Seizing the opportunity that Komui has left to visit the exorcist branch at America, and that no one would be around to question where she was going, Lenalee was more than thrilled to be left to her own devices. It was like the perfect chance had just fallen from the sky, right into her face, along with the perfect person she'd wanted to accompany her with.

"You sure about this, Lenalee?" Allen asked skeptically. It was probably too late a question anyway, seeing that they were both already on the platform, ready to board the train, but he couldn't catch the question back in time.

Lenalee flashed a wide smile at Allen, the excitement on her face evident, "It's my gut feeling, Allen. I have to go. I have to find him." Allen watched as the small sized girl got on the train, off to find a seat. For a moment there, Allen wondered what on Earth was he doing actually, accompanying Lenalee to find her boyfriend who might not even be there, till he remembered Lavi was one of his best friends too.

Allen did feel bad. How could he have such horrible thoughts? But then again, what would happen when Lenalee really found Lavi? Kanda was hardly ever wrong (sadly). Was he to stand at a side and watch as Lavi and Lenalee embrace each other's company and promise never to leave each other again? He didn't know why, but he was sure he'd feel horrible inside.

Sighing, Allen piled on the train, taking the seat next to the anxious girl acting like a six-year-old on her first trip to a faraway place.

It didn't take them very long to arrive actually, because time seemed to pass quickly when they had each other for company. Allen's eyes would sparkle when he found that Lenalee had baked and brought along butter cookies and Lenalee would laugh along to Allen's stories of his run-ins with Kanda. Allen even tried to teach Lenalee poker skills, but sadly, she wasn't very good at picking it up.

Before they knew it, they were looking out at Ye Cheng, one of the many provinces in China.

Allen suggested that they check into a motel first, before attempting to find anyone anywhere. They were both exhausted, after all.

Lenalee dropped on the bed, feeling the hard mattress beneath her body. Still, she'd take that over any train seat any day. Allen lowered the bags they had on the ground, looking about, "So, how about some food first?" He couldn't wait for something to fill his stomach, as usual.

Lenalee upright instantly, hardly able to wait, "Allen, stop thinking about eating for a minute! We have to go find Lavi! And when I do, I've got so much to tell him!" Allen watched on as Lenalee fumbled about to get her hair tied, before thinking about the pained feeling that had been there in his chest.

Not like it was the first time anyway. He felt terrible and to add on he didn't know what it was.

It had begun since the very first time Lenalee cried on his shoulder over Lavi.

The sun was beginning to sink back behind the mountains and darkness was taking over. Lavi felt his body ache from tip to toe. It'd been a hell of a day, watching the soldiers' work, the usual exchange of harsh words between the Indians and the Chinese, and the fact that the sun had no mercy on them in the earlier part of the day.

Damn panda, going missing on him again. It's been happening of late, where he'd just disappear mid-way, claiming to be making important phone calls from the army barracks. Yeah right. Still, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him but surely he should be home by now, considering the fact that he left almost a full hour earlier from the camp site than Lavi did.

Just when he was actually taking a minute to think of the old fellow, Bookman walked right into the house, his face its usual form of calm (or Lavi would prefer ugly), as he dropped some regular food items onto the dining table. That usually meant Lavi had to be the one to cook again.

Lavi dragged himself across the cemented ground to fish out the ingredients from the paper bags. Pretty much the usual that Bookman always buys: Eggs, Vegetables (Cauliflowers, yuck), Eggplants, Potatoes and some rice. Wow, just what I wanted, Lavi thought to himself sarcastically, but got along to getting the cooking done anyway. He begun trying to get the fire started.

Bookman simply stayed like a block of wood at the edge of his bed, reading some book while on the other hand, sipping Chinese Oo Long tea.

"So," Lavi asked, the question popping into his head suddenly, "What's with the phone calls of late, Panda? You've abandoned me three times straight since yesterday."

Silence. The only sound Bookman made was from turning the pages of his book.

