999 Paper Cranes
"What's up Allen, you've been looking kind of down lately," Lavi said sliding into the seat across from the white haired boy.
"It's nothing," Allen smiled as his shifted the tea cup in his hands, watching the dark amber colored liquid slosh against the sides of the white porcelain.
"So you're telling me that distant, the-world's-about-to-end look you're sporting is just for kicks?" Lavi asked cocking a brow.
"I want to do something, but I don't really have a clue as to what I can do," Allen muttered.
"About what?" Lavi asked as he leaned closer in anticipation.
"If I want to wish someone well what can I do?" Allen asked, silver eyes drifting up from the now cold liquid to the emerald eyed teen.
"Is someone sick?" Lavi asked "a friend of yours? Do I know them?" Allen said nothing but blushed a bit as he looked away. 'I'm not sure if friend is the right word for it,' Allen thought dully as he heaved a sigh.
"You're blushing," Lavi said pointedly as he grinned, "you'll tell me eventually. Anyway as for something you can do, there's this old Japanese legend that says that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish."
"Really?" Allen asked perking up at the statement.
"Yeah, stuff like living a long life or recovering from illness or injury are common wishes," Lavi said "it's quite popular in Asia as get well or good luck gifts."
"Thanks Lavi!" Allen exclaimed happily as he promptly stood and ran out of the cafeteria. Blinking in surprise Lavi stared after the white haired boy with mild curiosity. 'Who is this someone he's so worried about,' Lavi wondered, glancing down at the abandoned tea cup.
xXx
Rushing down the hall with a stack of colorful paper he'd received from Komui, Allen rounded the corner to the living quarters only to crash headlong into Kanda, who was far from pleased with this revelation. Colorful paper squares fluttering in the air and littering the floor around them as Allen held his head in hopes of stopping the infernal spinning.
"Oi, watch where you're going," Kanda growled as he stood, dusting himself off. Just as he was about to walk off he noted the strange paper squares that closely resembled origami paper and wondered why Allen would be running around like a maniac with such a thing.
"Sorry Kanda," Allen muttered as he began gathering the fallen paper.
"Che, what's all this for?" Kanda asked picking up a piece of orange paper.
"A project," Allen said a smile splitting his face. Cocking a distinguished navy brow, Kanda knew that the white haired boy was up to something weird but said nothing more about it. It didn't concern him and if he heard the reason he'd probably just want to smash Allen's head into the wall for his idiocy.
"Whatever, just don't crash into me again," Kanda snapped as he started to walk off.
"Because I just die with excitement to crash into your perfect self and scatter all of what I'm carrying everywhere," Allen said sarcastically "I'll try to restrain myself."
"Why you," Kanda growled as he shot a glare towards Allen. Collecting the last sheets of paper Allen stood and rushed off again, leaving the murderous glare behind him. He didn't have a moment to loose; Komui said the operation would take place at the end of the month.
"Kanda's lotus has only one more petal if this operation doesn't work out then he'll die," Komui said.
xXx
"Argh!" Allen huffed in frustration as he picked up the origami book he'd gotten from Lavi and hurled it at his door.
'How the hell am I supposed to make a thousand if I can't even make one?' Allen thought in dismay.
It had been hours since Allen had locked himself in his room with the instructional book and the innumerable amount of colored paper squares which were scattered about his room in either crumpled balls or unrecognizably poor attempts at cranes.
A knock on his door, startled Allen out of his sulking thoughts as he scrambled through the mess to answer the door, silver eyes growing to the size of saucers at the scowling face that met him.
"What the hell are you doing brat?" Kanda asked a brow cocked to accentuate his question.
"Huh?" Allen asked, pink flushing his cheeks.
"The bang from the inside of your door," Kanda said pointedly frowning as he took in the mess of Allen's room from the open door and the dented book lying by Allen's feet.
"N-nothing," Allen said quickly.
"Che, idiot what are you trying to make?" Kanda asked pushing past the boy into the room and picking up a crumpled piece of blue paper.
"A crane," Allen said with an exasperated sigh as he shot a glare at the book by his feet, kicking it as if to emphasize his annoyance.
"How long have you been at this?" Kanda asked smirking at the various failed attempts littering the bed and floor.
