thank you so much for the reviews! :3 i'm really, really happy (jumping up and down)
i wasn't expecting so much feedback, thank you to everyone who reviewed.
sorry if the text seems a little weird, since i have the books in my own language (not english), i just translated it.
god damn it, in this chapter it almost looks like rin and allen are an item... damn, at this rate they really are gonna be together... no! cannon is good, cannon is better, if rin goes out with shiemi, then goddamnit, he will be going out with shiemi, even if it breaks my heart... not sure if i'm gonna keep that promise.
To Hi: Reincarnation? Hmm... Won't tell :D Well, your cannon is really close to mine, except my Allen is even more badass. But, meh. In my mind, Allen is just the 'perfect' guy... kind of. Thank you very much for the review!
To neh-Chris-chan: Woa stop! You're making me blush (seriously, I'm gonna cry if you continue)! teeheehee, can't say, can't say! It would do no good if I spoiled you everything. Plus, everyone can see here. Drama is good, I love that too. By Noah, you Neah or just the 14th? (Yeah, I know that Neah is the 14th, but I meant it as the Noah or Neah... I don't think I'm explaining it well...) Thank you very much for reviewing!
Two-hundred years
and eight seconds
6. Shiemi
"D-Demon!"
"Eh?"
Allen watched calmly as the two in front of him proceeded to panic for a good minute.
"D-Don't come near me! Help! Hel—kyaaah!" The girl, who was previously trying to crawl away, suddenly fell, making a loud noise.
Rin and Allen both immediately rushed to her help. "Are you okay?" Rin asked, not touching her in fear of making her panic even more.
Allen crouched down next to her, taking in the state of her legs, and muttered, "There's something wrong with your leg." In a louder, clearer voice, he asked, "Can you stand?"
Finnaly it ended with Rin and Allen helping Shiemi in the garden.
"My name is Shiemi Moriyama, and you?" she asked as she shaked their hands.
"Rin... Rin Okumura." He looked at the state of his hands, dirty again and inwardly grumbled. Next to him, Allen hid a laugh and discreetly changed his gloves. "Allen Walker, miss, it's very nice to meet you."
"You know... This garden... It was my grandmaother's. She taught me so many things," Shiemi looked up, "I love this place as much as I loved her." She gained a sad look. "Unfortunately, she died this winter because of a silly accident. Without a doubt, she's gone to Amahara's garden. I hope she did..." Noticing Rin's lost look, she exclaimed, "Ah! Do you know what Amahara's garden is? It's a wonderful place where god has gathered every race of vegetal. It exists somewhere... and the one who finds it has the chance to discover every plant and flower that ever existed."
Allen gave her a fond look, his features softening, a smile almost appearing. "It's your dream, huh..." he whispered, without the two hearing him.
"Ky-Kyaaaaaah!"
"Shiemi!"
The roots that had started coming from Shiemi's legs grew, making the girl float above the ground. Leaves and petals sprouted, encircling Shiemi's head. In Rin's opinion, she looked like a flower like that.
Two eyes appeared on the petals, the demon finally showing his true colors. "The two of us are linked for life... We will look over this garden forever. Kya ha ha ha ha ha!"
Yukio and Rin watched in mild panic. Allen gripped his arm, ready to use his weapon. He knew that even if he impaled Shiemi, it would only exorcise her.
"It's using Shiemi as a shield... Rin." Yukio's cogs were already running. He was trained to react fast in situations like this one.
"Yeah?" Rin grasped the handle of his sword.
"Can you lend me a hand?" Yukio turned to face his brother, and twitched at his face. "Woa, what's with this face?" he muttered. Allen chuckled at Rin's excitement.
"Ahah, no problem brother!" He drew his sword, flames springing into life and tail coming out from under his shirt. "You know me: always ready to help!" Yukio sighed, while Allen's smile became brighter.
"You're a demon too?" the creature bellowed, sweating bullets... if it was possible.
"Don't look at what I'm doing, ok? Just distract him!"
"You should answer when asked!" Allen paused, wondering why a demon was lecturing Rin, and shrugged, it didn't matter that much.
To be honest, he was a little nervous, and excited. It had been a long time he hadn't fought demons, so maybe he could... He shook his head. No, it wouldn't do. He couldn't risk Rin freaking out from him 'killing' Shiemi.
A loud bang brought him back to the real world.
Oh.
Had Yukio just killed Shiemi?
No way.
Shiemi fell, the demon leaving her while screaming its head off... if it had a head.