Lavi went on, not caring to stop or turn around to look, "Surely you're not dating right? A man of your age should really just forget about any prospects of a partner, although if she's pretty and cooks well, she could- "

"Shut up, idiot! Watch the eggs!" Bookman yelled.

Lavi stared back at the eggs he'd been making. The sides of the fried eggs had all gone black, but the middle still look fit for a meal though. Opps, oh well, Lavi thought, as he scooped the eggs onto a plate swiftly. "We're having our dinner well done tonight, gramps!" Lavi said.

Bookman glared at Lavi, sending a chill up his spine. "In a good mood today, Lavi? Your nonsense is worse than usual."

Lavi couldn't explain it either, as he set the eggs and potatoes on the table. He just had an odd feeling in him that something was coming his way. It wasn't a bad feeling, so that means something good must be happening. Right?

It's been the third day. Every day passed so quickly, without any luck of finding Lavi at all. Lenalee clutched the picture of a wrinkled and slightly torn photo of Lavi in her hand, where he stood smiling up at her in black and white. Damn, is it that hard to find just one person?

"Lenalee, have a drink. We've been looking for the whole morning already and you haven't had anything." Allen passed her his bottle of water after he took a quick gulp.

Lenalee took it, giving him a sad smile. "Correction; it's been three mornings already. I mean, we've been going to the same places day in and day out, but I don't know why we still can't locate him."

"Maybe it's a Bookman fasting month thing. He's just not up for a meal."

"I'd bet," Lenalee laughed, "Lavi isn't like that. He may not sleep regularly, but at least he eats alright." She thought about the times where Lavi would rush for the last bagel with Allen, either just to annoy him or because he did like her bagel making skills.

Allen looked over at Lenalee. She looked so sad, trying to keep herself together at the same time. He wished he could help, but usually, the Chinese locals gave him weird looks and to add on, he couldn't speak Chinese.

"You must be hungry, Allen," Lenalee said, standing up and returning him his bottle, "Let me go get you some lotus paste buns. They're awesome."

Allen nodded, "Buy more back! And get some for yourself too. You need the energy."

Lenalee smiled, running off quickly towards the town central, leaving Allen alone at the stone bridge.

She is getting thinner isn't she? And anyway, what the heck are lotus paste buns? Allen didn't know you could make any sort of food out of a lotus, but if Lenalee's getting them, it's probably okay.

As he swerved his head, hand clutching on the nearly-empty bottle, something caught the end of Allen's eye. Someone, with a head full of fire-red hair, standing barely two meters away from him. Allen turned around fully in shock. Only one word escaped from his lips.

"Lavi!"

The line seemed to drag on forever. Or maybe it has to do with the fact that the place is overcrowded and there's at least ten more people waiting in line in front of her. Lenalee sighed, her mind drifting away. If only she could find Lavi sooner, because she don't have a lot of time before she has to head back. Komui would rant and rave if he even knew, before swiping out plenty of machinery to try and cream Allen, and she didn't want to get Allen in any sort of trouble.

Time passed quickly. Lenalee ordered, paid and was ready to walk off to find Allen when someone stopped her in her tracks. "Hey you, wait a sec."

Lenalee looked around, finding herself staring at a slender, but impossibly good looking girl that seemed like the same age as she was. But wait, wasn't she behind me? Lenalee wondered.

The girl's attention changed and focused on the plump lady at the stall. "Give her back her change, you."

Lenalee continued looking at the scene unfold in front of her, where the stall lady spat right back, "There is no change to give. Now, go away before I take my broom to chase you off, young punk."

"You must be joking. She gave you a fifty! Come on, half a dozen buns don't cost that much," the girl yelled back.

The stall lady glared at her and then at Lenalee for a second, before grabbing a nearby broomstick and raising it over the girl's head, probably intending to scare her away for messing around with her. The girl gave a smirk, grabbed the handle of the broom swiftly with both arms before it could hit her and broke it into half as if it were a stick. Just like that.

The plump woman stared at the girl in disbelief, her eyes as huge as saucers. Obviously, someone didn't care how she looked in the public eye.

