The 18-year-old redhead whistled as he made his way out of the Order's library. His boots squeaked loudly as he made his long ascent toward the cafeteria. A grin began to slowly mold itself onto his young face as he schemed one prank among several others to execute upon his friends. Allen and Kanda were not like to be trifled with, and someone outside Lavi's caliber wouldn't have dared touch either one of them.
Lavi's scheming, however, came to an abrupt halt, when he felt his ear being plucked between two wrinkled fingers, bringing him closer to their owner. "Ow, Gramps! What's this about now?"
Lavi was greeted by his short, old grumpy mentor Bookman; the old man wasn't Lavi's real grandfather, but Lavi was his successor as a Bookman, and the two have been companions for a long time now. The older man was almost entirely bald but for the tuft of grey hair sprouting on the top of his head. His eyes were adorned with black circles, earning him the title Panda. "What are you grinning about, fool?" The old man asked, squinting at his heir, still pinching the younger Bookman's ear.
"Ow, ow, ow, Gramps, let me go." The old man finally released him.
"Idiot. Komui has sent for us. He's waiting in the grand hall."
The younger male couldn't help gaping at his mentor. "Komui? At the grand hall? Do you know what he wants?"
The old man turned to give Lavi a look that would chill anyone's bones, but Lavi only grinned sheepishly. His face turned somber as they neared the grand hall. He couldn't wash the uneasiness clawing at his empty stomach. Komui usually called them to his office, not to the grand hall. Lavi followed Bookman silently henceforth, keeping his rigid thoughts to himself. He paused as they reached the entrance. Shake it off. He told himself, rushing after Bookman.
Lavi and Bookman entered the grand hall. It was entirely vacant, decorated by several painted windows, which currently brightened the dimly lit hall.
The sight that greeted him knocked the air out of his lungs. He felt his head spin, but he was as still as steel. His feet were anchored to the ground and he was forced to remind himself to breathe. He shook his head, blinking twice. This can't be happening again.
He hated déjà vu.
"Bookman, Lavi. You're here." Komui said as he used his index finger to lift up his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Had he not spoken then, the red head wouldn't have noticed him. Komui was the Chief Officer of The Black Order's European Branch. Tall, well built and extremely witty, The Chief Officer was nearly perfect but for his two flaws: his sister complex and insane inventions. He had shoulder length hair that had a lilac tint to it, and he wore somewhat triangular glasses.
Lavi realized then that they were not the only ones summoned; Komui had assembled all the Exorcists present at The Black Order currently, and it seemed as generous a number as it would ever get. Lavi's green eye scanned his stoic raven-haired friend, steel-eyed Kanda. Kanda is grumpy, easy to insult and easier to anger. He's often mocked at for his feminine appearance and his short temper.
Kanda was standing as far as humanly possible from the white-haired Allen. Allen has grey-eyes and hair that ends a little underneath his ears. His left eye is scarred with a pentagram that stretches from above his eyebrow ending at his cheek.
No wonder they were standing so far away from each other, the two were always bickering about something.
Lavi counted himself and Bookman, and lastly between Allen and Kanda stood Lenalee Lee. See? Lenalee's right there. Then… who is that standing before Komui?
Lenalee Lee is Komui's younger sister and the reason Lavi almost lost his composure the moment he entered the grand hall. Her long emerald-tinted hair was tied up in the high pigtails she often sported, except when I met her.
His exposed eye darted between the two females, one wedged between his two friends and the other standing before Komui, and he gulped at their similar backs.
"This is Devina." Komui said as he noticed Lavi's unfaltering gaze. "She is our newest recruit." At the introduction, the new member of The Black Order turned around to face them.
Lavi's breath caught in his throat once more. This has got to be a joke.
This… new recruit… this Devina… was heavily bandaged around her head, arms and legs. Her black hair ended mid-thigh, almost where the rag/dress she was wearing ended. Her eyes were wide and feline and onyx, but the left one was bruised and starting to turn blue. Her lips were plump but split from an attack. She was thin and barefoot.
