Note: This story ignores certain revelations from Chapter 219!
Warnings: Sort of spoilers for Chapter 210, possible OOCness and crack(?).
Genres: Family, Friendship, Hurt & Comfort mainly.
I don't own D . Gray - Man, nor do I own the Tokyo Ghoul OST 'Glassy Sky' (Which I really need to stop listening to...).
'Dear Komui
Kanda and I have found Allen, and well… He's a part of the Noah family now, as the new Fourteenth (but he's still Allen). Don't worry! We're fine, although apparently Kanda is Allen's 'pet' and I've become the Earl's tea drinking buddy. It's a weird situation but we're all doing fine.
– Johnny Gill'
Komui blinked, his mind trying to comprehend what he had just read. Although the letter was most definitely from Johnny (although admittedly Komui hadn't expected to hear anything from the other) the words made little-to-no sense to the mad scientist.
He spared a hesitant glance at the photo attached to the letter, undeniably afraid of what he would see. However, looking at the image, a smile tugged at his lips as he let out a relieved laugh.
In the photo the Earl stood in the middle, trying discreetly to keep both the Noah Komui knew as Tyki Mikk and a grey-skinned and golden- eyed Allen from escaping, it being obvious that neither wanted to have their photo taken and were searching for an escape route. There wasn't one, it seemed. To the right, the Noah of Dreams (Road, if Komui remembered correctly) was clinging to Allen's arm, smiling happily at the camera and Johnny smiling with Timcanpy rested in his hands next to them- whereas on the left side next to Tyki stood Kanda with his usual scowl, obviously not wanting to be there either, but from the way he had Mugen positioned it seemed as though the wayward samurai had been tasked with making sure Tyki didn't escape.
While the photo felt somewhat forced, it was oddly comforting to look at. Komui didn't want to think about what it implied; that some of the Order's most treasured members had joined the Noah, along with the fact that Allen had truly become an enemy of mankind. He really didn't want to think about that.
Komui looked at the photo again, smiling once more.
I'm glad they're doing okay.
Johnny shifted slightly in his seat, somewhat nervous. He still wasn't used to having tea with the Earl, although he wasn't even nearly as terrified as he had been a good two weeks prior when he had first been invited to drink tea with the Earl of Millennium- oh how terrified he had been back then.
"Don't worry," Allen had said at the time with one of his warm and reassuring smile, "other than the whole 'hatred-for-humanity-and-god' thing, he's actually a pretty nice person. Wait- no, nice is pushing it a bit… Hmm… It's more like he's… err… Just don't worry, it'll be fine."
And really, while Johnny was quite sure that he had had some kind of panic attack at their first meeting, he had to admit that he had grown to enjoy the Earl's company (as odd as it may seem). Sometimes it was difficult to converse. There was a silent agreement between the two; that the war should not be bought up- as such, it was rather hard to find a subject which they could talk freely about.
At their first meeting Johnny had dared to ask why the Earl hadn't just killed Kanda and him, it baffled the former member of the Order- heck! The Earl hadn't even destroyed Mugen.
"Family comes first." Those were the three simple words the Earl had said at the time, but they held so much meaning. The Earl hadn't wanted to harm those the new Fourteenth cared so deeply about, Johnny could tell that much. Allen still hadn't completely accepted the Noah as his family, but the Earl, along with the other Noah were all trying in their own weird ways. They cared more about the fact that Allen was a new family member- rather than a former enemy.
"What's wrong?" The Earl asked, taking a sip of his tea.
Johnny jumped slightly, startled out of his thoughts. "It's nothing," he replied a little too quickly before picking up his own teacup and bringing it to his lips in attempt to hide his unease.
The Earl gave him a curious look, but said nothing, waiting for the other to continue on his own.
"It's just…" Johnny's hands traced over the rounded shape of the elegant-looking teacup he held in his hand, "was it really alright for me to send that letter…?"
"You were simply sending a letter to a family member to let them know you were doing alright, I see nothing wrong with that."
And with that, not for the first time since he and Kanda had found Allen a little over two weeks prior, Johnny truly questioned the meaning behind this war.
Allen gently brushed his fingers across the keys of the piano within the Fourteenth's- his room, a sad smile tugging at his lips as he stared at his reflection. No longer was there the eerie figure looming over his shoulder; that had disappeared after he had… awakened a few days after Road and Tyki had saved him from the Order's prison cell.
