Disclaimer: D. Gray Man is Hoshino Katsura's property.
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Chapter 3
The Noah's family was around a table in the garden of their huge mansion, having a snack. At the end of the long table, the Earl was sipping his sugar-loaded tea while discussing with Tyki Mikk:
"Did Road tell you how much longer the process will take, Tyki-pon?"
"Well, she said it was going on smoothly but didn't tell me anything more precise. It seems to be a pretty delicate operation according to her, so she doesn't want to mess up by rushing things."
"I see. But I'm really looking forward for this to be done. I miss our dear 14th."
"But are you really certain that he will awaken if Road follows the plan?"
A wide and wicked smiled uncovered the Earl's teeth.
"Undoubtedly. And when he does, that's when all the fun will begin."
The icy tone he used made the Noah of Pleasure shivered.
"… If you say so. Anyway, I have to go bring my niece some cookies or she'll get mad at me. If you'll excuse me." Tyki said as he hurriedly got up.
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Allen was walking in the corridor, fulminating. Who did that Kanda bastard think he was, acting all mighty and all? There was no way anyone could bear that kind of behaviour, for God's sake! By the way, where was he right at the moment? No, he couldn't be lost again… Yet he was. The boy wanted to hit his head against a wal; he couldn't even find his way back to his own room without getting lost.
So he started to wander here and there, wishing that someone kind enough would appear soon and show him the way.
"Oi, what are you doing here, Moyashi?" the too familiar voice said.
Allen silently cursed his bad luck. Among all people, it had to be him! The white-haired boy turned to Kanda and answered with his most natural voice:
"It's Allen. And I'm just having a walk, as you can see. Or maybe you can't, since you're so blinded by your own magnificence, Lord Kanda."
The irony was so obvious that it made Kanda twitched.
"Yeah, and you just happened to 'have a walk' right in front of my room, right?"
Crap. So that was where Kanda's room was.
"Sorry to tell you this, but I'm not particularly interested in your room. It's not my fault if it happens to be here. Your self-centered attitude exceeds all imagination, you know. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." Allen plainly replied as he resumed walking.
"You're lost, Moyashi." Kanda stated matter-of-factly.
Allen stopped dead, then started to panic. No, he couldn't let him know that he was indeed lost. He heard the Japanese man sigh behind him.
"Having to babysit you like that makes me wonder how old you are."
"I told you I'm not lost, and I don't need anyone to babysit me! Especially not you, Bakanda !"
He turned round, ready to walk away when a hand grabbed his wrist. The boy glanced at Kanda:
"Let me go, Bakanda."
"You'll get lost again, dumbass."
"And why would you care?"
"Che, so you do admit that you are lost."
"And what if I am?" Allen asked, pretty irritated.
"Then ask your way." Kanda answered with a strangely quiet tone.
"Like you, of all people, would be kind enough to help anyone." the white-haired Exorcist said sarcastically.
"You're starting to piss me off."
"You asked for it."
"Just shut up already."
"Then let go of me and I'll leave."
"Stupid Moyashi."
"It's Allen. Bakanda."
"You're just a brat."
"And you're a jerk."
"A very annoying brat."
"That's why you should let me go."
"No."
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Allen eventually asked, exasperated.
At that same moment, he got pulled by Kanda against him and a pair of lips closed over his.
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"Yeees! You got it alright, Allen!" Road almost shouted, waving her arm out of satisfaction.
"Hey, hey, calm down a bit, Road." Tyki Mikk said as he barely avoided the fist which almost ran onto his face.
"Oh, uncle Tyki! I didn't see you, did you bring me some pieces of cake?"
"Yes, yes, don't worry. So, what was that cry of victory for? Did you make any progress?" He asked while putting the tray full of biscuits next to Road, who immediately seized one and put it in her mouth. She waited until she was done eating it before replying:
"Yup. It was easier that what I reckoned. I've merely set the frames for his dreams and he follows them perfectly. I wish you could also see his dreams, it's pretty entertaining. Still, I can't believe our dear Allen actually has a thing for that Exorcist!"
"Huh? Who would that be? " Tyki asked curiously. "That Chinese girl we met in Japan?"
"Not at all. It's the Japanese Exorcist, the one with long black hair."
"Oooh, that one? He looked a bit too grumpy when I saw him, but well… And so? What happened?"
Road laughed.
"Well, let's say that Allen's happiness suddenly increased by ten folds."
"I see. Then the first part of the Earl's plan will soon be done, right?"