"The moon's up now," Allen said glancing out the window to the glowing crescent hanging amidst the indigo backdrop, "so, about seven hours." Kanda's eyes widened in visible shock at the statement, the boy had been at this for that long and had little more to show for it, save for the hundreds of tiny paper cuts on his hands.
"Should have just given up," Kanda said to which Allen's white brows knitted together in anger.
"I have no intention of giving up, I'll get it eventually," Allen said beginning to pick up the failed attempts and toss them into a waste basket by the small oak table, on which sat the unused paper squares.
"Why are you trying so hard?" Kanda asked "clearly you can't do it."
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Allen frowned "why are you even here?"
"Che, some idiot decided to throw a book at his door and frighten an equally idiotic finder who happened to be just outside at the time," Kanda scoffed, noting the crestfallen look in Allen's silver eyes.
"What's this for anyway?" Kanda asked after a moment of silence passed between them.
"Lavi told me that if I make a thousand paper cranes my wish will come true," Allen said with a sigh.
"Che, baka Usagi putting stupid ideas into you head again," Kanda muttered feeling a little more than inclined to murder the redhead for causing all this trouble.
"It's not stupid," Allen said halfheartedly "it's from your culture anyway."
"You really want to do this?" Kanda asked feeling as though he was going to regret helping the annoying snowy haired exorcist.
"Yes," Allen said blinking in confusion at the rather mellow response from the older male.
"Close the door and sit down," Kanda said as he picked up a few sheets of the colored paper and sitting at the edge of the bed waiting for Allen to do as he was instructed. A bit more than confused Allen did as he was told and sat next to Kanda, watching as elegant fingers creased and folded the square of paper until it resembled a crane.
"How did you-" Allen started, eyes wide in awe and shock.
"I'm going to do it again, just copy me," Kanda said amused with the adorably childlike expression on Allen's face. Nodding the boy picked up a sheet of paper and watched intently as Kanda made the first fold, copying the movement and all those subsequent.
"Now these flaps are the wings," Kanda said taking the two peaks of paper and pulling until the body of the crane fluffed out, "pull slowly so you don't rip it." Doing as instructed Allen's eyes sparkled with joy as he looked down at the crane in his hands, it was far from as clean cut as the one Kanda had made, but it was perfect if compared to his previous attempts.
"You should clean up your hands before you make anymore, unless you want them stained with blood that is," Kanda said standing and walking to the door.
"Um Kanda," Allen said standing abruptly.
"What?" Kanda asked turning to the boy with a scowl only to feel somewhat content with the sincere smile on the infantile face.
"Thank you," Allen said.
"Che," Kanda muttered though his expression had softened considerably. Without another word Kanda left Allen alone in the room, a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. 'Baka Moyashi,' Kanda thought shaking his head before heading towards his room.
xXx
"Allen didn't come down for breakfast yet?" Lenalee asked in shock as the pink haired cook frowned, bursting out into dramatic tears.
"Maybe my cooking isn't good enough for him anymore," Jerry sobbed.
"No, I'm sure he's just sleeping in," Lenalee smiled trying to console the rather eccentric cook.
"Che, quit whining," Kanda scoffed walking up to the counter.
"Good morning Kanda," Lenalee greeted "you wouldn't happen to know what happened to Allen would you? He never misses breakfast."
"Brat's none of my concern," Kanda said though he couldn't help but think that the boy had stayed up all night making cranes for some stupid reason, like being worried he'd forget how to make them if he went to sleep or something.
"I'll go check on him," Lenalee said waving to Jerry before leaving the cafeteria.
xXx
"Allen," Lenalee called knocking on the door, being met with only silence as she knocked again a bit louder. There was a shuffling on the other side of the door followed by a thud and a curse and then some more shuffling before the door clicked open and a head of tousled white hair came into view.
"Good morning Lenalee," Allen smiled.
"G-good morning," Lenalee said a bit surprised at the strange behavior and the odd sounds she'd heard.
"Is there something I can do for you?" Allen asked cocking his head to the side as he opened the door a bit further.
"No, it's just you weren't at breakfast and I was wondering if you were alright," Lenalee said.
"Oh, I'm fine," Allen laughed lightly, "I went to sleep kind of late last night."
