Enjoy. :)
Disclaimer- D.Gray-Man and all its characters belong to Hoshino Katsura. No Profit was made from writing this story, I own nothing but the tale of the blue knight, the plot of this story, fictional Venice, Italy, and the towns people themselves.
"A Knight must accept his responsibilities, for his actions will affect those he serves."
Chapter 2
"You want me to what?" Kanda stood from his chair, baffled by the words that had just come out of the old man's mouth. All eyes had been on him at that moment. Even the food had been ignored.
"Well, maybe you'll understand what he's trying to explain to you if he'd tell you the knight's tale." Lavi returned his eyes to Alberto.
Alberto took this as a cue, "Allow me to tell you the entire tale." There was a pause and Lavi, Allen, and Lenalee had by then been on the edges of their seats, anticipating the tale of the blue knight.
"Long ago, there lived a young nameless hero whom watched over our city as if it were his own. All the peasants throughout the land admired him for his sly tactics in stealing from the rich, and giving all he took to the poor. He wasn't at all a bandit, more or so the opposite, due to him not keeping anything at all. Rather than keeping his rewards all to himself, he gave it all to the over-taxed poor. The royal family of course had loathed him, for thanks to him, they were losing tax money little by little, and the rich as well shared the amount of dislike towards him. For if you were so wealthy, and you were losing it to the poor none the less, of course you'd be more enraged!
"Our hero had roamed the ruins of Venice with his eye-mask, boots, his sword, and of course, his equally sly cat. In a time of need for such a hero, he arrived. He slayed 100 mysterious monsters in one night, managed to keep the poor from starvation, and yet he had never asked for anything in return. No one but the princess had the chance to lay their eyes on his true face, or had the chance to know his true name, but no one really needed to know. His kindness to the less-fortunate had been enough. His self-less attitude and public service gained him the association with the word "knight", while his sword that had assisted him in saving countless lives had gained the title, "blue". So, our nameless hero, to his people, has always been referred to as "The Blue Knight"."
They began to clap as Alberto finished. "Now, this isn't the full story. A summary if you will. As for the mysterious monsters, I believe those are referred to Akuma. By this I mean he sliced them up whenever they appeared in the city."
"He sounds like a true believer in equality." Lenalee's face brightened of the thought. "Along with numerous Akuma taken down in one night, by him alone!"
"Wow." Lavi and Allen said in unition.
Kanda hadn't looked too amused. "So you want me to dress up as this blue knight guy on the day of his festival." He didn't like the sound of the words he had just released.
"Yes, and we'll need you to make the people believe that you are him." Alberto paused. "You are the perfect candidate for this. You look like him; all you have to do is make them believe it. I've already helped you out by pointing out to them all that you must be him."
"So that was the whole point of the commotion!" Allen exclaimed as he looked from Alberto to Kanda. "But Kanda…a knight?" Allen couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, Lavi burst into laughter as well.
Kanda ignored Allen's comment. They all continued to eat while Kanda stood and leaned on the wall, ignoring them as much as he could. He realized that Lenalee had been staring at something, perhaps lost in a trail a thought. Allen had been asking for thirds and Lavi had been discussing a few things with them all, occasionally taking a bite of food. Alberto hadn't been present at the table.
The Italian elder came back into the room, with a frown on his face. "Mr. Allen and Mr. Lavi, please come with me." The two had wiped their mouths and joined the Italian man wherever he was going.
Lenalee glanced at Kanda with a confused look, and in return he expressed through his face that he couldn't have cared less.
--
"Why are you guys leaving so soon?" Lenalee looked at Allen and Lavi, "You just arrived!"
"We believe that 3 exorcists on the job will be enough." Allen turned to Lavi. Lavi had then joined the exorcists that were staying.
"What about you?" Lenalee's face saddened. Everyone but him was staying. She hadn't seen him in so long, and here they were, separating her friend from her, again.
"He is needed in England." Alberto announced, "Mr. Komui's orders!"
Finally, Kanda thought. What was Komui trying? That he, Kanda, needed that Moyashi's help? Komui must've dreamt it. Only in a stupid person's dreams would he ever need the Moyashi of all people to assist him throughout this or any mission.
"Well, I should be leaving; the gondola to the train station is soon to arrive." Allen opened the door, "It was a pleasure Alberto."
"Anytime!" Alberto grinned.
"Make sure you guys resolve this case, and quickly." Allen looked at them all and smiled, "Have fun being a knight Kanda."
Kanda glared at him, but Allen ignored him and turned his attention to them all. "Good luck."
"Be careful Allen!" Lenalee hugged him, and smiled.
"Take care, Allen!" Lavi grinned.
They turned to see if Kanda would at least say his farewell, but they must have been expecting too much. Kanda hadn't looked all the interested in Allen. He had that certain attitude towards Allen that if he jumped off a cliff, he wouldn't give much of a damn.
He left, and as soon as they stepped out, the sky had begun to cry.
--
It had become fairly late that night and instead of staying at the hotel; they found themselves bunking in Alberto's home. Before he had showed them to their rooms, he gave them a tour of his home. He had many paintings hung, some of which seemed pretty dark for such a cheerful elder man to have. One looked as though it was a painting of their nameless hero. It was a fairly large home. They started from the dining room, filled with beautiful furniture mostly furnished with flower prints. The halls were long and led them to even larger rooms, ranging from the master bedroom to restrooms. They had been to every room minus one.
"What's in that room?" Lavi asked as he pointed to the large door, accompanied by a large lock.
