Inspired by Nishikawa Takanori–san's spine shivering voice, the rest of the awesome Abingdon Boys School band, and one of their best new singles so far—the energetic opening for Sengoku Basara, Jap.

This story is also written to wish support for Hoshino Katsura-sensei, who is possibly going through a very tough time right now. As one of her devoted readers of DGM, I wish for her to come through this present situation safe and sound.

Finally, a dedication to the greatest characters ever created, Allen Walker and Kanda Yu. Yullen banzai!

--

∞Prologue∞

"Do not be dominated, do not let them take you away." -Jap, Abingdon Boys School

"Why did you want to see me?" Allen sat himself down on the couch. He was still in his uniform, his left sleeve torn straight up to his elbow and the stench of akuma blood permeating through various places of the black fabric. Timcanpy was perching nicely on his shoulder, cuddling next to his master's neck. "…Inspector," he finally concluded, eyeing Leverrier who was at the current moment sipping his tea with Victorian grace. Komui was sitting at his usual spot in his desk, his hands folded in a serious manner.

"Inspector," he said, "It'd be best if we told Allen after he gets washed up and his wounds treated for. He just came back from a mission."

"Supervisor," Leverrier countered with a smile. "If one acquires information about someone else, that person would be very obliged to tell them immediately, no? I want to give Allen the best courtesy I can." He turned his smile towards Allen. "Isn't that right, Allen Walker?"

Allen didn't reply. Timcanpy curled up his tail and snarled almost inaudibly. To the white haired boy's dislike, the Inspector was still smiling his civil-like smile.

"Allen, did you know that there was a recent akuma attack in America?"

"America? No, I don't."

Leverrier blandly chuckled. "There was an invasion in the North American Branch," he explained, "and Central along the Pope himself is quite displeased with it. Many precious equipment and irreplaceable staff employees—all of them brilliant in the intellectual category, have all deceased. And do you know why that happened?"

The boy in turn felt very tense. He didn't like the tone that the Inspector was bringing out. How was this connected to him exactly?

"It happened," he continued, "because there was no force powerful enough to counterattack the akuma. And of course, there is only one being in this world that can go against the akuma created with dark matter." Leverrier raised one hand and pointed it towards Allen.

"An exorcist—powered with the heavenly bestowed gift of the light but mysterious substance, Innocence."

Allen was slowly realizing what the man was talking about.

Leverrier chuckled again. "I'm sure now, you now know what you are here for, yes?"

Komui's spectacles, reflecting the light that was shining from the incandescent lamp above them, hid his eyes from view. But his furrowed eyebrows clearly showed his disapproval and anger. He decided to take over from there.

"Allen, what the Inspector is trying to say is that Central has decided that you are to be transferred… to the North American Branch."

In sudden shock, Allen's bright blue eyes started to dull. Timcanpy comfortingly wrapped his golden tail around his white head.

The Inspector took one last sip of his earl gray.

"I suggest you get ready without delay," he advised. "You are going to be transferred to America tomorrow morning at seven o' clock sharp. I expect you to be at the science department by that time to immediately depart through the ark's gate."

This was all too sudden. Allen didn't have time to mentally recuperate as Link led him out of Komui's office.

When he looked back, Leverrier was still smiling that civil-like smile.

--

"Master Kanda! Over here!"

Kanda spotted the white-robed Finder waving towards him in front of the motel and walked towards him. He ignored the bystanders around him who were giving him curious glances and talked in a foreign language that Kanda was not very fluent in, although he did recognize the words "pretty" and "long" and "hair".

He was in Barcelona, Spain, to complete a mission of an infestation of akuma hordes. An exorcist's average and typical mission, of course. He strode towards the Finder who was eagerly waving both arms in his direction, and to Kanda's chagrin, it was Gozu—a finder that he had met on one of his missions. He remembered that mission of all missions most clearly, for Gozu always pestered him at the Order about the mission that they had experienced together at every chance he could. But it wasn't really Gozu (that bimbo) who made him remember this particular mission. No, it all had to center around that one little thing.