"I figured it was something like that," Lenalee smiled "so what were you doing up so late anyway?"
"Nothing special," Allen said blushing lightly as he thought of the hundred cranes he'd made after Kanda had left, the first couple had been a bit problematic without the older male's guidance but then he managed to get it down well enough.
"Alright then," Lenalee said, though not convinced.
xXx
"He's been cooped up in his room all day, save for that lunch break," Lavi said walking casually, hands folded behind his head in a very carefree manner.
"I saw him this morning, he seemed fine," Lenalee said sighing as she followed Lavi down the hall towards the science labs, tray of coffee in hand.
"If he was going to obsess over that stuff I'd not have told him about it," Lavi pouted "it's no fun around here without him.
"What stuff?" Lenalee asked.
"Paper cranes, said something 'bout wanting to do something for a sick friend and I told him to make a thousand paper cranes and make a wish," Lavi said "he even borrowed a book on origami yesterday."
"A sick friend?" Lenalee asked, interest piqued, "who?"
"I don't know, he didn't tell me," Lavi said with a devious glint in his emerald eye, "I'll get it out of him soon though."
"Uh Lavi…" Lenalee trailed off, almost concerned for Allen's safety as Lavi ran off to presumably accost the boy for an answer.
xXx
"Allen!" Lavi called as he burst into the boy's room.
"L-lavi," Allen stuttered, falling off the bed in shock at the exuberant entrance.
"Time to sing," Lavi exclaimed as he shut the door behind him, turning the lock with a click that seemed to resound throughout the room with promises of bad things to come.
"E-e-excuse me?" Allen pulled himself to his feet, brows creased in apprehension as he edged back from the older male.
"Who are you doing all this for?" Lavi asked gesturing to the cranes on the table, emerald eye widening as he ran past Allen to examine them, "damn it Allen, you're pretty good at this, that book really helped didn't it?" At this Allen's eyes darkened and his hands balled into fists at his sides.
"Your stupid book didn't help me at all, save for giving me a headache and paper cuts," Allen growled gesturing to the accursed thing lying on the floor by the door, where he'd kicked it the night before.
"Then how did you learn how to do it?" Lavi asked watching in amusement as a deep blush suffused from Allen's cheeks to his ears.
"I got help," Allen squeaked, voice not working properly in his embarrassment.
"Hmm what's this?" Lavi taunted with a grin, "Allen you're blushing. Who'd you get help from?"
"W-what does it matter?" Allen asked trying to cool the blush from his cheeks.
"Well for starters, I have a feeling you like this person," Lavi said a grin upon his face resembling that of the Cheshire cat in Dodgson's fantastical tale, "if that cute look on your face is any indication."
"Don't be silly," Allen said turning away from Lavi and stalking to the door.
"Who is it Allen?" Lavi asked running to block the door. The boy refused to speak stumbling away from Lavi, "fine at least tell me who you're doing all this for." Emerald scanned the darkening blush with interest as the gears in his head began to turn.
"It's the same person isn't it?" Lavi said accusatorily as he began to think over people in the Order that were sick and frowning when he drew nothing but blanks – everyone was fine as far as he knew unless it wasn't sickness and rather…
"It's Kanda isn't it?" Lavi asked a little less playful than he'd been a moment before. The look on Allen's face was more than enough to confirm his suspicion. "The operation is set for the end of the month right? I didn't think anyone knew about it."
"Komui told me," Allen said the blush slowly dissipating as a somber atmosphere settled across the two.
"I see, does Yuu know that this is all for him?" Lavi asked "that you know about the lotus?"
"No," Allen said with a frown.
"Well then I'll just leave you to your folding," Lavi said patting Allen on the head, "try not to wear yourself out too much in here, you still need to eat."
"Wait," Allen said when the older male opened the door, "don't tell him."
"No worries," Lavi grinned giving Allen a thumbs up, "your secret is safe with me."
xXx
'What the heck am I doing?' Kanda thought scowling as he walked through the halls to Allen's room. It had been almost two full weeks since Allen had set about his crane making. Kanda couldn't help the curiosity brewing within him about what had the boy so determined to make a thousand cranes.
He hadn't seen Allen around for several days, at first he'd thought nothing of it, but if something was so important that it could keep the boy away from food and socializing with that bright hypocritical smile Kanda loathed, he wanted to know what it was.