Lavi felt his heart thump loudly in his chest; he was recalling his very first day in The Black Order, and a trip down memory lane was seldom very welcome. He had found Lenalee Lee in a very similar situation, looking very battered, weeping for the death of one of her comrades.
But this girl is not weeping.
It took Lavi one last glance at Devina to decide that she was not a weeper.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Devina." The girl said cheerily, directing her new comrades.
Lavi just couldn't tell what it was but he did not want to fall for her cheerful act. Something about her made his blood boil.
"Hello, Devina. I'm Lenalee." Lenalee charged at the newcomer, delighted to have another female seemingly closer to her age than Miranda Lotto. "Nice meeting you!" The two tried to shake hands, Lenalee being careful with Devina's bandaged arm.
"Don't worry. It doesn't hurt anymore." Devina took Lenalee's extended hand and shook it fervently. "I'm sorry for my appearance," The girl said as she glanced at Lenalee's outfit and then at her own. "I don't usually look so horrible." She laughed, scratching the back of her neck.
"Please don't say that," Lenalee said urgently, her face a mixture of guilt and pity.
The Bookman Junior definitely needed to watch his temper. He was not angry person per se, but he was very surprised at the violent urges Devina was igniting in him. He wanted to create as much space as possible between the two females, and it made no sense to him, this immediate dislike he had taken to the poor girl.
"Devina, this is Allen Walker," Lenalee introduced Devina to the youngest male Exorcist in the room.
"Hi, Allen!" The two exchanged shy hellos but refrained from any physical contact.
"That there is Kanda,"
"Umm, hi." Devina waved at the raven-haired swordsman but he gave no response.
"Kanda!" Whined Lenalee, stomping towards him threateningly, "be nice to her!"
Kanda glared at the two young ladies, crossed his arms and looked away, uninterested.
"Awww, well. That right there is Bookman." Lenalee smiled at the old man.
"Wait, that old man is an Exorcist?" Devina blurted before she could help herself. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth too little too late. She had yet to know what the word Exorcist meant, and what an Exorcist's job really was, but she could hardly really picture this frail man do anything other than try not to hurt his back.
Lavi couldn't help the waves of laughter eroding his body. His first impression of her fading; she could certainly grow on him and he can definitely try to outgrow his misled misconceptions about her. He was grinning like a fool.
"You brat!" The smack to his head came out of the blue and the young Bookman failed to evade it in time.
"Oww, Gramps. She makes fun of you and I get punished for it?" Lavi's cries fell on deaf ears.
Lenalee laughed before continuing. "That next to him is Lavi."
Devina took in his appearance. He looked slightly older than her and much, much taller. He had nice red hair that was kept up with the support of a green bandana. His right eye was hidden beneath a black eye-patch; his left was a striking green.
"Nice eye-patch! Are you a pirate or something?" Devina questioned innocently, her lips pursing.
Silence fell and then laughter erupted.
"Now that the pleasantries are done with, I'd like to explain why I'd called you all here." Komui spoke, a serious edge to his voice. "It is true that Devina is one of us now, but I believe that her Innocence is out of control. She hasn't mastered the powers it harnesses and thus, this leaves her and everyone around her in mortal danger. I would like for her to be accompanied by an Exorcist until such time in which she doesn't need supervision and attention."
During the supervisor's speech, Devina's frame had shrunk considerably. Her cheerfulness had dwindled and Lavi blamed his unwarranted observations on his role as a Bookman-in-making, who records everything.
"Well, Komui… Aren't you going to explain everything to us?" Bookman finally asked.
The two adults stared at each other briefly before Komui took a long deep breath. His silence stretched but then he cleared his throat and began. "Devina told me she had always had this power, for as long as she remembered. It had isolated her, made people fear her, yet it brought her close to some children she considered her siblings, until recently. Because of her power, she was feared. She wasn't welcome at any institute or orphanage. She had to fend for herself and-"
"Is that really necessary?" Devina suddenly interrupted, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. She was filled with waves of embarrassment, shame, guilt and self-loathing. She did not enjoy hearing her story told by someone else, to strangers nonetheless. She didn't like the saddened pitiful looks these strangers wore, or the understanding one Allen seemed to send her way.
