A/N: Hello people of the internet! Welcome to the second chapter of Earthbound Butterfly! Thank you so much to those who reviewed, favorite, followed, and everything else! I appreciate you very much, so you all get cookies!
This is really late, isn't it….ah, sorry, sorry….I TOLD YOU GUYS I WAS FORGETFUL! And homework...geez. Who knew it could pile up so much? AND I GOT A DATE TO HOMECOMING I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO HELP ME PLEASE. *ahem* Ehehehe…let's get on, shall we?
kho7gl: Thank you for reviewing! As for the pairing, I'm not sure what it will end up as, but it's most likely going to be Laven with hints of Yullen for the fans. I'm going to put a poll up soon, so we'll see who wants what. And your review made me smile.
Assassin Cheshire Cat: Oh, stop it you. You flatter me too much. I've always liked Fem Allen fics so I just decided to do one! You go on being awesome, kay?
Tiger723: Thank you! And I don't plan on stopping this story anytime soon! AND YES. GO ALLEN! *fist pump in the air*
And thank you to the guest who goes by Die! I have no idea who you are, but your review was appreciated.
Few more things:
I'm still looking for a beta reader for this story, so please message me if you can do it! If no one does, my keyboard is going to mess this up. It doesn't like me.
School's picking up, so I'm warning you guys that it might be a little while before you get the next chapter. I SAID MIGHT. I can still blow off homework or something. XD
In the last chapter, I forgot to add at the end (I said I was forgetful, right?) that Lavi and Kanda are legally adults. Lavi is 18 and Kanda is technically 19 although he's been alive for about 9 years. If you don't believe me, look it up! I'm going to make Allen fifteen, and Lenalee sixteen.
And that's about it, I guess. If I forgot anything, I'll add it at the bottom later. Now let us fly through the chapter! (Or read it slow so you can savor it. Either way's cool with me.)
Disclaimer: I own my Bible, the box of Sweet Tarts I'm eating, and my hats. What I don't own is D. Gray Man.
(((D. Gray Man)))
The ride to North America wasn't the most pleasant. Wait, scratch that. It was downright terrible. The crying babies and annoying seatmates went to Kanda's head, so he might've, uh, exploded? Well, there's no need to go into the details. What resulted in his fiery wrath was he ended up sitting alone while the rest of the passengers leaning away from him as an attempt to move farther away. That's the bare details.
Allen had been so hungry she almost ate the plane out of food and complained that she was hungry again a few hours later. She fell asleep only to wake up with a crick in her neck and doodles on her face, courtesy of Lavi.
Speaking of the red-haired bunny, he was actually doing fine until multiple women started flirting with him. What happened, you ask? Well, he's now short a headband, a shirt, and a couple tufts of hair. 'Yup,' he thought. 'Just another day in the life of a stud like me.'
Lenalee was actually feeling okay. Except for the fact that there was a heavy-set man sitting behind her that was breathing really shallow and slow, like every breath was hard to take. He was staring at her with beady black eyes. Ok, now she wasn't doing fine.
In conclusion, no one had fun on that plane. It just proves the theory that no one at all was granted comfortable passage on an airplane.
When they finally arrived in America, they were exhausted and cranky. Allen and Kanda had gotten into an argument that almost led to them being arrested by airplane security, and the Finder that was supposed to take them to the North American headquarters was nowhere to be seen. On the bright side, it was a lovely day!
"Well, we're out of the plane! That's good!" Lenalee said cheerfully.
"I'm starving!" Allen moaned. "I need foooood!"
"Shut up, you stupid bean sprout!" Kanda barked. "We'll find food when we get to the North American Branch."
Lavi was digging in the pockets of the jacket he was wearing and brought out a candy bar. "Here, Moyashi-chan!" he said cheerfully. "I bought this before we left and I thought that-"Allen snatched the candy out of his hand and ate it before he could finish his sentence.
"Ahh…that feels better." She grinned at him. "Thanks for the food!"
Wait, wait, wait. Is Lavi blushing? Lavi never blushed! He turned away slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "N-no problem." He said casually (or at least he tried to).