"Yes, yes. I plan to start the second part in two days. Just let me some more time to raise his happiness a bit more. You know what they say: the higher you get, the harder you fall." She said with a creepy voice, which made the Noah of Pleasure shivered a bit.
"Stop talking like that, Road. It's not cute at all."
"Geez, don't become like Sheryl, Uncle Tyki!"
"Not a chance. Anyway, I'll go tell the Earl that the plan is moving pretty quickly. He's very satisfied with your work so far, as usual, my little Road."
The girl simply grinned, took another biscuit, then started to hum a melody while patting Allen's head. The content face he was displaying would soon be no more.
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The tension in the room was almost palpable. The heavy atmosphere weighted more on Komui's shoulders than he'd have thought, still he tried to remain calm and collected in front of the man he was facing.
"And tell me once more why didn't you stop Cross from leaving without my permission?" Leverrier asked with an exaggerated sugary tone.
"Well, you know as perfectly as me that if General Cross wants to do something, he will do it with no regards for any authorization." Komui replied very calmly. He knew that behind Leverrier's sweet voice, he was actually boiling with anger.
"Call him back." the man said sharply.
"I can't. He didn't bring his golem with him. And even if he had, he wouldn't listen."
Leverrier punched the table.
"That man should be executed for insubordination." he muttered.
"Actually, it's not really insubordination, is it? He left to go look for new compatible users, as you ordered. Some Exorcists will be sent after him when they recover, so everything will go as planned." Komui said, still with a very cool voice.
"… Fine. But I'm warning you, you'd better be careful whose side you're on in the future." Leverrier said, glaring at the supervisor, and for once, the latter almost tottered at the dark look he received.
He then turned his heels and left the room without adding a word, followed by Link. As soon as the door closed, Komui let out a loud sigh.
"You managed pretty well, supervisor." Reever said, gently patting on Komui's shoulder.
"Thanks, but I don't know how much longer I'll be able to stand up to him. It's already a miracle that he didn't decide to send out Lenalee and the others while they are still injured."
Reever poured some coffee in Komui's cup and handed it to him. Komui took it, grateful, and sat down on a chair, exhausted.
"By the way, how will we know if Cross finds something about Allen?" Reever asked.
"Well, obviously, he'll call us right away via golem."
"But you told Leverrier he didn't bring any golem with him."
"Oh, did I?" Komui asked innocently.
"Supervisor…" Reever sighed, but smiled anyway. "Still, where does he plan to start searching? We don't have any clue about where Allen could be at all."
Komui took a sip and merely smiled.
"Don't worry about that. It looks like Cross Marian knows a bit more than us here."
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Cross exhaled a white smoke while looking at the landscape in front of him.
"So, which hideout do you think my idiot apprentice is being held in, Tim?"
The golden golem was flying next to the General, turning its head from left to right, then finally pointed his finger towards a direction.
"Hmm, that one, huh? Well, I thought so too so let's go check there. Give me the plan, Tim."
Timcampy opened his mouth wide, and a sort of projection came out of it, displaying a complex picture with many lines and symbols interlaced together. Cross didn't seem to have any problem to read that 'map' as he started walking, his usual satisfied smile on his lips.
"I hope the Earl will be happy to see me again."
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Allen was in a state of pure bliss. He still couldn't believe all the changes which had occurred for several weeks, starting from everyone's better mood to his own current situation. He had become Kanda's lover for a month now, and since then, his life had turned into complete happiness. They still argued and fought everyday, but secretly after each fight, they would end up in each other's arms and Allen would let himself melt in Kanda's embrace.
As he was doing right at the moment.
They were in Kanda's room, the Japanese Exorcist ardently claiming Allen's lips, and the younger boy clinging tightly to him.
"You're a jerk." Allen said between two kisses.
"Shut up, Moyashi." Kanda replied, locking his lips on the boy's once more.
"…nnh… but you really are…" Allen gasped as Kanda bit his neck.
"I told you to shut up." The black-haired man snapped, assaulting Allen with his mouth against the boy's hot skin.
They kept on like that for several minutes, which left both of them panting heavily. Kanda smirked as he saw Allen's rather flushed face.
"Che, I may be a jerk, but you don't look like you really mind kissing one."
"I must certainly have some masochistic tendencies, then." Allen replied as he opened the room's door and was going to return to his own room.
"I'll remember that for the future."
As Allen was walking in the corridor, he felt that nothing in the world could spoil the overwhelming happiness within him. Everything was as perfect as he could have dreamt of, and he wondered for a moment whether he was actually dreaming or not, but feeling that the idea was too absurb, he quickly got rid of it. There was no need to bother with any pessimistic thought, he only had to enjoy the present situation.
