Neither Silverkleptofox nor Alyeth own -Man. -Man and its characters belong to Katsura Hoshino. No profit is being made from this fan work.
Thanks for waiting! As always , this chapter was written by both Silverkleptofox and Alyeth, and any foreign languages used will be explained within the chapter, or footnoted.
Allen was both worried and confused, but more so worried.
What had just happened?
Lavi almost fell over, and then he just stared off into space, not responding to Allen's questions whether junior was alright. Shortly after, he left for the library. Perhaps he had a realization and needed to look something up? No, that couldn't be it... Allen presumed Lavi knew the entire library by heart... he could quote an excerpt from any book with just the title and page number. The exorcist had been witness to such prowess in the Science department when Johnny couldn't remember the measurement of a mole… or was it temperature conversion? Either way, Lavi had recited it verbatim from memory; by page number and paragraph location no less!
Something was definitely wrong... Allen stared at his food, suddenly thought of eating disagreeable. Worry brewed in his stomach instead: he had to see what Lavi was up to… yes, that's exactly what he would do!
Resolute in his decision, Allen stood up, empty dishes clanking together as he set his hands on the table. His face wrested with concern as he pondered Lavi's current location... where was the antiquities section? Allen had only encountered the library once with Lavi to guide him, something for a mission, and he had still gotten lost! The plethora of volumes and parchment was engulfing at best to an outsider like himself. He would need someone who was familiar with the Order's labyrinth of a library... someone like Bookman.
He stacked the plates he used and absentmindedly loaded them on a cart to the kitchen, thanked Jerry with a halfhearted smile and headed off to Bookman territory.
With every approaching step, Allen's anxiety increased; gradually encumbering his optimism and making his journey to the Bookman's room painstakingly long. The more he thought about Lavi's strange behavior, the lower his heart seemed to sink, draining the color from his face and making his palms jittery. The redhead appeared so out of character… so vulnerable. Perhaps reliving the ark in ink had taken its toll on him, and rightfully so, considering how Rhode had controlled his mind… it unsettled Allen further, thinking his friend was left to suffer alone. The walls echoed his footsteps and offered little comfort as his thoughts were interrupted; Bookman's door coming into view, finding it surprisingly creaked open. With worry taking precedence over his usual manners, Allen stepped inside.
Bookman was sitting at a huge desk opposite to the bunk bed where he and Lavi slept most nights while at Headquarters. The only other desk in the room was much smaller, causing Lavi, his insufferably messy apprentice, to do most of his work in the library where he could spread everything out instead of keeping his tomes and parchment in neat piles like a Bookman should. He would have to start training him on proper desk etiquette soon. That and how to write without getting smudges on the parchment: Bookman had already counted three blots and seven smudges in Lavi's chronicle so far, and he was only two-hundred and eighty-seven pages in. Unacceptable. That was ten pages that needed to be re-written, at least. Sixty-seven of those pages were titles of all the books in the Ark's library before it was destroyed in the fight between exorcist Arystar Krory and the Noah duo collectively called Jasdevi. At the very least his apprentice knew how to save paper, writing the destroyed volumes in red ink instead of making a separate list for them... he wasn't as much of an idiot as he seemed.
The log was quite interesting in and of itself, despite being incomplete. Though Bookman couldn't blame Lavi for that; he couldn't be in two places at once. Unfortunately, that meant knowledge of what transpired between the exorcist Kanda and the Noah Skin Bolic was lost, as well as the outcome of the exorcist Krory's battle. Both had to be sacrificed in order to gain more knowledge of the upper levels of the Ark. If only there were more Bookmen to record history accurately, then...
"Bookman?" Allen called from inside the doorway, his voice cracking as if nervous.
"Yes, what is it Walker?" he grumbled. He hated to be interrupted while inspecting a log; that or at any other time, a fact which his own apprentice chose to ignore. But at least the Walker boy was polite, despite his informality.
"W-would you mind showing me around the library? I got lost last time..." Allen mumbled, apologetic in his tone. Bookman could be quite frightening sometimes.