Allen, who remained her oblivious self, was blind to Lavi's actions. Lenalee, however, noticed how Lavi was acting around the white-haired girl (who was getting quite a fair amount of strange looks from passing people). Blushing faces, slight stutter…those things usually mean….
"Ah!" she said out loud. 'That's it! Lavi must-'
"Ah! Timcanpy! How'd you get past airport security? And what are you doing in my-ack! Get back here before people see you! Tiiiiiiiiiiiiimmm!"
While Allen was chasing the escaped golem, someone ran up to them and surprised them by speaking loudly and making wide gestures with his arms.
"Hello there! Are you four the ones from the European Branch? I'm Nick, the Finder who's supposed to pick you guys up! "
Lenalee swiveled around to face a Finder. He looked just like the ones from their branch, which gave her a sense of familiarity, but he had spiked up rainbow hair and piercings everywhere on his face. When he grinned, the rings pulled at his lips, making it a little disturbing to watch him smile.
He must've noticed her stunned look, because he only gave a smirk and said, "Welcome to America, land of the free and home of the brave. Here, we can do anything we want; within reason, of course. You are now currently in New York City."
Lavi, Kanda, and Lenalee stared at his hair. "S-so that's not your real hair, correct?" Lenalee questioned a bit timidly.
"No, it's not. It's dyed." Nick tilted his head towards them to show them the top. "My hair's actually brown. Anyways, I was told that there were four of you on this mission, where's the other one? "
As if on cue, Allen turned up, gasping in air with a slight flush of her cheeks. "I-I have Tim. He won't go away again. Phew, that took longer than expected…"
Kanda smirked and took advantage of the opportunity. "Must be getting out of shape, huh, you stupid sprout."
"It's Allen!" she shot back.
"Hold up!" Nick shouted, effectively silencing (not really) the bickering pair. He brought his hand up to a dramatic pose and pointed directly at Allen. "What's an old man like you doing on a dangerous mission like this?"
Everybody suddenly froze, and Allen turned her head slowly so Nick could see her face properly.
"I'm a freaking fifteen year old girl!" she shrieked.
His jaw hit the ground (not literally, mind you.). "A girl?" he managed to squeak out.
"Yes," she huffed.
A spark of excitement and realization appeared in Nick's eyes. "Wait a moment here! White hair, scar over the left eye, your name is Allen…you're Allen Walker!"
"…."
"Uh, yes, I know who I am."
"Wow!" Sparkles erupted around Nick, which looked weird with his strange hair and face. "Is it true you regained your Innocence when it was completely broken down into particles? How about the time when you went into the Ark and took on all of that Noah family?! Is it true that you battled the Earl, left him severely wounded, and rode away on a flying cat leaving a rainbow in its trail?" he asked excitedly.
"….."
"Ah….she did get her Innocence back," recalled Lenalee. "It even upgraded into its complete form!"
Lavi nodded. "Yup, you're halfway wrong, though. We all did go into the Ark, but she didn't take on all the Noah. She fought Tyki and me if you count Road's mind control. Our other companion and Kanda had to stay behind and take on a separate enemy." He explained.
"And yes, I fought the Earl once, with my upgraded Innocence, but it was only for a few minutes! I didn't leave him mortally wounded and I most certainly did not fly away on a flying cat leaving rainbows everywhere!" she said sternly, scrunching up her face.
Lavi and Lenalee burst into a fit soft giggles, which soon turned into full blown out laughing. Allen and Nick soon joined in, and no one cared that Kanda was standing straight as a stick, eyebrows scrunched together and mouth twisted as if he had something sour shoved down his esophagus. Lavi stumbled his way to the cursed girl, drunk with laughter, and slung his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug, which made her start and look at him in surprise. 'He's…warm…' she thought as she smiled slightly. He pulled his hand back and faced Nick; finally sobering up a bit as some stray chuckles still escaped his lips. "So….are you taking us now are what?"
"Oh, yes! I almost forgot what I was here for!" he laughed. "We have a truck waiting, so just follow me and try not to get lost!"
The four followed Nick the best they could, and with a couple of wrong turns on Allen's part, they ended up in a beat up Jeep with dull red paint.