Reaching her hand toward the lady, palm up, the girl asked, "She's supposed to get forty-two Ren Min Bi (Chinese currency) back."

The lady nodded, fishing change out from inside a bucket and passed it to the girl. "Here," the girl said, laying an extra ten on the counter, "That's for the broom. But it wouldn't have been broken if you'd just hand over the change."

The girl walked off, her golden hair bouncing off her shoulders, toward Lenalee, who stood there dumbfounded. "Here you go." The girl pushed the change back into Lenalee hand. "Sorry I took awhile."

Lenalee's eyebrows furrowed. She had never seen someone of such quick strength, unless it were a Akuma (Yeah, for sure) or perhaps an exorcist. But here? So coincidentally? She doubted it. She was probably a national gymnast or something.

"No…no problem," Lenalee said, "Thanks a lot."

The girl smiled, "You should be less spacey. You've been off building sandcastles in the air ever since I saw you queuing up in front of me."

"I…I was? Sorry, I never noticed."

"Of course you didn't! You didn't even know the huge amount that lady was cheating you of. Honestly, I thought you'd at least have asked, but you just walked right off."

Lenalee laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, I've been having a lot on my mind, you see. And, I'm really, really sorry. You never got your buns because of me."

"Hah, it wasn't a big deal. They were for my dad, but who cares. He needs to slim down a little anyway." The girl continued to ask, "Anyway, what's your name?"

"Oh? Uh, I'm Lenalee." Lenalee replied gladly.

"Nice name. You a local Chinese? No offence, you actually have a little bit of an accent."

Lenalee shook her head, "No, I am a hundred percent Chinese, but I'm not local. As in, I don't live here."

"Ooohhhh. Here to find someone or visit a relative then?"

"Erm, yeah, kind of…" Lenalee said, not exactly ready to share with a complete stranger her mission to find her boyfriend, whose been missing for 10 months. Just then, Lenalee sees Allen jogging up the stone path. He sees her, and begins to wave, where she waved back.

The girl laughed, "Oh, sorry. I had no idea you were here with your boyfriend."

"Oh, Allen isn't my boy…" But the girl cut Lenalee right off. "I've got to get going, and I'm headed this way. Dad's gonna start yelling anytime soon." The girl pointed to her left, as they'd reached a crossroad.

She was about to dash off, before Lenalee called out, "Wait! What's your name?"

The girl looked around, running backwards for awhile. She looked like she was pondering whether or not to answer Lenalee's question, before yelling back, "Maya!"

And then, she took off, turning at another corner, and Lenalee's sight of her ended. Allen came to join Lenalee, a little breathless, "Lenalee! What took you so long? I was worried!"

"I'm sorry, Allen! I took quite some time queuing up these," Lenalee said as she waved the bag in Allen's face.

Allen's face brightened up at the smell, "Mmm…smells really good! Anyway, who was that girl?" He couldn't resist taking the bag off Lenalee's hands to begin digging in at one of the buns.

"Oh, that girl. Just someone I met along the line."

The afternoon flew by just as quickly. Oddly, Allen suggested to Lenalee that they should take half a day off to rest, instead of just trying to find Lavi without any clues. Even though Lenalee was afraid she'd miss Lavi if she did, inside, she knew her body needed the sleep even if she didn't want it.

The last thing she remembered was seeing Allen exit from their room door, promising to be back quickly, before she sunk into a deep sleep.

When Lenalee awoke, it was to the strong smell of hot coffee and congee. "Here," Allen said, as he handed her the hot drink, "Drink up before you start on the porridge. I just bought it, so it's hot and good."

The afternoon nap seemed to do wonders. Lenalee felt better and more energetic already, despite it already being 5 in the noon. She drank up every last drop of the coffee and allowed Allen to feed her a few mouthfuls of porridge before she took over herself. It tasted heavenly.

"Lenalee," said Allen, his tone serious. Lenalee watched as he threw everything in the nearby bin, "I want to bring you somewhere."

Lenalee cocked her head to one side. "Where to, Allen?"

