Prologue
Hi. My name is Allen Walker. I'm 16 years old and currently a student at the Black Order Institute. I live with my best friend, Lavi, in a dorm-room on the campus. We've been in school together since we were very young; Primary school, Junior High, and now High school. We met because our 1st grade teacher paired us up when I transferred to the institute. Let's just say that we had some common interests and we bonded quickly. During 3rd grade, we became friends with another transfer student, Lenalee Lee. She was the first person who had ever talked to us, so we warmed up to her fairly swiftly. We all go to this school because, like the rest of the students, we all have something in common. We all have a special power that makes us an Ajudante or helper in Portuguese. Ajudantes basically do what their name suggests. We help another group of people, called Lutadors, which is the Portuguese word for Fighter, in battle.
When a class of students nears graduation, a ceremony is performed to pair up an Ajudante with a Lutador. These pairs of people are called Bond-Pairs. When you find out who your Bond-Mate is, you have to learn a dance with them, part of a bonding ritual that is performed at graduation. Each dance is unique to each Bond-Pair, and usually based on the powers of the Bond-Mates. Speaking of finding out who our Bond-Mate is, I heard the intercom crackle to life. I paused in my writing and looked up at the speaker.
"Will all 3rd year Ajudantes report to the auditorium at this time, all 3rd year Ajudantes to the auditorium. Thank you." Our secretary's voice faded out as my entire creative writing class stood to leave. I stood and stretched, scowling when Lavi poked my stomach. I slapped his hand lightly, grinning when he pouted.
"You're mean, Allen." He said. He adjusted his green headband as we walked out of the classroom and down the hallway. I frowned. If he didn't always wear that headband, he'd be a lot more attractive. With it pushing his beautiful red hair back, he looked a lot younger than he actually was. I had told him that many times, but he never believed me.
"If you weren't so immature I wouldn't have to be mean." I said teasingly, smiling at him. He grinned back and mock-punched my shoulder. I feigned pain and we both laughed.
"So Al, are you ready to find out who your Lutador is going to be?" Lavi asked. My stomach turned, as it did every time I thought about the fact that in just 2 short weeks, I'd be bonded and living with someone for the rest of my life. I was very nervous about the idea of living with someone who I didn't know, or worse, who didn't like me. Like Kanda, the 3rd year Lutador who seemed to hate me, or Debitto, who seemed to think it was funny to make fun of me at every chance.
"You know, I honestly don't want to know. I think I could another whole year or two without finding out. Even then, I wouldn't be ready." I muttered. Lavi chuckled.
"I'm ready as hell. I'm personally hoping my Bond-mate is Tyki." He said, blushing slightly. I smiled. Lavi's had the biggest crush on Tyki Mikk ever since the 3 of us had a class together 1st year. I didn't blame him; Tyki was a very attractive guy. He was charming and charismatic, funny, intelligent, and generally Lavi's dream guy. Lavi and I continued to joke and talk all the way to the auditorium. We found seats behind Lenalee and another boy named Toma.
"Hey Lenalee. You ready for this?" Lavi asked. She nodded.
"I just hope nii-sama doesn't make a big deal out of it." She said nervously. We all shuddered. Lenalee's crazy older brother, Komui, was extremely over-protective.
"Hey, he knows he can't interfere with a bonding. So he really can't say anything." Toma said. We all nodded, slightly relieved. A moment later, we were all sitting up straight as Komui, who also happened to be the principal, walked onto the stage with a microphone. He cleared his throat and the entire auditorium went silent. He smiled at us and greeted us.
"Welcome, students. Today is the day you will find out who your Bond-Mate is. In two weeks, you will perform a ceremony with that person, and finally be bonded. Now, as you all know, the Bond-Pairs are decided by the burning of papers with each student's name on it. The smoke from the fire will form two names and that is a Bond-Pair. This is a method that has been used for thousands of years, as long as the Ajudantes and Lutadors have been bonding. Now, let's begin." And with that, a large tin was set on the stage with papers in it, which were promptly set alight. We all held our breathes as the smoke started to rise, and with it, a name. Two names, actually.
Lavi Bookman Jr., Tyki Mikk
I grinned and glanced at Lavi. He was slowly turning an alarming shade of red, and seemed to be unable to speak.
"Lavi, you're not going into shock, right? Wouldn't want you passing out because you're paired with your crush." I teased. He blushed darker and cleared his throat.
"N-no, I'm fine." He said, his voice sounding slightly choked. I chuckled and turned back to the stage. The fire was still going and had started forming more smoke. I leaned forward so that my arms were resting on the back of Lenalee's chair.
"Hey Lenalee, who do you think I might get paired with?" I said, biting my lip nervously. She smiled at me.
"I don't know, maybe Kanda?" She joked. I blanched and groaned. She laughed softly. "Sorry, bad joke." She apologized. I grumbled and stared at the fire, which was steadily producing names. I started to get a little tired as I stared at the dancing flames. I was about to fall asleep when I saw my name appear. I sat up ram-rod straight, my hands clenching the back of Lenalee's seat. The fire slowly formed another name, and my jaw dropped in shock.
Allen Walker, Kanda Yuu