And that thing was Allen Walker.

The mission with Gozu in the past; Kanda had met Allen right after that mission when he came back to the Black Order. The image was always etched in his mind, the image of the Beansprout's face when he looked up at Kanda all the way up at the balcony. Always. It would never go away that annoying image.

He wanted to forget it.

Then, Kanda felt something wet and cold splash into his hair and trickled down into his uniform collar. He abruptly stopped in place as he looked up and saw an old woman on a second-story patio making loud noises in Spanish and staring down at Kanda with frightened eyes. She was carrying a wooden pail in her hands.

Gozu frantically ran up to Kanda and wiped his uniform with a handkerchief that he took out of his pocket. Kanda pushed him away and took off his uniform overcoat. The fabric was drenched with dirty water from the pail.

"Kanda, you should go take a bath in the motel," Gozu stuttered. "You can catch a cold like that."

"Shut up." Kanda eyed Gozu with disapproval. "And what kind of a man carries around a handkerchief?"

Gozu smiled goofily. "But Kanda, a handkerchief is so useful—"

"Shut up." He draped his overcoat over his shoulder and started to walk towards the motel once again. Gozu caught up to his long steps and tried to strike up a conversation.

"I didn't take you for an unlucky guy, Kanda."

Kanda glared at him. "What?"

"Well, only those kinds of incidents, like what happened to you just now, only happen to unlucky guys. And I thought you were a pretty lucky person, Kanda. There has to be a logical reason for this."

"Hn? So what?"

"What were you thinking of right before that moment?"

Kanda furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you asking this," he growled.

"Please answer. This is important," Gozu insisted.

Kanda looked away from Gozu's child-like eyes. "… Hmph. Something I want to forget," he replied. "Something annoying."

"I see," Gozu said. After a moments silence of pondering, Gozu flicked up his forefinger in inspiration. "I got it! I know why that happened to you!"

"What?"

"You see, Master Kanda," he said in revelation, "it's the fates talking to you. It's the heavens sending you a message!"

The two entered the motel and walked up to the front desk. "Ha?" Kanda had no idea what Gozu was talking about.

"Nothing happens without having a meaning behind it," he said, his visage sparkling with brilliance. "It could be possible that the fates or even God himself made the akuma infest this village, make the Supervisor send you to this mission to meet me and made you walk right on this street right at the same time the woman comes out to her patio with the bucket of water in her hands planning on dumping it out into the street and you had to walk right under her at the same time as she threw the water out!"

Kanda wanted to punch this guy. What a long explanation.

"The heavens are telling you to not forget what you were thinking about! They are telling you to embrace your problem!"

Kanda punched Gozu in the jaw. He grabbed his key from the clerk and stomped towards his room, searching for the right number. Gozu, who was being awfully persistent, continued on blabbering nonsense (from Kanda's point of view).

"Master Kanda! You cannot ignore it! You have to face it!"

Kanda found the right door and started to insert the key. He turned the door knob and started to enter his room.

"Why are you doing this! Don't turn away from it!"

Kanda slammed the door in Gozu's face.

"Master Kanda—!"

"You're annoying. Shut up!" Kanda shouted out from the inside.

"But God is telling you something! Eh? Wait a minute. I only ordered one room. Are you expecting me to sleep outside?" He pounded on the door. "Master Kanda!"

Kanda ignored Gozu's cries and started to take off his uniform. It was still wet and disgustingly stuck onto his skin. Kanda sharply exhaled and glared at a tiny pot plant that was standing on one of the bed stands. He threw his wet overcoat over it.

"Stupid, annoying Beansprout," he muttered.

--

Haha. Forgive me. I planned on making the whole chapter thoroughly angst but when I typed in Gozu, he just turned out to be comic relief. He makes me laugh a lot. He seemed like a superstitious guy so I typed it up so that karma kicked in when Allen was announced to basically being deported to another country and somehow made Kanda involved in it as well. Like when Lenalee fought the third level akuma and Komui almost fainted, right? Same concept. Sort of.