"You'll know when we get there."

It was unlike Allen to be so secretive and all, but Lenalee decided to let it go. She'd never questioned Allen's motives much, and she wasn't about to start now. Allen had a good head on his shoulders, she understood that.

Silently, Lenalee allowed Allen to lead her about the town. After all, they'd been in the same place for days already, so direction wasn't something either person lacked. I wonder where he wants to take me… Lenalee just didn't have a clue. The sun was already disappearing and night was soon to take over.

Allen stopped at the end of the bridge, seemingly hesitant when he looked over at Lenalee. "You have to continue on your own from here," he said, his eyes darting to the bridge like a signal for her, "I'd be back in the motel. If you're not back in an hour and a half, I'm coming to look for you okay."

Allen let go of Lenalee's hand, without as much as a smile, before turning to walk off. Lenalee furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Allen, what is this all about?" She called out. Was this some kind of joke? No, it couldn't be. Allen wouldn't act all funny for no good reason.

Allen looked back, his lips pressed together in a thin line. "It should be there, I think. The reason why you came here."

Lenalee's attention wandered off from Allen to the bridge instead, and she climbed the dirt-filled steps up, one by one. What she saw took her breath away.

Lavi stood tall, simply a few metres away, with his back facing towards her. Every little bit about him, that she'd been thinking about for months and months, and now Lavi, her Lavi, was standing right there. The fire-red hair, the same headband, his built- everything familiar to her, was now in front of her eyes. She could hardly believe it.

She approached closer towards him, her throat heavy. However suddenly, an ill feeling got stuck in her chest. She didn't know where to begin, what to say. She knew she had been planning on what to ask him for months to come now, and thinking of his and her reaction. Suddenly, the thoughts got locked behind her head and seemed trivial.

Surely he must know I'm standing behind him now, Lenalee thought. Her voice escaped, much to her own surprise, and came out almost like a squeak, "Uh, hey Lavi. I…I came."

Lavi turned around, and the face that Lenalee never stopped thinking about everyday came to view. He was still as handsome as she'd remembered. She wanted to smile, to cry tears of joy, but Lavi's still and stoned expression left her speechless. "Yeah. You did. What brought you all the way here?"

What the…? Lenalee swallowed. This wasn't how she pictured their long awaited meeting as. "I was wondering how you and Bookman were doing. I wanted to know if…if you were still doing fine."

"Thanks. So you've seen me. Don't tell me you came all this way just to tell me that? I guess you should be doing fine yourself too."

Lenalee was shocked. More than shocked- she was dumbfounded. Did he even know what he was saying? "Wha…what?"

"I guess you probably should know that I'm an extremely busy person. I've got information to document, history to read up on. And if you're concerned for Bookman, he's doing great too, no difference for me." Lavi didn't even look at her, instead choosing to stare at the water over the bridge. "So you see, there's no need for you to worry about us. And now that you know, you can just go."

Lenalee kept silent. She didn't want to believe all the nonsense she'd just heard, but Lavi's unchanged expressions told her it was the truth.

Lavi glanced at her, "What? Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Gripping hard at the material of her dress, Lenalee tried to hold the tears back, "This…this is how you really feel?"

"What were you expecting? Surely not the words: I'm sorry, please forgive me, I'll be back so just wait for me. You weren't expecting me to say that were you?"

"Why, Lavi? Why are you being like this?"

"One day I just woke up and I came to terms with reality; and this is the reality, Lenalee."

Lenalee nodded slowly, looking straight into the cold eyes that were of Lavi's. "I get it. Of course, I finally got it. You acting like this, not wanting to see me…it were all real isn't it? So to you, I'm just- ,"

"A stain I want to get rid of."

The last words from Lavi pierced into her heart. The last words she expected to even come from him and he finally, actually said them. Lenalee felt her feet go numb, her head hurting and the tears streaming down uncontrollably but she forced herself to look at him. "That…that was just cruel, Lavi."

Lavi didn't even waver, "No. I was always like this. I was just pretending to be someone I'm not."