It had been a rather odd (and painful) experience, having believed that the previous Fourteenth would consume Allen- erase him from existence. In the end, that hadn't been the case. It seemed more like he had consumed Neah, but even then that wasn't quite it.
While the transformation had been in progress, Allen had remembered everything Neah had gone through and at the time, it had truly seemed as though Allen Walker would fade away. But he hadn't, and once he had awoken from the slumber he had been forced into, the past of the previous Fourteenth seemed to simply be a near-vivid dream.
Yet it hadn't been, and it had become clear to Allen that he wasn't just the host for the Fourteenth, he was the Fourteenth- once upon a time he had been Neah Walker, brother of Mana. But now he was Allen Walker, and that wouldn't change.
Everything had become so much clearer since he had awakened, yet everything seemed to much more confusing- what had once been a simple world of black and white was now a rather ugly shade of grey. Yet at the same time that grey held such beauty, such potential to lead the way towards a brighter path.
Of course it could also lead in the opposite direction.
Everything was so confusing, and every now and then he would wonder about what it would have been like had he been consumed, thinking that perhaps everything would be better off it that had been the case.
But in the end, he was well and truly glad that he had managed to stay Allen. This way he could continue walking; he could walk down his own path- no matter where that path ended up leading him.
Allen smiled a sad smile as he begun to play.
"How many days have passed like this?
This city the crowd is fading, moving on,
I sometimes have wondered where you've gone,
Story carries on,
Lonely, lost in time,
I had this dream so many times,
The moments we spent have passed and gone away,-"
He found himself dwelling on his time at the Order as he played. Fingers of black and grey elegantly pressed down on the keys, creating wonderful sounds as he sung, voice trembling slightly.
"-Could there be an end to this,-"
Lenalee's smiles as she welcomed him home from a mission.
"-What I'm feeling deep inside,-"
Lavi messing around, Bookman always there and prepared to drag the rabbit back to his 'studies'.
"-You know there's no looking back,-"
Miranda, Krory, Timothy, the science division- everyone doing their best every day.
"-Glassy sky above,-"
Being thrown into a prison cell, Innocence sealed off.
"-As long as I'm alive,-"
The Noah coming to save him as his strength to fight off the transformation diminished into almost nothing.
"-You will be a part of me,-"
The Earl looming over his bloody form, asking how he was feeling, genuinely concerned.
"-Glassy sky the cold,-"
Kanda and Johnny finding him with Road and Tyki, showing him that they would remain by his side and…
"-The broken pieces of me,-"
…Showing him that both the Order and the Noah were his family.
"-The mystery of it I recall,
Suddenly the truth will change the way we fall,
I didn't want to hurt you, don't you know,
Empty promises, shattered dreams of love,-"
Road listened to the song from her place on the other side of the slightly ajar door, pulling a lollipop out of her mouth, the barely noticeable sound coming from her throat as she silently hummed the song in sync with the one singing.
"-Sometimes I wonder what's beyond,
I tried many times to make it up to you,
Can somebody tell me what to do?
Thought we're meant to be,
There's no going back,
Time has already come,
Sun is gone and no more shadows,
Can't give up I know and this life goes on,
I'll be strong I'll be strong 'till I see the end,-"
The Noah of Dreams knew that Allen still considered some of the Order his family, yet she also knew that over time he had spent with the Noahs he had come to consider them the same way to an extent. She knew he would need more time to accept it, and a part of her dared to hope that in the end everything would work out- that Allen would be able to smile in the end.
"-Glassy sky above,
As long as I survive,
You will be part of me,
Glassy sky the cold,
The broken pieces of me,
Glassy sky above,
Covers over me, over me."
She stood up quietly as the music died down, walking down one of the many paths of the white ark- coming to her own decision. After all; family came first.
And Allen Walker was most definitely family.
"No."
Kanda stared down at the Noah giving him the most innocent look imaginable- but he knew better, whatever Road was planning couldn't be good. His eye twitched, hand inching towards Mugen slightly, cautiously.
Unlike Allen and Johnny, he wouldn't let his guard down when in the presence of the former enemy. Manipulation, deception, hatred towards Innocence and exorcists, pleasure in killing; the Noah were all these things.
Or so the samurai had thought.