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In the large room where the light was coming from the many colored floating candles, Road was clearly having a good time.
"My dear Allen, your dreams are sooo cute it almost makes me want to let them be forever! A pity it's not up to me to decide. Anyway, I'll let you raise your level of happiness a bit more, so make profit of the little time left to you! Though it's quite convenient that I can make the time elapsed in your dreams longer than in the real world. What you called one month is actually only one day here." she said happily.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Road, I'm coming in!" the person said, then opened the door.
"Oh, Dad, what did you come here for?" the girl asked Sheryl with a wide smile as soon as she saw him.
"Why, but to see my cute daughter of course! What else for?" the Noah said while rushing to hug Road.
"H-Hey! You're choking me, Dad!"
"Oh sorry my dear Road. Anyway how are things here? Is the plan going well?"
"Pretty well, don't worry about that. Didn't you ask uncle Tyki? He would have told you."
"Yes of course, but I'd rather come to see my adorable daughter in person; I don't see you so often lately since you've started this work."
Then, looking at the figure of Allen lying next to him, he added:
"So, this is the famous Allen Walker, host of our dear 14th? Pretty nice boy, I daresay… Actually he's also very cute, I wish I had a son who looked like him! And he's got such a satisfied expression on his face, it's absolutely irresistible!"
"Dad… don't say things like that, it sounds very odd you know?" Road sweatdropped.
"But it's the truth! Oh, by the way, I came to inform you about the recent news outside. It seems some Exorcists are heading for this place, and the Earl has sent some of us to take care of them."
"Oooh? They are pretty effective at finding us."
"Actually… The Exorcist who is closest to our position right now is Cross Marian, though he won't be here yet until a few days."
Road raised an eyebrow.
"Cross Marian? Hmph, then it's no wonder he found us so quickly. That guy always brings us trouble. I don't like him."
"Well, don't bother too much with that, my little Road." Sheryl said, patting the girl's head. "He will be dealt with."
"Who is going to do it?"
The older Noah gave her a malicious look.
"Can't you guess? It's not very hard."
Road thought quickly then her face illuminated:
"Oh! You mean…"
"Indeed. It looks like they already had some business with Cross, now they can settle things with him."
"By the way, Dad, did you bring me cookies?" Road asked suddenly.
"Huh? Well, no, sorry my little Road. Too much sugar would make you fat and less cute. Which would be unacceptable!"
"Geez, Dad! Uncle Tyki always brings me something every time he comes!" she said, pouting.
"Don't make such a face! Aren't you happy enough that I came?"
Road seemed to think for a few seconds, sighed, then said with a broad smile:
"Of course I am. But next time, I want you to bring me a present!"
"Anything you want, Road. Well, I have to go work now."
"Already? Can't you keep me company a bit more?"
"I'm afraid I can't, Road. I'm a minister, after all. And a minister's schedule is pretty busy, unfortunately. I have to start off some new wars."
"Ok, I understand. See you soon, then." she added reluctantly.
"Keep up the good work, Road." Sheryl said affectionately as he ruffled the girl's hair.
After he left, Road turned her eyes to Allen.
"Let's get back to work, shall we, my dear Allen? Show me more of your nice dreams." she said enthousiastically.
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A dream. It had to be a dream. Life had never been so nice to Allen than now, so the only logical explanation to it was that he was dreaming. But it was such a long and wonderful dream that he started to think he'd never wake up, though it didn't bother him a single bit. He wasn't the only person to be happy; his friends – Lenalee, Lavi, Krory, Miranda and the others – also looked in high spirits, and that only increased Allen's own cheerfulness. There was no shadow on the picture. It was a dream.
"Oi, Moyashi, are you listening?" Kanda's sharp voice made Allen start.
"It's Allen, Bakanda. What were you saying?"
"That you're a brat who pisses me off to no end."
"Then why are you talking to me?" the silver-haired boy asked arrogantly.
"Who knows… I must certainly have some masochistic tendencies." Kanda mocked.
"Dumbass…" Allen replied as he offered his lips to Kanda, who claimed them immediately.
He wrapped his arms around the younger Exorcist's shoulders, and the latter could feel the warmth seizing him. It couldn't be a dream.
It was reality.
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There we are for this chapter. The story's going on smoothly... Things are gonna be less funny from now on. Thx to all of you who read this story, and to those who review ;)