Lenalee turned away from him. She didn't want him to see her cry like this, over him, like some lovesick idiot who fell for the wrong guy. "I…I'm going. You take care, Lavi"

"Just worry about yourself."

Lenalee's eyes widened as she looked over her shoulder. Lavi sent her packing with another cold look, before he turned around and walked right off, without a single word of sorry. The guy she loved for so long, pined for for months and looked for in anticipation and excitement and in a matter of minutes, everything she knew had collapsed.

Lenalee's sight turned into a complete blur as she struggled down the steps. So this really was the end? Was she thinking too much on her part? Wiping her face, she sat down on the last step of the bridge, her body slumping against the cold stone. Well, she wanted an explanation didn't she? She got one, just like she wanted. The Lavi who loved her, whom made her so happy before, was gone. He died, along with all their past memories and good times.

The street remained quiet, except for a few passers-by who ignored her existence completely. She didn't care. She felt numb but she guessed she deserved it. Lavi never told her to wait for him. He never said he'd be back. She just thought too much on her part.

"Lenalee. Lenalee!" Allen came running over, anxious. Had he been waiting nearby all along, in case something like this happened?

Lenalee got up, trying to balance herself, but her head hurt too much. Allen caught her just in time before she fell.

Grabbing onto the back of Allen's shirt, Lenalee sobbed on Allen's shoulder quietly. She knew she was dirtying his shirt but she'll buy a new one for him, she swore. Allen sighed, wrapping his arms around her fully, patting her gently on her back.

Not too far away, Lavi watched on over at Allen and Lenalee, his heart breaking into a million pieces, just like Lenalee's.

Lavi didn't know how long it'd been since he begun roaming around the street aimlessly. Besides for a few night stalls selling food, nobody was around. Quiet and empty it was, giving Lavi the space he needed to be alone.

He felt like the biggest bastard to have ever set foot on this planet. How could he? How could he even say any one of those hurtful words to Lenalee? Furious with himself, Lavi cursed aloud and kicked the side of a random wall, before slumping down against it.

Any guy would die for a girl like Lenalee. And to think she came all this way just to find him, but all he did was to hurl all these horrible words at her like she was trash. Lenalee shouldn't even shed a tear for an ass like him. He would feel better if she yelled at him, slapped him, anything at all. But that just wasn't her.

Lavi got up, pulling the headband off his head, allowing his red hair to fall down. He thought back to earlier that day, when he received a shock from seeing Allen face-to-face at the bridge. At first he was overjoyed, but he caught himself just in time. There was no way Allen would be there for no good reason.

When Allen told him how Lenalee was holding up for the past 10 months, he didn't know what to feel. Lenalee had been thinking about him, just like he had thought about her all this time. Sure, he was happy, but because of him, Lenalee had suffered in silence for so long. It soon dawned on him that it needed to come to an end, as much as he hated it.

Yeah. And when he said all those mean things, he felt like someone was taking a knife and stabbing him in the heart over and over and over again.

Lavi continued loitering about. He was tired, and absolutely drained from all that's happened in the one day. If he had to take anything else in, he would most probably pass out.

How fate seemed to have a knack for throwing all the worse things at you when it looks like you've got enough on your plate.

Lavi pushed the door of his and Bookman's house open. What a day. He couldn't wait to throw himself on the bed, ignore Bookman's scolding and simply disappear in the bed itself. He just didn't expect to see Bookman and two unfamiliar faces looking at him when he did.

Frowning out of exhaustion and frustration, he asked, "Gramps, who are they?"

One of them was a tall, very well-muscled guy that looked like he could pound any guy straight in the face anytime and he worn a slightly stern glare. Probably in his mid-40s or so. Lavi almost immediately regretted the tone of voice he used earlier on. The other girl sitting next to him, however, was major eye candy.

She was skinny, but not the kind that looked like she starved herself for two meals a day to achieve that. Her eyes were a deep, aqua blue color, her cheeks naturally slightly pinkish and her face shape a well oval. Her hair laid nicely on her shoulders, long and a healthy golden color. She looked about his age, maybe younger.