"It dropped her! Rin, your turn!"
Rin swung his sword at the demon, slashing it in two. "Yukio!" he screamed as he turned around. Allen caught Shiemi from her fall. The rest of the demon's corpse turned into black ash, who disappeared before it hit the ground. Allen sighed in disappointment at that, he had wanted to take a part of it. It was his first time seeing a Dek-Alp.
A whimper from Shiemi made his disappointment fade, instead he brought another smile to his face as he looked down at her. "Ah... Allen?"
"Gah!" Rin watched with wide eyes, his flames and tail already hidden.
"Everything's okay now," Allen reassured. "The roots have disappeared, along with the Dek-Alp. You can stand on your own legs again." Allen almost frowned at his own words, but smiled in hope it hadn't been seen. Gradually, Allen helped her to stand up and walk.
(Lenalee...)
He didn't understand why, but as he helped her, Shiemi's face became as red as Cross' hair.
"Shiemi!"
Allen felt a twinge of jealousy watching the mother and daughter pair hug each other; but looking at the two brothers at his side, and touching the scar on his face, he decided that in the end, it didn't bother him that much.
"This is your new class mate, Shiemi Moriyama." Yukio patted her back in reassurance.
Shiemi blushed for all the looks on her, but gulped down her nervousness at Allen's smile. "I... Pleased to meet you all!"
"W-What are you doing here?" Rin asked when Shiemi sat down next to him. Had Allen known that Shiemi would come, and was that the reason why he hadn't sat next to him today?
Rin listened to Shiemi's explanation, blushing when she thanked him.
"It... It's nothing..."
"And," Shiemi's eyes shined, "I can admire Yukio while he's teaching."
Rin stared at her, as she stared at Allen... Hadn't she just said she would admire Yukio?
He stayed silent.
7. Friends or not?
"We... We're not—Guh!" Rin almost fell as something hit his head violently. He was just about to deny being friends with Shiemi, under Ryuuji's accusations.
"Stupid," Allen's calm voice reached his ears, as he turned around to see him walking toward them. "Even if you're socially akward, don't go around hurting people's feelings."
"So-socially akward...?" Rin muttered as he massaged his pounding head. "A-anyway, it's true! We're not really—" Rin stopped. Closed eyes, tilted head and small, angelic smile.
"Angel..." He heard Shiemi mutter behind him.
Rin gulped.
Allen was a true demon.
Rin paled and stiffened. "N-nothing! I said nothing, j-just: we're friends. Right buddy?" he asked as he turned to Shiemi, who was still staring at Allen. Said teen nodded, not losing his smile as he faced the three other teens.
"Ah, hello Suguro, Shima and Miwa. Were you talking to Rin? I'm sorry, but right now, he's with me." Without letting anyone talk, Allen took hold of Rin's arm and dragged him and Shiemi away.
"Rin." He glanced at his friend, surprised at his weak voice. "Do you... Do you really think that..." Allen passed a hand through his hair, sighing. His eyes lost their usual fire. Suddenly, he looked much more older than he really was. "Nevermind. I said nothing."
Rin watched him stand up, feeling the prickle of worry slip through his mind.
"Allen, wait." He got up too, taking Allen's wrist before he could walk away. "What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, hoping to catch the other's eyes, but he was stubbornly facing the opposite wall. "You can tell me, okay? Friends relly on each other." Allen suddenly tensed and whipped around.
He stared at him for a few seconds, before his features softened, and he smiled at Rin. The black-haired teen stayed ignorant of what had just happened.
"Rin..." Allen's voice was as soft as a whisper, as the teen closed his eyes. "Next time you see Shiemi, tell her you're her friend, okay? Last time, when you almost denied it, she was sad. Take care of her." Rin nodded, not releasing Allen from his hold. He had a feeling it wasn't really what Allen had meant to ask at first.
"Allen," he called again. "This isn't what I was talking about. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I swear. You already solved it." Noticing Rin's determined look, he playfully rolled his eyes, and smiled again. "Seriously, you did. I was just worried that you didn't... Didn't really considered me as a friend." Rin froze, ready to deny it full force, but Allen just laughed at his expression. "Don't worry, I know you do. It's just that... I was the only one to affirm it, and you never reeally agreed so... I had a... small doubt?" He laughed again, his eyebrows creasing down in uneasiness.
Rin had never seen him like that.
He frowned a little, and grasped Allen's shoulders, staring at him with determination. "Allen, you're my friend, okay? Even if you don't want me to be, I will still be, forever."