"Why not get my stupid apprentice to show you?" Bookman quipped sardonically. "Now that he's completed his work, I bet he's bored out of his mind and would love a victim to pester."
"Well you see, that's why I'm here… I was just with Lavi in the mess hall and he was acting strange. He said he'd be in the antiquities section." Allen paused a moment, folding his hands and rocking on his heels. Clearing his throat, he continued: "I wanted to follow him to see if he's okay, but the library is so big! And getting lost wouldn't do Lavi any good. Could you help me find him?" He laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. The old man probably thought Allen's concern trivial and unnecessary, but that never stopped the cursed boy from doing anything foolish before.
"The antiquities section, hmm?" Bookman frowned. Lavi had already devoured the antiquities section; he knew it by heart (Bookman made sure of that). Why would he go there? It was the darkest, most secluded part of the Black order... Bookman's aged eyes widened a fraction as he realized what was going on. It was a coded message, one only he would understand...
"Well then, let's go check on my idiot apprentice." Bookman stated as he rose from his desk and headed towards the library, Allen following, still worried and confused.
"What's so special about the antiquities section, anyway?" Allen mused, half mumbling as they entered the library.
"Be quiet." Bookman quipped toward the exorcist, grabbing a candle and placing it in a glass container before lighting it with a match.
Allen frowned at the mild scolding he received—was he missing something here? The library was dark, but it wasn't a cave! Bookman's irritation had also steadily progressed with each passing bookcase… it sent pinpricks of anxiety down Allen's arms: like some strange forbearance lie ahead. He swallowed, stepping prudently around what appeared to be crumpled parchment.
"Why do we need a candle? It's still daylight outside..." Allen asked, nervousness making him forget Bookman's previous command.
"The antiquities section has no windows, sunlight damages the pages. And didn't I tell you to be quiet? This is a library." Bookman frowned. If his suspicions were correct, they needed to be as quiet as possible; that required the white-haired exorcist to shut up. His previous reprimand seemed to have sunken into the buy's thick skull, though, as he was not longer attempting further conversation.
As they turned each corner, the windows became far and few between and, eventually, vanished all together; the light similarly departing from them. The only thing illuminating their path was the flame in Bookman's hand, kept dim by its glass encasing. The panda was suddenly thankful that the specially-made lantern, intended to prevent a fire should it be dropped, also had the benefit of emitting little light. Light was another thing they needed to avoid.
Allen began to understand why a candle was necessary- the library really was a cave, this far in. It's so dark back here... Why would Lavi want to come to a place like this? It really was quite odd... the redhead was always so exuberant. Imagining him holed away in such a dark place was peculiar at best.
But, try as he might, Allen simply couldn't legitimize Lavi's recent behavior... or Bookman's for that matter. The historian was usually grouchy, yes, but he had good humor about it. He rarely admonished Allen, or anyone else for that matter (except Lavi). He was strict, yes, but amiable enough in his own right. Before he could digress further into his thought medley, however, they stopped. The only noise, their clicking shoes on the tile which had become a comforting sonority, abruptly stopped—departing with a vacant echo and leaving the room hauntingly empty.
"What is it?" Allen whispered, noticing Bookman's hesitation. He heard a low, quiet moan from around the bookcase. Anticipation clutched his chest like a frog knot, looping his organs around and constricting his breathing.
"Allen," Bookman whispered, handing him the lantern as he walked into the darkness, "be quiet and keep the light as dim as possible."
The weight of the situation culminated, the knot twisting uneasily in his torso as he took the lamp, hands clammy under his ever-present gloves. Something was very wrong, he knew that much, and the corner was the only obstacle between finding out what.
But, despite his trepidation, Allen conquered the corner separating him and Bookman— and alarm struck him shortly after as Lavi's crumpled form came into view with Bookman knelt down beside him.
"Lavi…" Allen breathed, voice barely breaching a whisper. He suddenly felt frantic as the diminutive utterance had caused his friend to cringe in pain. The white-haired exorcist clenched his fist in a bout of frustration, momentarily allowing a sliver of light from the lantern to refract into the confined space. At this, Lavi moaned, hissing through clenched teeth. Bookman glared derisively at Allen, who had already adjusted his hand over the flame once more; his own expression grim.