Still, as much as Lavi thought she was pretty, it didn't captivate him as much as he thought it would. The main question was: Who the heck are they and what are they doing here?

Bookman barked, "Quiet, Lavi! Our guests have waited for a full hour for you to get back! Now," Bookman went over, smacked Lavi till he jerked and stood in front of the two, "meet Brock and his daughter, Maya. They're from the line of Bookmen, like you and I. And they were also previously exorcists, except they were at the French department."

Lavi must admit; that certainly caught his attention. After all, it's not every day that you get to meet someone of the Bookmen line and in truth, he never had before.

So that's where all those calls went. To them, most probably, Lavi guessed, as he took the out stretched hand of Brock's. He still looked like a tough guy to mess around with, no matter what angle Lavi tried to see him from.

Lavi lifted his gaze from Brock to Maya. She smiled at him too, pulling her hand out too in greeting. This girl looks nothing like her dad, Lavi thought as he shook her hand. "Uh, Lavi," Lavi said, introducing himself.

"You probably know my name. To be honest with you, you're the first Bookman I've seen that's actually around my age," Maya said cheerily. Lavi nodded, "Yeah, me too." He wanted to be friendlier, but he was too tired to say as much as he usually would.

"Well, that's okay," Maya grinned at him, all smiles, "Because after all, you'll be seeing a lot more of me. I'm going to be your fiancée."

Lavi's eyes widened in shock. What the damn hell was the girl spouting about? He never agreed or even heard of anything like this! Lavi swerved around to look at Bookman, who was a state of calm and composure.

"Lavi, you're already nineteen. In the Bookmen lineage, when the female Bookmen reach a full age of eighteen, they're supposed to be wed, and of course, preferably with males of our own clan."

Okay, this was beginning to sound odd and actually, stupid. He never even knew he was in a clan, or the fact that he was supposed to get married anytime to some random girl he just met who happened to have just hit eighteen. Seriously, what the hell?

"Is this a joke, Gramps? How come I never heard of anything like this? You never said a word to me and I'm supposed to get married?"

"Lavi, calm down. How do you think we continue the lineage if nobody gets married? Yes, it's an arranged marriage but I don't see why it won't work. After all, Maya and Brock has agreed to it and Maya's a nice girl. She'll be good for you."

No, she'll never be as good for me like Lenalee was, Lavi thought. He wanted to dig a hole, and if possible, bury himself inside it and never come out. He just ended a relationship with the most perfect girl he'd ever known, and now he's supposed to jump the ship and throw himself headlong into another one?

Lavi wanted so badly to protest, to yell and say no, but his throat remained dry. He had never seriously objected to anything Bookman told him; he just took it in, complained once in a while but never really objected to a large extent. Yes, it kinda all made sense now doesn't it? Arranged marriages sounded so…so Bookmen-ish. It wasn't that much of a surprise when you thought about it.

"And guess what, Lavi," Maya said, as she took his arm excitedly, her face filled with anticipation, "We're going to the exorcist headquarters for our wedding. Now, isn't that nice? After all, I heard you and Bookman were attached there three years back. You'll get to see all your acquaintances again."

Now, how much more fun could one guy ask for?

Still, to be continued…

Finally, the second chapter! Honestly, it's been quite a while, but I rushed to finish this even though my major, life-determining exams are just a mere 4 days away! *Gasps* ANW, I hope this had been a good read. Currently, I guess the story is moving a bit slow (?), but please bear with me! As usual, I'm being sappy about everything but I felt the need to focus a lil' more on Lavi and Lenalee's feelings.

And ah, there's an addition of a LavixOC relationship here, but "Maya's" just someone I added into the story to place Lavi and Lenalee into more I-love-you-but-I-can't-be-with-you agony. (Lol, sorry for being morbid here.)

&in case it hasn't already hit you, I'm making this a lavixlenalee. :)

P.S: Will be missing in action till 11th Nov. Resuming from then onwards so please wait patiently thanks!