"Well, here she is!" he stated proudly. "My pride and joy. My pops gave it to me before he was killed by Akuma." He slammed a hand on the hood. "She still runs well, too. What're you waitin' for? Go and get in!"
The jeep was riding huge wheels that were half of Allen's size, so she couldn't get find a place to climb up. She laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of her head. "I, uh, can't seem to climb up," she mumbled. Nick frowned slightly and looked up in thought.
"Well, we could always go in the airport and ask for a stool. Of course, they might not have one, but-"
"Eeep!"
Nick turned his head around and saw that Kanda had grabbed the short girl around the waist and hauled her up the huge car. When she landed into the seat, she was blushing furiously.
"K-Kanda! I could've gotten up on my own!"
He scowled at her, saying, "You were taking too long you stupid Moyashi. We cannot delay this mission, and I want to get to headquarters so I can order my soba."
He earned a punch to his head. "My name is Allen! Is it so hard to remember that?!" she barked.
(((D. Gray Man)))
A wonderful drive through traffic later (just kidding, it was terrible), the Jeep finally stopped at small white building in the middle of the busy downtown.
"Are you sure this is it?" Allen asked as she climbed down slowly. "It's a little…small."
Nick jumped out and nodded. "Yup, this is it. It's small on the outside, but that's just cuz it goes underground."
"Does it now? How far down?" Lavi questioned, Bookman instincts kicking in.
"Really far. Like, so far down I think we might touch the center of the Earth if we dug anymore!" he replied. "Anyways, let's get inside; I want to introduce you to the Supervisor. He reminds me of Komui so much, it's not even funny!"
The four paled at this. "He's not really like him is he?" Lenalee questioned. "I wouldn't really want an unconscious Allen with someone does experiment on that arm of hers again…"
"Oh, they're like twins!" Nick gushed. "Trust me, you'll love him!"
((D. Gray Man)))
A man with a serious looking face and stiff posture marched up to the when they had arrived at the -45th floor. His graying hair was combed back, and his face held a scowl that seemed to be set in stone. "Greetings, I am the Supervisor of the North American Branch. My name is Lucas Mothers, but you will refer to me as "sir". I dislike small children and "cute" items. I like being neat and orderly. You will do whatever I say without question, or else. And no laughter; I loathe happiness."
"….."
Lavi burst into laughter. He seemed to be trying to say something, but it came out something like: "I-I geth ahaha! K-Komuuu NNNIIIIIIII! nd he- nuth but-"
Lenalee stepped in and cleared her throat.
"I will translate," she said. "He is saying: "I thought you said he was like Komui, Nick. And this guy's nothing like him!"
"Of course he is!" said man said with a confused look. "Komui is the one with two weird looking dots on his forehead and always carrying a notebook around, right?"
"….."
Now Allen was rolling at the ground clutching her stomach. "He got his confused with Link! How funny is that!" she managed to get out between peals of laughter next to Lavi.
Lenalee shook her head and smiled, while Kanda rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Enough nonsense! I told you that I didn't like happiness! Everything must be gloomy and depressing!" Mathers screamed furiously. Alas, nothing could be done to quiet down the laughing duo, and their infectious laughter spread to the Finders and scientists passing through the hallway.
"No happiness! STOP LAUGHING OR YOU'RE FIRED!" he would scream at them.
"Does this usually happen?" Nick whispered to Kanda.
"Unfortunately." He replied shortly.
(((D. Gray Man)))
After the laughing episode (which went on for a good ten minutes) they were all seated in the cafeteria, and Allen was munching away on her numerous plates of food, Lenalee with a slice of cake, and Kanda with his soba (finally, Mr. Grumpy-Pants can relax).
Lavi ran over the meeting with Mathers in his office just 30 minutes ago.
*flashback*
Mathers had led them to his office, which looked just like Komui's, except neater. Much neater, Lavi had observed. Nick had gone off another way, promising to meet up with them if he could.
"I know that with that in the European Branch," the older man started. "Those idiots let you slide without an education-"
"My brother taught me well!" Lenalee cut in furiously.