"Oi Moyashi," Kanda called as he knocked on the door. He was met with only silence and frowned, knocking harder. "Damn it you fucking brat open this door right now!"
"Um Yuu, what are you doing?" Lavi asked just as Kanda was about to kick Allen's door in. Stopping in mid-motion Kanda shot a glare towards the exuberant redhead. "If you're looking for Allen, he's been on a mission for the past four days."
The anger in Kanda's expression fizzled out as he stared at Lavi blankly. 'He's on a mission…' Kanda thought, feeling annoyed that he was caught by the baka Usagi about to break the damn kid's door in.
"What're you doing looking for Allen anyway?" Lavi asked a grin spreading across his face, "huh Yuu?"
"None of your fucking business," Kanda snapped before stalking off, glaring at everything in his path.
xXx
'Mission took longer than I expected,' Allen thought yawning as he headed to his room. Having just returned Allen was exhausted, normally food and then sleep would be his order of priorities, but with less than two weeks left and over five hundred cranes left to fold he abandoned the idea. He could rest after it was over.
In all reality he knew that folding some pieces of paper wouldn't make a difference in whether or not Kanda's operation went smoothly but being the person he was, it was better to be doing something even if it was just trivial superstition. And he was determined to meet the deadline.
A couple tens of cranes later Allen turned to the knocking at his door. Kanda was outside, annoyed that Lenalee and the stupid cook were babbling about Allen's lack of presence even though he'd returned several hours ago. There was some shuffling on the other side of the door before Allen opened it.
"Hi Kanda, is there something I can do for you?" Allen asked only mildly surprised to see the male at his door with a less than irritated look on his face. Cobalt eyes raked over the pale boy, the mussed up hair and the bandaged hands holding the door open. Without a word Kanda pushed Allen into the room closing the door behind him.
"Wha-" Allen was taken aback by the male's actions.
"What's so important that you feel the need to do all this?" Kanda asked a hard look in his eyes from his fostered curiosity.
"Huh?" Allen quirked a brow in question.
"Che baka, what's your wish?" Kanda sighed feeling a familiar annoyance rising within him.
"That's a secret," Allen said a smile gracing his features.
"What's so damn important that the glutton of the Black Order won't even eat anything?" Kanda snapped at the zenith of his patience, hands slamming on either side of Allen's head, trapping him against the wall.
"Why are you so interested?" Allen asked cocking his head to the side, seemingly unperturbed by the aggression in the male's actions.
"I want those idiots to stop gossiping and make me my damn soba," Kanda muttered thankful for the excuse to have already been ready since that was exactly what had happened that morning. Silver eyes widened briefly before Allen hunched over trying to stifle his laughter at the statement, Kanda stepping back in the process.
"It's not funny, this is your fault," Kanda hissed "everything stops for those idiots when the slightest thing happens with you."
"I lost a lot of time on my mission and I haven't breeched the halfway mark yet," Allen said gesturing to the strings of cranes hanging off the wardrobe.
"Even if you say that, you're going to keel over if you don't eat," Kanda muttered trying not to sound as if he cared behind the mask of annoyance and default scowl, "your wish won't matter by then 'cause dumb dead Moyashi's can't make wishes."
A frown turned the corners of Allen's mouth in thought. He didn't understand, no matter how much he looked at Kanda, how the male could be acting so normal when there was a high chance that he could be dead at the end of the month. The samurai had a goal; that Allen was sure of, though he wasn't aware of what it was.
"I won't die from something like this," Allen grinned as if the mellow contemplative look had never been there.
"Che, I forgot that there's no way I could be that lucky," Kanda smirked sardonically as the boy's face flushed a light red, white brows knitting together in an adorable pout – it was too easy to rile the boy up.
"BaKanda, when I die I'll be the lucky one," Allen retorted "you'll have the pleasure of being stuck with all those idiots who're mourning me." Kanda stiffened at the thought; Allen had definitely won that round though he wouldn't admit it.
"Che, a couple of days dealing with those blubbering idiots is nothing to pay," Kanda said haughtily "you'll be dead a little longer than that."