Kanda hadn't been wrong, but there was one thing he had never considered when it came to his former enemies:
They treasured family above all else, and that had been the only reason Johnny and himself had even been given a chance to talk with Allen. In the end things had worked out- well, at least for the time being.
The one thing he was sure of was that Allen was safer with the Noah than the Fourteenth would be with the Order; and as long as Allen was with the Noah, Kanda and Johnny were safe.
Though even knowing that, Kanda had absolutely no intention of letting his guard down.
"Ehhhhhh," Road whined, "why nooooot?"
"Why would I wear something like that?" Kanda glared down at an object held in Road's hands, there was no was in hell he would wear something like that- especially not for the sake of the Noah in front of him.
"B~e~c~a~u~s~e~" Road didn't bother to hide her devilish smirk, shattering her image of an innocent young girl. "Your Allen's pet~" She sung.
Kanda gave her a blank look, "huh?"
"You follow him around like an overprotective watch-dog, so~ you~ are~ his~ pet~"
His hand gripped Mugen, it taking every ounce of his willpower not to murder the Noah of Dreams. It was true that he kept an eye on Allen, but it wasn't to such an extent. "I'm," Kanda ground out, "not. The. Moyashi's. Damn. Pet."
"Riiiight~" Road moved quickly, placing the item which she held- cat ears on top of his head. Looking at him she frowned, seemingly disappointed. "Dog ears would have been better… But we don't have any. Oh well! This'll surely cheer Allen up~"
Kanda tugged at the ears, which to his ultimate dismay, seemed to have been glued on. He sent Road one of his most deadly glares yet, silently vowing to get her back for this and whatever else she was planning- he blinked. "'Cheer Allen up?"
Road nodded, her smile suddenly seeming saddened.
"Che…" Kanda grumbled, "damn Moyashi."
Allen stared at the cat ears.
Kanda glared at him.
Hesitantly, Allen dared to ask; "The twins…?"
"No," Kanda growled, "Road."
Allen chuckled lightly, "why?"
Kanda's eye twitched in annoyance. "Because she thinks you need 'cheering up', Moyashi."
"It's not Moyashi, its Allen," Allen said while crossing his arms, "and why would I need cheering up, BaKanda?"
Oh I wonder is what Kanda wanted to say, but refrained from doing so. Instead opting to take a seat on the couch in the Fourteenths room.
Allen sighed when Kanda didn't say anything, pressing down on one of the piano's keys simply to hear its sound. "I…" He hesitated, glancing down at his grey hand, "I have to keep on walking, but I don't know what to do anymore…"
Kanda's eyes narrowed slightly in attempt to hide the concern shining in them. He wasn't good at things like this- comforting people wasn't really his thing. Yet the desire to say something was there.
And so he did:
"Che, no matter how things are now, things will turn out in the end."
It was a lie, of course. Given the current situation there was little-to-no chance of a truly happy ending for Allen Walker; Kanda was aware of that much, and he knew Allen knew as well.
But even so, the words that were said managed to cheer Allen up, if only a little.
"Yes," Allen smiled, "even if there isn't a happy ending, I'll keep on walking down my own path until the end, and then maybe… Maybe things will work out."
Road grumbled slightly in annoyance as she listened in on the two. In the end Allen hadn't been cheered up all that much, perhaps she should enlist the help of the twins?
Nah, they'd probably suggest something like putting Kanda in a dress, and Road didn't have any intention of being killed by an enraged former Exorcist.
Family: End
Note: Where was Lavi in all this? Eh, at first I had intended to put him in it... But I just couldn't manage to fit him into it properly.
Eh, I should probably be working on other things, rather than writing something random like this... I've recently taken on an 'experiment-type' mindset when it comes to writing (and cooking, hehehe... I almost pity the poor kitchen... Almost) and I've found it a lot more fun to write like with that type of thinking. I know this probably made little-to-no sense, was OOC and just... Eh... But I really enjoyed writing it, the concept of Noah!Allen is something that I've been interested in ever since I got extremely into DGM a good five years ago, and recently I've found myself playing with the concept quite a bit. I'm tempted to do a longer story with Noah!Allen based off of certain aspects of this short story, although it'd be something I'd have to take seriously for once... Hmm... I guess I'll just play with the idea a bit more and see how I go~
Even though I feel this wasn't very well down, I hope it was enjoyable to read nonetheless!