"And Mana did the best he could," Allen huffed.
"I'm a Bookman?" he had said, although it sounded like a question afterwards.
"Who has time to read books when there's a war going on?" Kanda scoffed.
Mathers stared angrily at them before continuing. "Here in America, children your age need to be in school! We boast a high literacy rate due to our wonderful schooling. As your mission is to go undercover to retrieve the Innocence and investigate the rumors of the Noah, we thought that young children today might know a thing or two about the streets. Any questions?"
"Yes!" Lenalee spoke up. "Why did you bring us here? Doesn't the North American Branch have its own Exorcists?"
"Ah! I noticed that I haven't seen any either!" Allen added.
Mathers scoffed. "Ours are currently on missions, and even if there were some here, they have no experience with the Earl or Noah. I've been told that you four are the most experienced Exorcists we have."
He peered at them with slightly narrowed eyes. "We have Yuu Kanda and Lenalee Lee, so far the only Exorcists to achieve the level of Crystal in their Innocence. Lavi, who has a photographic memory and mounds of Bookman knowledge crammed inside that head. And most of all, Allen Walker."
She stiffened at her name as he continued. "The only one who can control the Ark, one who has fought the Earl one-on-one, and managed to get a few good hits in and not to mention the supposed 14th Noah."
Allen glanced down ward at the floor. "That hasn't been proven," she slightly whispered.
"Not yet, but you'll all make valuable weapons in this war."
This comment made Lavi clench his fists. They weren't weapons! They were human beings and more over, children! Allen was only fifteen, and Timothy, who was back in Europe, was even younger! How did they ever get their status as humans stolen from them?
"You are all dismissed now," the man had said nonchalantly. "At 12 o'clock, I'll have a Finder take you to the school you're supposed to be attending. Afterwards, you will come straight back to the Order. This will now be where you live, and under no circumstance will you give away our location. Understood?"
He got no acknowledgement as the four shuffled out his office and in search of the cafeteria.
*back to present time*
That had been around eleven, and thirty minutes later, they were all seated at a table, the Finders giving them a wide berth.
'Maybe they'll forget all about school, and we won't have to go…' he thought, trying to think positive.
"Well, well, fancy that! I'm the one taking you kiddies to school!" a familiar voice said.
Nick grabbed Lavi and Kanda in a kind of hug (which he later explained was a "bro-hug" but it wasn't enough to escape Kanda's wrath) and fist-bumped the girls.
"Now, we can't have you wearing that to school," he chuckled, referring to their Exorcists uniforms. "So let's get you changed!" he chucked a pile of clothes at each of them. "And hurry! You arrived here behind schedule and only have four hours of school left! "
(((D. Gray Man)))
Nick dropped them off a block from the school building. "Keep going until you see a giant monster with scary doors and intimidating people everywhere." He had said. The car sped off, leaving the confused quartet behind.
"Well at least we don't have to wear uniforms!" Allen tried to say positively as they were headed to the school.
She was in a tight red tee shirt with a black long-sleeved undershirt and a glove over her cursed arm. Jeans that slightly clung to her legs covered her lower half and there were high topped shoes that Nick had identified as "converse". A beanie covered most of her abnormal hair color and bright colored bands dangled on her wrists. A black, one armed messenger bag held limply by her side.
"I'm just glad they let me keep my skirt on," Lenalee chirped. "It's hard fighting in pants."
True to her words, a short skirt covered the top half of her legs and the Innocence anklets were jingling on her sandaled feet. She had pulled on a blue and white striped shirt and styled her short hair into mini pigtails at the last minute. Her purple backpack was suspended with both straps, a few books in her arms.
"I wonder if chicks here are the same as back home," Lavi joked.
Lavi kept his green headband on, but his red hair still ran wild. On top of a black tee shirt he had shrugged on a jacket similar to his Exorcist one. He still had on the white jeans he usually wore and tied on knee high boots. His hammer was shrunk down to a small size and fitted with a keychain he attached to his jeans. "It feels funny being in normal clothes." he commented as he shifted his bright green backpack on his arm.