"Kanda, I never knew you were such an optimist," Allen grinned in mock surprise, watching as Kanda huffed walking to the door. He couldn't believe they were having such a very morbidly distasteful conversation and still the boy would only smile. Whatever the case Allen had successfully distracted the navy haired male from the original intentions behind the visit.
xXx
With a week left and under two hundred cranes to go Allen was relieved that he'd make the deadline. What he hadn't expected was for Komui to tell him there was an urgent mission that demanded his attention and he was to leave immediately.
Sighing Allen placed an empty box in his bag and stuffed some sheets of origami paper in his pocket. He'd have to make them in the train – he had no idea how long the mission was going to take and the operation wasn't going to wait for him.
xXx
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Komui asked watching the nonchalant samurai flip through the dossier he'd been given on the operations procedures.
"Che, there isn't anything to do to be ready for something like this," Kanda scowled at the idiocy in the question.
"Of course," Komui sighed.
xXx
"Master Walker," the finder called, panic in his voice as Allen got knocked clear across the field into the cliffside. Dust and crumbling rock slowly settled as the white right hand of Allen's innocence gripped on the edge of rock pulling himself forward dizzily, blood streaking down the side of his face. Dirt and sweat matted locks of once snow white hair were brushed back as the mask of Crown Clown lifted to reveal Allen's reassuring smile.
'Three level fours at once,' Allen mused as he pulled himself out of the crater he'd made upon impact, 'God must really hate me.'
"Take Timcanpy and get out of here!" Allen called as he wrenched his sword of exorcism from where it had landed and ran at the akuma again. The sooner he finished this the sooner he could get back home, and with Kanda's operation in a day and single crane left to fold Allen refused to not meet his goal.
xXx
'Wonder if the brat's still holed up in his room,' Kanda thought as he stalked away from the training halls, sweat glistening on his skin and breathing returning to normal. Rounding a corner he came across Lavi and Lenalee walking in his direction.
"Yeah, he went alone," Lavi sighed scratching the back of his head, "but I'm sure he'll be fine."
"You should have gone with him," Lenalee said with a frown.
"I wasn't here," Lavi protested "how is it suddenly my fault?"
Having heard enough Kanda turned back to the training hall to do some more meditating. It was as if no one could function without the cursed exorcist. The Order had been stretched thin lately and with him off duty until after his operation, missions that normally would be carried out in pairs were taken solo. It was unfortunate but even Lenalee had been sent out alone despite Komui's displeasure.
Kanda felt uneasy just hanging around doing nothing, he didn't give a shit about the Vatican and their orders but as much as he'd deny it, people like Lavi, Lenalee and Allen had become at least marginally important to him. Even so, that didn't stop him from the frequently entertained ideas of beating the shit out of some more idiotic members of their dysfunctional group.
One particular Moyashi specifically coming to mind, the boy was just infuriating and yet he kept showing up in Kanda's thoughts as being more pleasant company than he would have ever thought possible.
"If ever you were to stop being an idiot the world would probably stop spinning," Kanda muttered finding himself staring into a fantasized image of Allen Walker grinning up at him, a mischievous little glint in his gem-like eyes.
'Go figure that with just a couple of hours left 'till an operation I might not wake from that I'd be thinking about him,' Kanda mused 'truly insufferable.'
xXx
"Master Walker, look out!" the finder called frantically from his place amongst the bushes and brambles. But it was too late, just as Allen destroyed the last akuma a hand pushed through him, blood exploding from his chest as he swung around to fend off the Pleasure of Noah. Hand still inside Allen, a sadistic smile on a grey toned face. Tyki hadn't been the same since the incident at the ark, and the pleasure he took from wringing out the excruciatingly beautiful sounds from Allen's lips was unmatched by anything.
Blood bubbling forth and vision blurring as things inside him twisted and churned, Allen decided in a split second of suicidal impulses what he would do. Arm wrapping around Tyki in a half embrace, startled golden eyes stared down at the boy, momentarily distracted as Allen's Crown Clown stretched out retrieving the fallen sword of exorcism and slicing down the Noah's spine.