Lavi, how did this happen? Why didn't you tell anyone what was wrong? Allen slumped to his knees beside the redhead, hesitant to get closer for fear of hurting him. He'd not seen Lavi so contorted in pain since… well, since Rhode. In this instance, however, there was no akuma or Noah to kill, to ebb the torture. No fake smile or joke was going to alleviate Lavi's ailment, whatever it was. What use was his innocence if Allen couldn't help one of his own friends? He dropped his head, staring downward into gloved palms; his arm suddenly feeling bulky and cumbersome. If only there was something he could do…
While Allen became enclosed in thought, Bookman examined his apprentice, searching for any signs of injury or illness. The old man felt the redhead's wrist for a pulse: Lavi's hands were cold... too cold to be from the stone floor alone. He was covered in a light sheen of sweat, yet he was shivering. There seemed to be no trace of a fever, however.
Then, upon further inspection, Bookman noticed something odd... Lavi was lying on his left side. His apprentice never slept on his left side, blind side upwards... it left him too vulnerable. The old panda quickly put two and two together.
"Lavi, can you stand?" He asked quietly, careful to keep the decibels of his voice low.
"Non..." the teen growled, teeth still ground tight from the offending candle.
He's switching languages... not good. Bookman puzzled over this new bit of information, deciding to play along. If French was what Lavi's mind was currently thinking in, then French so be it.
"Depuis combien de temps a été le dernier sursaut?" The old man questioned, getting straight to the point.
"Il...il ya trois minutes ... Je pense... que..." Lavi answered breathily, suppressing the urge to cry out.
Bookman nudged Allen to follow him as he stood and walked around the corner, far enough so Lavi wouldn't hear them. The white-haired exorcist exhaled slowly, snapping himself out of his momentary fugue as he breached the corner once more. He didn't wait long for an explanation.
"What's wrong with him?" Allen pleaded, his worry compounded by his confusion at the redhead's condition. "Has this happened before? Is there anything I can do?" Bookman stared at him for a moment and, ignoring his first question, replied: "There is nothing you can do for him, Walker. This must pass on its own. "
Allen shook his head, incredulous at the thought. "What do you mean it'll pass o—"
The old man raised his hand to intercede the white-haired exorcist's outburst. He sighed before continuing, trying to keep the atmosphere calm. "When did you first notice him acting strangely?"
"About an hour ago, now." Allen replied, suddenly feeling guilty he hadn't acted sooner on his instinct. "Can't we move him somewhere else? The floor can't be comfortable..." Allen implored, disconsolate of his friend's debilitating condition.
"Unfortunately no, it is far too bright inside the rest of headquarters right now. Moving him would only cause him more pain; we must wait until nightfall. Until then, he must stay here.
"We can't just leave him! You said so yourself that he's in pain!" Allen exclaimed, momentarily forgetting where he was. The echo vibrated and quickly dissipated against the narrow walls. Allen clenched his fists, white hair masking his eyes as he spoke again, voice low and subdued.
"I... I'll stay with him, then. I don't have any missions today and... and that way, if he gets worse... at least I can get help." He then looked up, his resolve solid.
Bookman raised a bald eyebrow. It would be better to have Lavi watched over, in case he did get worse... but what if Allen only added to the problem? This hadn't happened in over two years; anything could go wrong. Weighing the options in his head, searching like an algorithm for all possible outcomes, Bookman decided.
"You may remain here with him. I'd rather not give you so much information, but if you are going to watch over him, having knowledge on the basics of his condition is essential." Allen nodded, eyes narrowed in fervent concentration, as if taking mental notes. Bookman continued. "Avoid light and stay as quiet as possible. The next wave should be in... five minutes and 42 seconds, approximately. He is most likely nauseous, disoriented, and agitated. If anything worsens, come fetch me- but be discreet, it's bad enough you know about this." The old man straightened himself out and walked past Allen, towards the entrance.
"We will move him tonight. Tell no one of this. The Order need not meddle in Bookman affairs."
