously. "I need you and Bookman to investigate this phenomenon and, if necessary, exterminate the akuma. Move with extreme caution, as their numbers could be too overwhelming for just the two of you. Report back to me with everything you find."
Komui regarded them both intensely for a moment before smiling confidently. "I'm sure you two can handle it."
"You can count on us, Chief," Lavi replied, saluting him cheekily.
Bookman grunted in response, walking quickly out the door. Lavi tsk'd at his mentor and followed him out.
As they traveled on the back of Lavi's hammer, the redhead was the first to notice the bursts of orange to the southwest. Reacting instantly, he angled himself toward the flashes of light, even as the number of explosions was becoming less and less. Just as they reached the source, the explosions stopped.
When they came to a stop in the center of a small town, Lavi's jaw dropped instantly. The magnitude of the destruction was enormous. Corpses of akuma lay everywhere, cleaved into gruesome chunks and dissipating thick smoke as they rotted on the ground.
Subconsciously, his eye was drawn to the roof of an untouched building. He looked on, captivated, as an unfamiliar figure landed heavily on the roof. It stumbled, suddenly collapsing and rolling violently down the roof and to the ground.
Lavi felt a jolt of terror as the figure crashed with a sickening thud. He sprinted towards where it'd fallen, feeling reassured when he arrived to find Bookman already there.
He approached cautiously, though, since he didn't know the target's identity; even so, he was unable to help himself from feeling extreme curiosity toward this unknown who'd exterminated such a huge number of akuma, and apparently alone.
When he came close enough to see the boy clearly, he was unable to stop his uncovered eye from widening or a wry smile from spreading on his face at what he saw.
(Shortly Prior) Allen
Allen was running at full speed, dodging roots, trees, branches, and various other foliage as countless akuma stampeded behind him, cackling like invalids.
He hissed, frowning, and quickly dodged a falling tree. The heat of an akuma's blast burned on his skin from behind, and he winced. The demons' voices continued to rise over one another - most vying for who would get to kill him - interspersed with explosions and the sounds of their usual gunshots.
Allen was reaching the limits of his patience. His ears were already twitching in annoyance.
'Idiotic machines.'
Suddenly, Allen's nose perked up, and he sensed a change in the air. He skidded to a stop.
The foliage around Allen had thinned dramatically. He was on the edge of an empty clearing bordering a small town.
Allen cursed, his hands balling into fists in frustration, and he spun in the opposite direction. Running from akuma in the forest was easy. Without the thick foliage for cover, this was going to be much, much more difficult.
Behind him, countless Akuma were already bleeding out from between the trees, blocking his only route of escape. Shit.
They were closer than he'd thought - he was out of options.
Allen dove behind a building as the demons opened fire once again, desperately hoping that this place was abandoned.
When he was sure he was out of harm's way for the moment, Allen took a moment to close his eyes and collect himself. His breathing became slow and full, as if he were deep in meditation. If one was watching closely, they would see the fingers on both hands reshape themselves, sharpening into lethal, sickle-shaped claws; they would see his pink tongue peek out to lick his lips between long, carnivorous canine teeth; and lastly, they would see his eyes finally open, revealing strange feline eyes: one a stormy gray, and one an unnatural combination of black and red.
Adrenaline was pumping through Allen's body. He was covered in blood, and corpses and rubble lay everywhere. Things were eerily quiet.
Crouching low to the ground, Allen delicately sniffed at the air, evaluating his surroundings with feral intent. The heavy scents of gore and carnage hung everywhere, masking any scents.
Suddenly, a flash from his left eye and a pressure from above caught his attention. Immediately Allen charged, jumping high into the air, then propelling himself off of a cross atop a church spire. He flew headlong towards his final target, claws outstretched.
A wicked smirk took over Allen's features, and his tongue lolled out to delicately taste his lips, as if in preparation for a feast. His eyes flashed.
Just before the impact, his eyes became much wider, taking on a more human note of fear.
Crash!
Silence. Then, Allen groaned.
A level three. Dammit! I should've known. Allen grimaced, bowing over the demon's arm in pain. He clutched at the limb protruding into his ribs, digging his claws into the creature's arm - but even as he scratched weakly at the limb, he drew no reaction from the level three.
"Heh, heh, heh. Puny exorcist! What chance did you think you stood against me?" the demon laughed maniacally. His spike-covered fist twisted and tore at Allen's chest.
Exorcist? Allen thought questioningly, scowling at the demon. He winced and hissed involuntarily when he felt something crack beneath the demon's fist. It seems the Earl's getting a bit sloppy.
Cursing, Allen raised both his arms, even as his chest felt like it was bursting into flames. He furiously sliced one razor-sharp, clawed hand across the gloating demon's chest, and violently raked the other across its exposed and vulnerable neck.
The effect was instantaneous, and the demon screeched, plummeting from the sky at an alarming speed. Allen disentangled himself from the corpse and stumbled on to a church roof, watching the level three's body become impaled on the spire. For a while it continued to thrash, making for a gruesome spectacle.
When it finally ceased its movements, Allen fell to his knees, gasping in pain. His whole body felt like it was on fire.
It seemed that the town had been abandoned after all, so Allen smiled in relief. He brought his hand down to his front, where the demon had left a gaping wound. His hand came back red. Briefly, in his lightheaded, blood loss-induced haze, Allen thought the crimson color looked quite pleasing next to the blackened skin of his arm. After that, everything went black.
Your sneak peek of chapter 2:
Usually the swordsman was completely emotionless on the battlefield - with the exception of his usual grumpiness, of course.
Right now, his dark eyes were wide, and his jaw was clenched tightly. His drawn katana, Mugen, hung limply from his hands, and his shoulders were hunched over, shaking almost imperceptibly.
Lavi was speechless. He was even a little nervous. Kanda was never rattled.