Head snapping back in reflexive agony Tyki released Allen, tearing his hand from the boy's body and phasing through the arm that held him captive. Without a moment of hesitation Allen brought the sword down through the Noah, severing his head from his body.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," Allen whispered as he collapsed beside Tyki, a weak smile on his face as the Noah's body dulled and hardened, "but in all fairness, now you'll have killed me twice."
xXx
Applause and congratulations were abounds in the operating room at the Black Order, the still heavily sedated samurai having been freed of his curse. His chest no longer bore the black ink markings and the lotus on the table beside him was withered, the magic broken.
Now all that was left was for the man to wake up and start glaring at them for being loud and obnoxious fools. After all, thanks and other such pleasantries weren't in the male's vocabulary.
The merriment however was short lived as Lenalee burst through the doors tears streaming down her cheeks and a wildly panicked look in her amethyst eyes.
"It's Allen!" Lenalee said her brother instantly drawing her sobbing form into his arms.
"Lenalee, what happened to Allen?" Komui asked as calmly as he could, even with the curious and apprehensive looks on the faces of all the medics and scientists in the room.
"He's…the head nurse said he might not make it," Lenalee cried clinging desperately to the blueberry haired scientist, his eyes widening at the statement. It had just been a simple retrieval mission, collect the innocence and come back. He couldn't believe what had come out of his sister's mouth until he found himself staring at the frantically bustling nurses trying to stabilize Allen in the intensive care unit.
The finder was at the door watching, waiting for a verdict, hoping he hadn't been too late in returning. Lavi was leaning against the wall just inside the door, emerald eye focused on the overly pale body in the blood soaked bed. Even as the nurses began the blood transfusion and stopped up the wounds on the boy's flesh, the heart monitor wasn't stabilizing, rather increasing in a frightfully deafening pitch.
The head nurse was too troubled by whatever it was she knew of Allen's condition to even bother shooing away the bystanders. Pulling back the blood soaked bandages around the boy's torso they placed seals over it, setting the wound in state of stasis as they rewrapped the bandages.
After what seemed like hours of waiting, the monitor indicated that the boy's heart had somewhat stabilized. Even so the look on the head nurse's face as she came to face the small group gathered around the door, reflected none of the relief that should have been present for such a feat.
"We've managed to stabilize him but there's no telling how long it'll last. His organs have been torn up and there is nothing we can do on that account. The seals we used are the prototype paper seals that had been developed before the box lights that are now used. It was a long shot at most, having only ever been used to keep akuma from moving," the nurse said pausing in her speech as if finding it difficult to talk about the boy's condition. "It's worked for the time being but there's no telling how long it'll last. The other damage was easy enough to deal with, nothing we were unfamiliar with but…he won't recover from this."
The tense silence broke with intense denial from several people and incomprehensible sobs from others.
"There must be something you missed!" Lenalee cried looking up at the woman pleadingly.
"We'll be lucky if he even wakes up again," the nurse said solemnly, "but his body will not recover from this. The only thing keeping him alive at this point are the seals freezing the injury. Even if we could manage some way to ensure the continued use of the seals, it would be too cruel to make him endure such pain."
"If he'd been treated sooner?" the finder asked with a frown. Allen walker was one of the few exorcists who took care in learning their names, even with their high mortality rate and went out of his way to ensure their safety on missions. He was a friend to everyone at the Order, and finders were no exception.
"Once the damage was done, it was already too late," the head nurse said.
"No, you're lying!" Lenalee yelled pushing past them into the room to Allen's side. "Allen, wake up!"
"Lenalee," Komui tried to console his sister, pulling her back from the bedside.
"No, this can't be it!" Lenalee cried "he's right there, he's only a few feet away from us and you're saying we can't do anything for him? I can't accept that! I won't!"
The desperation was near tangible as the girl was led rather forcefully from the room, Komui casting an apologetic glance to the frail body in the bed. He'd come back after getting Lenalee to calm down, he'd see if there was anything he could concoct to save the boy's life.
"What happened on the mission?" Lavi asked as he finally turned from the utterly piteous boy already halfway into his grave. The finder was about to speak when Timcanpy flew from his hands crashing into Lavi's hands, as if thoroughly discombobulated by its master's condition.
Opening its mouth and baring razor fangs Tim spat out the innocence into Lavi's hands before a projection of the fight came up.
"The three level fours came out of nowhere," the finder said sadly as he too watched the projection, "and if that wasn't enough bad luck that Noah had to show up too."