"Yes, as you please. Devina returned to her," Komui paused, "home, one night, to find her siblings murdered. The murderers were some people she angered. When they attacked her, her emotions were very heightened with her loss and grief and anger, and she caused quite a scene. General Klaud was in the area and she managed to snatch her and bring her in before the situation deteriorated."
"Will you explain everything to me now?" Devina's arms remained crossed but she began to tap her feet, a nervous habit. "I want to know why I should stay here."
Komui hesitated before giving her a weak smile. "I have enough reasons to persuade you, yes. For starters, you have nowhere to go. You have lost your family; you have no one. Is that right?"
Devina gulped but remained inarticulate.
"You will be cared for here. You will be fed, clothed; you will have a sufficient salary. You will-"
"I don't care about that. What is it that you want me to do? You call them Exorcists. What does that entail exactly? Why do they have to tail me?"
Komui gave a sly smile. "Ah, yes. Well, you see those powers you can't control?" Devina didn't answer but when Komui didn't continue, she gave a nod. "Each person standing here, except for me yields one type of power or another."
Devina couldn't help herself. "What?" She gasped. "You- you mean- you mean there are other people like me?"
"Well, not technically. As I told you earlier, what you posses is a power bestowed upon you: the Innocence, and it is used to fight The Millennium Earl's Akuma. The Innocence has different types. So far, we only know of two: Equipment and Parasitic. Your Innocence belongs to the latter, which is an anomaly, even among Innocence." Seeing Devina's face fall, Komui lifted his hand. "Wait, I am not finished. Most Exorcists here have Equipment type Innocence, except for Allen Walker and Arystar Krory."
Devina's face beamed. She clapped her hands together and jumped joyfully. "So, so, you guys can help?"
"What I am saying, with hard work, you can control your Innocence. This is reason number two, on why I think you should stay. In return for our training, food, and the roof that'll be over your head, you're expected to fight Akuma."
"What are those?" Devina asked, all traces of tension seeping from her body. She plopped down on the ground, her lanky legs woven into each other as she listened intently.
"The Akuma are demons created by The Millennium Earl's fallacy. Humans who lose their loved ones are often blinded with grief and loss. In their weakest moment, they're approached by The Millennium Earl and asked if they'd like to see the person they've lost once again. Most people agree, as you would guess to revive their loved ones and have them back at their side." Devina could definitely relate to that, but she said nothing and listened on carefully. "The Earl presents them with a skeleton in which they call the soul of their beloved, and then an Akuma is created. It's a monster, a vessel of sorts, with one or several human souls trapped within it. It devours humans and once it evolves, it even devours other Akuma."
"Wow, that sounds like it came straight out of a tale." Devina joked and laughed at her own jape. "Alright, you still didn't answer my question. Why I will be under supervision?"
"Because so far, your Innocence controls you, rather than the other way around and in case things get out of hand, I'd rather have you stopped than accidentally murder someone, or destroy our base, for instance." Komui explained patiently.
"Fair enough, fair enough." Devina paused. "Hmm, okay. Any more reasons I should join you?" She was already convinced, but she wanted to hear everything the Chief Officer had to say.
"There is one more." Komui says grimly, fixing his glasses. "If you try to walk out of the door, members of The Black Order will apprehend you."
"What?" Devina asked flatly. "Why? Isn't this my choice?" It was but a fleeting glance that the Chief stole at his younger sister, but Devina caught a flash of remorse, desperation and frustration in his dark eyes. She stood as abruptly as she had sat, waving her arms in the air. "You know what? I don't care. I'm in. Just…" don't wear that look on your face ever again.
Author's Note: This story is the result of a writing challenge suggested by my friend Pixie. After two weeks of incessant writing, we both decided we were ready to publish our work and receive some love. This would not be happening without her support and constructive criticism. Be sure to check out her Kurapika fic, Friendly Fire by mutedsymphony.