When Rin felt the embarrasment come, he forced down his blush, trying to prove his resolve to Allen, who was just gaping at him.
His eyes widened when Allen looked down and bit his lower lip, his body trembling beneath Rin's.
Brokenly, he whispered, "Forever is a long time, you know."
Rin nodded, sad in a way, that he had made his friend cry, but in another way, happy that Allen had accepted his words. "Yeah, I know."
(When Allen would look at Rin proving his resolve in front of the Leaper, he would remember those eyes he had stared at, not a day before.)
8. Shining Knight
"Rin!" Allen threw his sword at the ghoul, hitting it in the face. The demon screamed and jumped away. "Are you okay?" He ran to his friend.
Yukio arrived, taking a quick look to make sure there were no more demons, and crouched down to see Noriko's injuries.
Allen hesitated, should he chase after the demon? What for? It was surely something planned by someone of the school. Allen was sure Mephisto wouldn't let his territory be invaded like that.
The time he had been hesitating, Rin had managed to lose his shirt. Allen laughed and gave him the coat he almost never left, leaving his left arm at sight.
"Oi, Allen, are you sure you want me to have it?" Rin asked, hiding his tail as soon as the other students came in. "Wait, wait, I'll have it." He quickly put it on.
"Rin!" Yukio asked, frowning in question. "What were you doing shirtless?" Shiemi gasped and blushed, while Allen just laughed, discreetly hiding his left arm from sight.
"Waah!" Renzo ran back to the front of the room, barely avoiding the arm of the ghoul.
"It's the ghoul from yesterday!"
Allen gripped his arm, muttering under his breath and slashed his sword when the ghoul came too close for his liking. "Rin!" he called, not taking his eyes off the demon in front of him. "There are two ghouls. Can you lot take care of one? I would gladly take the two but..." He didn't finish, knowing that it wouldn't do any good.
He was sure they would be angry if they knew they were being tested that way.
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" Rin yelled back, from behind the plant Ninou had created. "We'll be okay on our own, go ahead!" Allen nodded, not sure if his friend could see.
He jumped outside the room, pretending not to notice that an exorcist was following him. He slashed again, throwing the ghoul off him, and ran as far as he could. He didn't particularly want his possibly soon-to-be friends afraid of him and his powers.
Soon, he arrived in a large room that he knew empty. He turned around and faced the demon, Crown Clown finally showing around his shoulder and his eye burning as it turned red.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins, as Allen threw himself at the ghoul.
Allen came back running, having enjoyed the fight far more than he should have, just as Rin did. Rin threw the door open, the both of them relieved that the ghoul had disappeared. Allen had seen, with his cursed eye, that the ghoul had ripped itself in two, and that Rin had lead one away to fight it with his sword.
"Is everyone okay?" Allen asked, even when he could clearly see that most of them were terrified and that Shiemi was laid down on the floor.
"Wh... What happened to the other ghouls?" Ryuuji asked, his eyes still wide in fear.
"Hmm? I beat it of course. You beat yours too! Great!"
Allen sighed in exhasperation as Rin was hit by an angry Ryuuji. Faintly he wondered why Rin was the only one to be lectured when he had done the same, but didn't get the chance to ask as he heard footsteps coming here. Immediatly, he turned to two exorcists he had ignored for the main time. He also ignored the drama going on, instead he stared at the ceiling above Rin's head.
"Oops, sorry." Mephisto said when he stepped on Rin, obviously not sorry at all. "Hello my dear students!" He walked off from Rin's back.
"M... M-Mephisto?"
"Isn't that the chairman?" Ryuuji asked. "What is he doing here?"
"Ta-daaa!" Allen's eye twitched at that, suddenly remembering a certain redhead. "Of course there was a reason why I, the chairman, would allow the invasion of upper demons!" Multiple exorcists left their hiding spots, and Allen recognized the one that had followed him. Politely, he nodded in his direction, which seemed to put him off. "The doctor class teacher will treat everyone's wounds."
"That would mean..." Ryuuji muttered, while Rin was looking around in wonder, completely lost. Allen had to chuckle at that, it was kind of cute, actually.
"That's right! You realized! This training camp is in fact the exorcist authorization exam!"
"Whaaat?!" Rin was the only one surprised.
"Well, I'm sure mister Walker had realized from the start," Mephisto added as he looked at the younger(?) boy. Rin stared at his friend in shock.
