Warning: This is the early warning system. This story will contain yaoi, language, violence, and other such things. If you don't like any of these things please don't read! For all those who choose to venture forth enjoy!
-Man does not belong to me. It is property of Katsura Hoshino.
Childhood is like a loaded gun. If you don't put the safety on it's bound to go off sooner or later. Maybe it's good to go off every now and again if only to relieve the pressure in the chambers of one's heart. Maybe becoming a bullet isn't such a bad thing after all.
Allen lay in the snow and watched lazy snowflakes drift down from the sky. The snow had been falling steadily throughout the afternoon and the Black Order now lay under a blanket of white. The serene setting was the perfect place to let one's mind wander or to melt away entirely. The latter seemed to appeal to Allen at the moment as he felt like his brain itself was melting.
Truthfully the young exorcist had traveled outside in an attempt to cool down, not really to let his liquefying thoughts go anywhere. The fever that had been wracking his body for the past week had spiked again causing ever moment inside to feel like torture. At the very least it was more comfortable outside.
The snow around Allen's heated body began to melt away dropping him further into its cold embrace. The tiny snowflakes that reached him melted instantly leaving tiny patches of blessed cold on his face and ailing left arm. The pain in the limb was slowly returning as the medicines began to wear off. Sharp pangs shot through his nerves like heated bullets and he feebly raised the arm to see if any new damage was being done.
About a month ago Allen's body had unexpectedly turned on his Innocence and began its attack. That had him sick enough but he only worsened as the Innocence began to fight back against its rejecting host. Everyone had been shocked by the sudden turn. No one in the order had ever seen anything like this before. After all these years of perfect synchronization between parasite and host Allen's body began rejecting the Innocence.
When the diagnosis was confirmed it sent shockwaves throughout the organization. If things were allowed to progress as they were then Allen's prognosis was very grim. With the clock ticking so rapidly Komui had sent the entire science department on a quest for the cure. The team had been toiling sleeplessly since the beginning and yet virtually no progress had been made. It seemed everything they tried was failing and discoveries just couldn't keep up. With every passing day the possibility of hope and success dwindled but the department, or rather Komui himself, wasn't going to give up. He was ready for a long fight.
As for Allen people could only try and make him as comfortable as possible, but it's hard to comfort the dying. Everyone did everything they could think of to ease Allen's suffering. They had employed Miranda's Innocence early on which served as the only truly effective means of prolonging Allen's life. The medications would work for a few days before losing effect and becoming obsolete. Now the only medicines that served a purpose were the pain killers and fever suppressants they used at every possible moment. As the days drug on it became more apparent that it would ultimately be up to Allen whether he lived or died.
At the moment Allen was on the fence in the decision. Dying would mean a relief from the pain but not much else. Besides, he wasn't ready to die. The problem with living, however, was that he wasn't sure how much longer his body or his Innocence could fight. Once one of them gave up it would be the end of the line either for his life or his career as an exorcist. Allen thought briefly on this as he examined his shaking arm. He wasn't surprised to see that a new lesion was already ripping the already ulcerous skin. When he went back inside he would need to be bandaged again. Kanda would see to that being done quickly.
Allen sighed weakly and let his arm flop onto his chest, not caring that the claw of his thumb nicked his cheek. The pains were getting worse and his arm and hand were beginning to shutter more violently. At this point he knew he needed to go inside, but he didn't have the strength to get up. It seemed he would have to lay there until found him. Hopefully it would be sooner rather than later. People had to be looking for him after all.
As if on an invisible cue the doors to the courtyard flew open and Lavi and Lenalee rushed into the snowy sanctum. Allen painfully turned his head toward them and smiled weakly as if trying to reassure them that he was alright.
"What are you doing out here?!" Lenalee asked frantically as she ran to Allen. She carefully pulled him into a sitting position and threw her coat around him.
"I needed to cool off," he replied hoarsely. At the response Lavi quickly knelt down and put his hand to Allen's forehead. He looked to Lenalee with a concerned gaze.
"His fever must have spike again. He's burning," Lavi said. Lenalee swallowed hard in an attempt to keep her composure.
"Then we can't waste any time," she said, getting up and pulling Allen into her arms. Lavi helped her with the task as Allen was dead weight and she couldn't carry him on her own. As soon as the door was pulled open Allen felt the heat him like a suffocating tsunami. He felt as though he were being baked in an oven. His vision blurred quickly and he shut his eyes tight to keep from being sick.
Lavi and Lenalee made quick work of the corridor and broke into the hospital wing in a frenzy. As soon as the nurses saw Allen they stopped all their tasks and rushed toward him. They were happy to have their priority patient back alive, but they had to act fast to keep him stable. Lavi and Lenalee could only lay Allen on one of the beds before they were pushed aside so the nurses could work.
As soon as Allen was down the needles came. He could tell which medicine was being administered by the thickness of the serum that coursed through his veins. The pain killers, which came last, were always the worst as they were in the highest dosage and were thick making the injection long and painful. Allen moaned at the feeling of the medication entering his body. The only comfort from this was the thought that now the pain would begin to melt and he could rest again. If he had to die he at least wanted to die comfortably.
A moment after the needle was removed his arm and hand began to go numb and his body temperature slowly started to descend. The nurses breathed a collective sigh of relief and backed off. Allen heard one of them say to Lavi and Lenalee that they would calm for Miranda soon to make him a little more comfortable. That too was a welcome relief. He also noticed a new IV had been placed in his arm which would help to combat the dehydration. It seemed that in such a short amount of time his pain had been brought under control again and he could finally sleep.
His eyes grew heavy as Lenalee took up her usual position in the chair next to his bed. She took his hand and smiled comfortingly. "Is the medicine working?" she asked. Allen nodded as he shut his eyes. "That's my brother for you, making these fast acting medicines." She spoke a few more words, but Allen didn't hear them. Lenalee seemed so far away as he slipped further into unconsciousness. He didn't even remember the words he spoke as he fell asleep, but Lenalee would always remember them.
On the brink of sleep he had whispered to her, "Lenalee, please make sure I wake up."
AN: Woo! My first -Man story ^^ I'm sure this idea isn't original but hopefully I'll be adding my own little twist to it XD. I hope that y'all like it and are looking forward to chapter 2!