"Oh, that room. Don't worry about it my boy." Alberto glanced at the door. "Shall we continue on towards your rooms?"
The elder man continued to walk down the long hall as the exorcists took one final glance at the door, shrugged and continued walking.
--
"And this is your room Miss. Lenalee." He opened it. "This was my daughter's room, I hope you like the color pink."
"Thank you very much…" Lenalee paused as she looked around the room. It had been fairly simple compared to the extravagant rooms that they had seen while on the tour. It was a fading shade of pink, a bed, and a mirror. "Where is she now, if you don't mind me asking?"
"She died long ago…" he stared at the room as if he were in a trance. "Please, if you need anything at all, do ask!" He disappeared into the dark halls, as Lenalee's eyes followed the only source of light, his candle.
--
Kanda looked around the room he had been given. It was fairly simple, and to his knowledge, Lenalee was in the room to his right, and Lavi's was across from his.
The room that they had been denied access to had managed to bother him all of a sudden. What was so secretive that in deserved a lock as big as his hand? He sat on the bed's edge and was thinking of possible things that could be in there.
"Che, I'll find out eventually." With that, he grabbed his exorcist coat and left the house through the only window in his room.
--
He looked around the silent town; no soul was out on the foggy night. The rain had managed to stiffen into a drizzle. The only noises heard were rustling tree branches. He stared at the water's gentle waves. It had been a full moon out and it brightened the water, allowing a few sparkles here and there. He sat at the edge of a stone port and stared at his reflection. The water was as clear as a mirror.
He stood after a few seconds. He had a lot on his mind; it didn't help that now he had to pretend to be something that he wasn't. He found it strange that a town would believe that the blue knight would still be alive after 100 years. Perhaps these people were dumber than he gave them credit for. They all made Mr. Lombardi seem as though he was actually sane.
He decided to explore these ruins and alleys Alberto had talked of, and disappeared into the alleys.
--
The next morning, the exorcists awoke to find breakfast set on the table. Lenalee found a note and a box from Alberto, which she read aloud;
"Fellow exorcists,
I had some business to attend to in order to prepare for The Blue Knight's festival. Do enjoy the food, and I'll see you no later than dinner.
-Alberto
P.S. - Do give this box to Mr. Kanda."
Lenalee picked the box up and handed it to Kanda. "Open it, it's for you."
As Kanda began to open it, Lavi and Lenalee leaned closer to see what was in there. And there it was, The Blue Knight's Costume. There was a black cloth that only revealed two holes which he assumed were for his eyes. Inside there was also armor that covered his upper body the color of a dark blue; it managed to shine once he picked it up. Regular black pants accompanied by boots which were railed with a touch of silver. It hadn't been full-body plate armor, but then again, Kanda saw that as a blessing.
Below it all, was another note, which Kanda read aloud;
"Mr. Kanda,
I do hope that this original costume of The Blue Knight will fit you.
Do try it on.
-Alberto
P.S. - You already have the sword." Kanda groaned at the thought of him wearing something so ancient.
--
Lavi snickered at the thought of seeing Kanda in the knight's costume. Lenalee and he had been waiting outside of Kanda's room to see what he looked like.
"Yuu-chan! Hurry up, we wanna see!" Lavi knocked on Kanda's door for what seemed the millionth time. They waited for a response, but they heard nothing.
"Yuu?" Lavi busted the door open to find Kanda was gone; only his exorcist robes were left behind.
"He ran off again?" Lenalee crossed her arms. It was unbelievable! Just the other day she had talked to him about this problem. It was as if her words went into one of his ears and out of the other.
A faint scream was heard, followed by an explosion.
"I think we have bigger problems." Lavi dashed out the window followed by Lenalee. They ran towards the source of the explosion.
--
Kanda dug Muugen into the Akuma's back; blood spilling. The people who had run away from the scene had begun to emerge from their hiding, to their surprise; they found Kanda, who had defeated the monster.
"I knew it! I knew the blue knight would return! He has saved our town once again!" A man expressed, followed by cheers of the town's people.
Kanda, controlling himself from making more blood spill, realized that he was at fault. In an attempt to stop the Akuma from causing more damage, he hadn't changed from the blue knight's costume.
"You're alive!" The maiden who he saved from the Akuma had planted a kiss on Kanda's cheek before he could react. Tears welted up one her face, for the city's hero had been right in front of her.
Kanda ignored the woman's tears and backed away. He returned Muugen into his case, in an attempt to control his instinct. The crowd had begun to gang up on Kanda, and began praising him for his "deed".
'What's wrong with these people?' Kanda continued to back away, and was about to grab his katana out of its case and slash it into people's faces as a familiar face popped up.
"Oy, Ka-blue knight! Um…way to go! You're so awesome!" Lavi managed to grab Kanda from the center of the crowd, and Lenalee grabbed Kanda's other arm.
"But wait! Our hero, please answer our questions!" With that, they ran.
--
"Those people really think you're the blue knight, Kanda!" Lenalee said through huffs as they hid in one of Venice's alleys. They had been catching their breath from running away from the crazed blue knight fans.
"Those idiots." Kanda removed the eye mask from his face, disgusted by such a stupidity that this whole commotion was about.
"Aw Yuu, don't be harsh on them! The knight was their hero, we might as well respect what they must be going through, believing that their hero has returned." Lavi pointed out. "I mean, apparently, you look like him."
"That doesn't mean I am him."
A/N- Will update as soon as I can, and I'd like to thank those of you who have reviewed.
As always, reviews are appreciated.