A/N: Argh! I'm sorry, this has been a really busy week for me. This is a day and a half late, next chapter's half a day late, and the one after... I don't know yet. *sigh*

Thank you to AngelHeartsX, Hailwic, Candy Crackpot, and Lena-luvs-cats for reviewing!

Title: Mandala

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: None

Genre: Friendship/Family

Warnings: None

Summary: For the 221st night countdown run by lenaleelee17 on Tumblr. Day 1: Favorite character (Allen Walker)

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man.


Day 2: Science Department


Johnny's first day at the Order was a blur of introductions and explanations. Not much stood out from that day - Johnny had mostly just been really confused.

It was on his third day of work that Johnny met his first exorcist. He'd been working with an older scientist, Danny, and then the last thing he'd expected to see walked into the lab: a small, slight preteen girl, with dark green hair up in pigtails and downcast violet eyes, and an ill-fitting outfit to boot.

"Um," Johnny said.

Danny, though, put his supplies down and smiled at the girl, tired but welcoming. "Lenalee," he greeted. "Welcome home."

The girl, apparently Lenalee, smiled shyly. "Thanks, Danny. Who's this?"

"I'm Johnny," Johnny said before Danny could, giving Lenalee a friendly smile. "Johnny Gill. New recruit for the Science section."

Lenalee smiled and shook his hand. "It's lovely to meet you, Johnny. When did you get here?"

"Three days ago," Johnny admitted with a nervous chuckle. "What about you? How long are you going to be here?" He was a little surprised that any part of the Order could bring family in, but maybe exceptions were made for high-ranking members.

Lenalee laughed; it sounded a little strained. "The rest of my life, I suppose."

...Huh?

Danny let Johnny splutter for a few moments, confused and alarmed, before he took pity on him. "Lenalee's an exorcist, Johnny. The Dark Boots' accommodator. She's been here for the last six years. You haven't seen her because she was on a mission when you arrived."

Johnny's mind was thrown into turmoil as his mental image of tough, fearsome exorcists was shattered by the fragile-looking girl in front of him. There was no way, there was absolutely no way that the Order would let her fight those… His mind flinched away from the memory of the only time he'd seen an akuma, and for a long time, he scrambled for words, while Lenalee's expression grew increasingly concerned. What finally came out of his mouth was, "Your uniform doesn't fit."

Lenalee blinked, visibly startled, and then blushed deeply, looking down at her long skirt, which hung badly around her almost nonexistent hips, and tugging at it ruefully. "I know," she said quietly. "It's too big."

"My family makes clothes," Johnny heard himself say, most of his mind still picturing the little girl facing down the giant monsters that woke him up with nightmares sometimes. "I can make you one that fits."

Lenalee's whole demeanor changed, like a rainbow after a storm. "Really? Would you?"

"Of course," Johnny assured her. It was just one uniform, after all, and the least he could do.

Danny, though, was studying him thoughtfully.

"You know," he said cautiously, looking a little reluctant to hope, "Lenalee's not the only one with a bad-fitting uniform. The guys we got now are no good with kids' clothes."

Johnny's heart dropped (there were more child exorcists?) but he kept his smile. "Of course," he said brightly. "I can make clothes for all of them."

Danny smiled genuinely. "Glad to hear it, Johnny."


Three weeks later, an angry Japanese teen - Kanda Yuu, fourteen, Johnny had seen him but never spoken to him - stormed up to him, grumpy as ever, with his navy eyes cast to the ground. He wasn't wearing his uniform; instead, it was tucked under his arm.

"Hello, Kanda," Johnny greeted, with a slightly tentative smile.

Kanda didn't bother returning the polite greeting. Instead, he kept glaring at the ground and said abruptly, "My uniform tore. Lenalee told me to talk to you about it."

Johnny was caught briefly off-guard, but soon enough he smiled again. "Oh, sure, I can fix that." He'd fall a little behind on his work, but Danny had been quick to assure him that the exorcists came first, always. (And Johnny wasn't entirely sure that that was just a practical thing, either.) He reached. "Here, let me see."

Kanda grudgingly handed over the uniform and crossed his arms impatiently as Johnny opened the carefully folded uniform to inspect it.

The sides were torn wide open, fearsome, bloodstained slashes that made him flinch and shoot Kanda a worried look. Kanda glared at him, daring him to say a word. Johnny didn't.

Then he found a different kind of hole, an open seam starting at the armpit and going some way down the side, until it met one of the sickening, bloodsoaked slashes. "What's this?"

Kanda shrugged. "I overstretched it," he muttered. "Happens all the time."

Johnny blinked, mind already turning over the problem with an automatic sort of tenacity. "I can fix that."

Two weeks later, all the exorcists received uniforms that were more flexible and resistant to tearing. They were also sturdier; Johnny wasn't sure how much that would help, but it made him feel a little better.


The next time someone saw him about the uniforms, it was Lenalee again. The shirt and skirt were both torn, though for different reasons - there was a bloody gash in the material of the shirt, and Johnny could see bandages peeking out from under the casual one she was wearing now. The skirt, on the other hand, was ripped… up a seam.

"Did the new material not work?" Johnny worried, carefully neither mentioning nor thinking about the way Lenalee winced every time she moved.

"The new material is wonderful," Lenalee assured him earnestly. She ducked her head. "Just… I kick a lot, and…"

"The skirt's too long," Johnny realized, with a sinking feeling. He hadn't thought about combat styles at all; the last thing he wanted was for the uniform to get in the way. Mind working to try and remember the combat styles of the other exorcists, he continued, "I'm sorry. Would a shorter skirt help?"

Lenalee peeked up at him and nodded hesitantly.

Johnny made her a shorter skirt.


Johnny was glad when the exorcists started coming to him with requests; he was glad he could help, even if just like this.

God knew they needed all the help they could get.


So I didn't put quite as much depth into it as I generally would have preferred, but hell, it could've been worse. Thanks for reading, and please review!