"Allen," Lavi's voice was straining as he forced his emotions back. He too wanted to openly cry for Allen, to yell and curse and beg for something to be done to help the poor boy, but he wasn't allowed to care. Bookmen weren't supposed to grow attached to people, and they weren't supposed to have feelings.
'This will have been the second time that Noah has damaged Allen beyond repair,' Lavi thought solemnly, recalling the footage he'd seen from Timcanpy right after Allen had tried to save Suman Dark. That time it had been a miracle Allen's innocence had patched up his heart in order to sustain him, but this time it appeared as though there was just too much damage to be remedied.
The projection ended and Lavi could swear the tiny machine was crying for its master, how damnably unfair it was that an inanimate object was allowed to show more emotion than him. The redhead patted the golem gently before heading off to think, leaving only the nurses and a couple sobbing staff members behind.
His wanderings brought him to Allen's room, where the boy's luggage was already awaiting him. Opening the trunk Lavi couldn't restrain the tears any more as the tens of cranes spilled out. The sorrow was just too much, Allen had worked so hard wishing with everything he was that Kanda would come out of his operation alright. The operation had gone by without a hitch and Kanda would wake up shortly not knowing what Allen had done for him, or the boy's feelings.
"What are you doing crying in the brat's room?" Kanda's voice caught Lavi's ear from the hall. Upon seeing the navy haired samurai, Lavi's heart clenched tighter as he turned back to the cranes surrounding him. Frowning at the lack of a response Kanda walked over and pulled a slip of paper from the pile of cranes.
"Just one more huh?" Kanda smirked as he scanned the tally, "I take it from the bag, he's already back."
"Kanda," Lavi said, voice hoarse as he reigned in his grief, "Allen had a bit of a problem on the last mission." At this Kanda raised a brow in questioning. Not only had Lavi been crying like a baby, he'd called Kanda by his preferred name, which never happened, no matter how many times the samurai threatened him about it, meaning that something was terribly wrong.
"He's in the intensive care unit," Lavi said voice breaking again as he stood, walking over to Kanda and putting his hands on the male's shoulders to look him directly in the eye. "Allen is dying and the nurse said there's nothing that can be done about it."
Cobalt eyes widened in shock at the news. He couldn't believe it, there was just no way something like that could happen. Allen was the beacon of hope, the Destroyer of Time, hell the boy was the naively ridiculous smile that seemed to infect everyone around him. There was just no way that he could be at the Black Order's headquarters, and there not be some unorthodox method that someone came up with to save his life.
"You're lying," Kanda said with a scowl, "Baka Moyashi's incapable of dying."
"They say he might not even wake up," Lavi said as Kanda seized him by the collar, slamming him up against the wall.
"You're fucking lying," Kanda hissed.
"You can go see him if you want," Lavi offered bitterly.
"He just has one more crane and he can make his wish," Kanda said surprising Lavi with the annoyance in the normally stoic male's voice, it was beginning to breech on panic. "No, you're just screwing with me." Kanda hissed shaking the thought from his head as he released Lavi and stormed off to the sanatorium again.
Sure enough when he got there, people were leaving with expressions like the world had suddenly come to an end. What Kanda saw as he snuck into the ICU room made his heart leap into his throat and wrench with grief. He looked so fragile, so vulnerable, so very unlike the Allen Walker he knew.
Pulling a chair over to the boy's bedside, Kanda took a seat as he nudged the boy rather forcefully in the shoulder, hoping by some stretch of the imagination that this was just one horribly unfunny joke that the whole Order was in on. When he received no response Kanda growled glaring down at him as he took a pale hand in his – it was cold. Leaning on his elbows, Allen's hand clasped tightly in his calloused one's Kanda waited.
Sure they'd bantered about death and Kanda had on many occasions said he'd leave Allen for dead if he got in his way or inhibited the success of the mission. But after awhile, it seemed like the boy was invincible, no matter the injuries, no matter the scars he had to bear, he'd always come out of it smiling. This time would be no different he was sure.
"Kanda?" the voice was weak and barely loud enough to cause vibrations in the vocal chords, even so the navy haired male snapped his head up, cobalt gaze locking with Allen's glassy ones, still drunken on the anesthetics the nurses had pumped into him.