"Oh yeah, Rin, Allen. How did you manage to beat those ghoul?" Konekomaru asked, looking up at the two.
"Ah that..." Rin muttered, looking away from his class mates' eyes. "I just stabbed it with my sword..."
"Wow! Like a true knight!"
"What do you mean you stabbed it with your sword," Ryuuji said. "That's too vague! To me, of all of us, you're the biggest mystery."
"Of course! It's because I'm mistake!" Rin answered, not realizing the meaning of his own words.
Allen laughed, effectively making Rin blush in embarrasement, as he knew that he was being mocked. "It's mysterious, not mistake. Rin, you seriously need to improve your english. Who knows, maybe you will have to work as an exorcist outside of Japan."
Rin grumbled, and Konekomaru took that chance to speak. "Allen, how did you beat yours?" he asked, slightly regretting it as Allen's smile took a more sinister look.
"Well, I did the same as Rin. Took my sword and stabbed it." He shrugged, tilting his head in question when he noticed Ryuuji fuming in anger. "What's wrong?"
"You two are the same..."
"Don't mind him," Konekomaru said, as he waved his hand, sweatdropping. "It's just that you are as mysterious as Rin."
Runji perked up, looking around the room. "Hey Allen, where is your sword, I never saw it."
Allen shifted, uncomfortable about that subject. Rin wished he could take that question back, and was about to speak up when Allen beat him to it. "I-if you want, I'll show you some time around." He smiled, eyebrows creasing in obvious worry.
Rin remembered the distrustful red-haired boy of years ago, and felt proud in the fact that Allen was comfortable enough in his presence to not hide his feelings.
Omake1: My charming Prince, Allen! Shiemi vers.
Warning: This is cannon, I just wanted to put both Shiemi POV and Allen POV, but couldn't as it didn't fit.
Shiemi's eyelids fluttered open, and she had to fight the urge to close them back, as she saw something too white and bright for her poor eyes.
"Ah..." she exhaled, the warm chest she was against rising in, what seemed like, relief. Finally, her vision cleared, and she almost jerked in surprise when Allen, the gentle and kind boy she had met some hours before, came into her view. "Allen?" she whispered dreamily.
"Everything's okay now," he reassured, and, was Shiemi dreaming or were there sparkles around his face? "The roots have disappeared, along with the Dek-Alp." Shiemi had no idea what a Dek-Alp was, but she guessed it was the demon that had controlled her all this time. "You can stand on your own legs again."
Shiemi felt there was something deeper in his words, as Allen twitched. He smiled as soon as he did. Shiemi blushed at that, even if it was noticeable up close that it was a fake smile, it was still beautiful.
And Allen was still sparkling.
Gently, Allen deposited her weak legs on the ground, supporting her when she almost fell down. She blushed again when she felt his warm hands through the thick layers of her clothes; and became even more red when she glanced up at him, only to see his now real smile.
Thankfully, her mother called her at that time, and Shiemi succeeded in distracting herself from the beautif—... kind teen.
If her mother hadn't been there, Shiemi surely would have fainted.
(Shiemi liked gentle boys.)
Omake2: What if... Allen had made a summoning.
Warning: This isn't cannon AT ALL.
Don't ask, it's just a bunny plot I wanted to add, but didn't fit in the whole thing.
Allen spread his blood on the paper, muttering something that even Rin couldn't hear, and waited. After a full minute of wait, Izumo scoffed, and everyone else lost interest.
Suddenly, a large puff of smoke surrounded Allen, hiding him from the others' eyes.
When the smoke finally disappeared, Allen appeared, inching away from a girl with spiky violet hair and a weird umbrella.
Allen tried to rip the summoning paper in two, only to notice that it wasn't in his hand anymore. "R-Road," he greeted weakly, looking anywhere but at her.
"Hey Allen, long time no see, huh?" Her smile turned dangerous, clearly reproching him his evasion at their previous date. "I hope you're not hoping to leave me alone again. That would be very bad, wouldn't it?"
For Allen's defense, he had been forced to accompany her, under the various threats on some of his... body parts.
"Reloo~" The umbrella moaned pityfuly in Road's hands. Perhaps he understood what Allen was going through? Though, Allen wondered if an umbrella had those too...
"Woah, Allen, you know her?" Allen had almost forgotten about the others.
And I didn't finish. But well, it's an omake people, not made to be serious.
D Gray Man © Katsura Hoshino
Ao no Exorcist © Kazue Kato