"Humph. Let's not mess this up. Got it?" Kanda hissed at the others.
Kanda didn't really like the part about dressing up in normal clothes. For him, it was either his Exorcist coat or muscle shirt that he wore for training (do those things ever get washed?). But being on a mission means doing everything you can to complete it, so he reluctantly pulled on dark wash jeans and combat boots. A black long sleeved shirt covered the little commas of his curse trailing down his arm, and his sword was being housed in the long sports bag he carried. His backpack hung on one arm and dangled loosely on his right.
They arrived in front of a huge building, with a deserted yard and the American flag waving weakly in the slight breeze.
"I guess this is it," Lavi said. "Now all we have to do is find the main office."
Pfft. Easier said than done. They were wandering around for fifteen minutes when Allen stuck her head in the nearest classroom and asked for directions.
"Excuse me, but do any of you happen to know where the main office is? My friends and I are new here, and we need to get schedules?"
They received directions, but all of them were scolded by the fat teacher. ("You don't just barge in classrooms and disrupt my class!")
When they found the main office, they carefully walked in, not wanting to disturb anybody and get in trouble again.
"Well hi there, sweeties! What can I do you for?" a sweet faced woman seated behind a desk said.
"We're new and need our schedules," Kanda stated. "Now, preferably."
"Ah, you must be Kanda, Lenalee, Lavi and Allen. I'm a Finder at the Order, so you can trust me!" she chirped as she handed them each a map and their schedules. "You will all be split up based on your age. Allen, you'll be a freshman. Lenalee, a sophomore, Lavi'll be with the juniors and Kanda will go with the seniors. The only time you'll be together is at lunch and passing periods, so use the time wisely. Now go on, find your classes. Use your golems to contact each other and myself if needed."
Allen peered at her schedule and compared with the others when they walked out. "It's true, we all have lunch together."
"I'll miss you most of all, Yuu!" Lavi said dramatically, trying to hug Kanda.
"Get off me, idiot!" he yelled, pushing him away.
"But Yuuuuuu!"
"Allen, this is where I have to go. Make sure the boys behave and don't attract too much attention!" Lenalee said to her before veering to the right.
"Alright, you too!"
She sighed as she turned back to the squabbling duo. "Now how am I going to deal with you?" she muttered. "Oi! BaKanda! Your class is here!" she called, opening the door and shoving him through. "Have fun and don't kill anyone!"
Lavi popped up behind her and waved before the door shut, leaving a miffed Kanda behind.
"What are you going to do if you attract too much attention?" she scolded Lavi. "We're here undercover, meaning no attention what so ever!"
"Says the one with white hair!" he laughed.
"That's different!" she blushed.
They continued to walk down hallways, glancing at their maps every now and then until they arrived at Allen's class. Lavi pushed open the door and Allen saw students lift their heads up and stare at her and Lavi.
"Now don't be shy, little Moyashi~" he teased. "I'm sure they don't bite!"
"My name is Allen! And get to your class before you get in trouble!" she whispered/screamed.
"Alright! See you later!" he called out, skipping away.
"Stupid…" she muttered. Then she remembered that she had an audience.
(((D. Gray Man)))
A/N: Oh, this is really late…I'M SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! By the way, does anyone have any idea what you have to do during homecoming? Mine's this weekend and I have no idea what to do. Blah. Ok, never mind about my problems.
Ahem. Thank you to all who are still following this pathetic authoress, who can't even update correctly. I read over reviews and get favorites and random notifications saying I was followed during school. THIS MAKES ME HAPPY. By the way, did anyone notice that this is a really long chapter? It's like, over 4,000 words. YAY!
I think Mathers is one of my favorites. His grumpiness makes me want to laugh.
Well, I'll go ahead and post this. Everyone who reviews want a cookie? Or do you want a giant chocolate bar because IT'S HALLOWEEN TOMORROW! Woo! Go ahead and tell me if you're trick or treating or not, because I wanna know. And tell me what you're going as, because I wanna be a pirate! …arrrrgh….*holding up a badly made hook on hand*
God bless, everyone! Be safe, have a good week! May you all come upon houses that give out king sized Snickers bars!