"Baka, what'd you go and do this time?" Kanda growled letting go of the now warm hand. He hadn't known how long he had been lost in thought before Allen had been drawn into the waking world, but he was relieved.
"It appears I went and got myself killed," Allen said in a joyful tone that should not have been present.
"Wha-"
"It's not too bad, at least you won't have to bother with me anymore," Allen said and he would have laughed had it not been so painful to even breathe.
"Don't," Kanda said in an almost warning tone, not interested in the morbid repartee when the boy he was unable to stop thinking about was on his death bed, "not now."
"If not now then when?" Allen asked as he fell into a short coughing fit, which caused the samurai to stiffen in apprehension, especially when he saw blood trickled from the corner of the boy's mouth. Kanda reached forward wiping the violent scarlet from the pale features – it didn't suit him.
"Oi brat, don't die yet you just have one more crane and you can make your wish," Kanda said brows creased in a mixture of annoyance and desperation. Allen looked up through blurred vision at the uncharacteristically soft look in Kanda's eyes, heart fluttering with joy at seeing him alright.
"Che, hang on a minute," Kanda muttered pulling a sheet of paper from the chart detailing Allen's condition, quickly ripping it into a square before proceeding to fold it with swift yet precise movements. Bending the beak and pulling the wings to fluff the crane out Kanda sighed looking at the small origami bird in his hands, writing all over its form.
"Here make your wish," Kanda said taking Allen's hand in his and placing the crane on his palm before closing pale fingers around it carefully.
"There's no need," Allen said a sweet smile blossoming on his face, drawing Kanda's gaze, "it's already come true." Allen retracted the hand with the crane from Kanda's hold and observed it with a childlike fondness before resting it on the bedside table. Breathing heavily Allen placed his hands on the bed and pushed, ignoring the pain shooting through every fiber of his body as he sat, sheets falling to bunch around his waist and revealing the many bandages around his torso, the seals ripping underneath the shifting bandages.
"Oi, don't-" Kanda started only to freeze as Allen's fingers flitted across his chest, hovering over his heart, where the tattoo no longer marred his flesh. Brows furrowed in confusion as Kanda sought the answer in silver eyes. After a moment he got the idea from the affectionate gaze, cobalt eyes widening in realization. "You fucking idiot all that time…"
"I'm glad you're alright," Allen said smile fading as he coughed, grimacing in pain.
"Baka Moyashi, lie down I'll get the nurse," Kanda said pushing Allen back onto the bed, standing to leave.
"My name's Allen, BaKanda," Allen said through sporadic gasps, silver eyes loosing their luster as he felt his consciousness slipping away from him.
"Moyashi?" Kanda asked having paused at the broken voice, noting the lack of expression in the boy's tarnished silver eyes.
"Allen," Kanda said as the heart monitor went flat – a strangled beep signifying that Allen's heart had stopped beating.
"Allen!" no answer came, even as calloused hands gripped the pale boy by his upper arms, shaking him for a response, snowy locks shifting with the jerky movements. A well of unrestrained sadness bubbled up in the samurai's chest, as he pulled Allen into his arms, hugging him tightly.
Silent tears trailed down the angry and sorrowful face of the navy haired male as he breathed in the soft honey smell that seemed to cling to the boy's skin. Such a subtle sweetness that Kanda found quite pleasing to his senses. If only he'd have noticed it sooner.
With nine hundred and ninety-nine paper cranes I'm always just one away.
Even so I see the thousandth flying over the horizon where it'll forever be waiting for me.
End
A/N: Well what do you know; I managed to finish another one, though it was more of a self-satisfaction piece than anything else. I know I killed Allen but please don't hurt me, I couldn't help it. I came up with the ending lines first when I was helping a friend with her attempt at a thousand cranes. And the only thing that leads to those lines is death…
I would feel sorry for killing Allen if I didn't love the scene so much. I'm not sure I managed to write it well enough though, somehow I don't think my writing was good enough to portray the emotions I was going for but hopefully it's not too disappointing.
I will try to finish at least one more story before I get sucked into the beginning of freshman year, but I'm not making any promises.
Anyway thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed my works.
Comments are welcomed – they make me happy :)