Yay, another chapter! I think I will conclude this short story in about one or two more chapters, it won't be too long. So let's continue shall we? And be proud! This one is not angst!! (At least not as much as the last two chapters… XP) I don't own DGM.

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And So History Repeats Itself

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Komui sat at his desk twirling a pen in between two fingers. His eyes followed the swirling pen, mesmerized by the motion. Around and around it spun, signing deeply he dropped the pen, it clattered to his desk and on to the files laid sprawled oover the surface.

The current folder was identical to the one he handed Kanda three days ago. It was opened and the pages spilled from it, the words were jumbled together in a blur of black and white as he yawned with boredom. This mission was going to take him approximately 2 weeks to finish, it was just the traveling that took the longest time. Besides that he was pretty sure that Kanda will have no difficulty with finishing this mission.

By himself, all alone with his thoughts.

Komui pitied him because no matter how cold hearted Kanda seemed, he was still human. He still had feelings and a heart. And no matter what his mouth said, his heart was yearning for a certain Bookman Junior.

It was like ripping the wings from a bird and opening its cage doors. There was no hope for this bird except to give it back its wings, not even the taste of freedom could overwhelm the importance of its feathers on its back. Komui's thoughts drifted a little too poetic, he shook his head and merely blamed it on the romance novel Rinali had given him.

The phone rang once, then twice, and then three times before Komui finally decided to pick it up. Reaching over he lazily brought the receiver to his ear before yawning a hello into the phone.

"Hello to you too, Science Department Head Komui Li."

The foreign voice rang out in his ear; he blinked once than twice before gasping out the person's name with surprise. His voice a little louder than he intended.

"Bookman!?"

"I would prefer it if you didn't shout." The calm voice replied.

"Oh… sorry. But… why…" Komui just didn't seem to be able to speak properly as he stuttered through his sentence. It seems that this sudden phone call was a little over the top for him on such a common day.

"Why exactly am I calling, you mean?" The old man completed his sentence for him.

"Yes." Komui's mind was whirling with a hurricane of thoughts although he kept his voice intact.

"I will just get straight to the point then." He started. "I have gotten some information that the Earl seemed to be stirring some trouble here and there, is that correct?"

He took a deep breath and nodded as he informed the other of their situation. "Yes, that seems to be the case. Missions here at the Order have gotten a little more than busy. After two years of nothing, I think the Earl's plot is going to start again soon enough. Akumas have been appearing a lot more frequent now."

"Then I think it is time for us to return."

Komui blinked at the wall as he heard that, he really didn't expect that piece of information. "You are returning back to the Order?"

"Is that a problem?" A hint of amusement could be detected if listened attentively.

"No, it's not a problem… at all. But I was just wondering." Komui paused, not exactly sure how he should phrase this.

"Are you wondering why we left two years ago and finally decide to come back?" Bookman interrupted.

"Yes, that is quite what I had in mind." He replied drumming a finger on his desk, Kanda's mission was still spread over the surface.

"When the Earl first stopped all his activities we had thought that it would take him a while before he started anything else. Besides my apprentice was still inexperienced with the many other types of records, so I decided that it would best to withdraw him from this log until it starts once again. And right now it is precisely the time." The old man explained, Komui hanging on every last words.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because I didn't want you or anyone else to have the thought that we would ever return." Bookman explained his actions two years ago. "It was the best decision for all of us."

This was directed at two people.

"When will you be returning?" Komui wondered, jotting down short notes in preparation for their return.

"In three days." The short and quick answer almost caught him off guard.

"… alright then." Komui heard a farewell and the phone clicked into place.

000

A knock sounded at the door, he looked up from the middle of reading. He sat up in bed and slipped on a thin jacket before shuffling to the door. He opened it to reveal his mentor.

"Panda?" He rubbed at his eye; his vision was still a little fuzzy from his concentration on the book.

He received a kick, he smashed against the wall and Bookman stepped in, closing the door behind him. He groaned as he rubbed at the newly produced bruise. "Thanks a whole bunch."

He didn't say anything instead he just sat down on the other's bed, placing his hands into his lap. The red head leaned on the wall and stared at his master. It wasn't very usual that the Bookman was come and find him.

There was a moment of silence. But it was quickly interrupted by a roll of the redhead's eye. "Are you going to tell me something or not?"

"So impatient." Bookman looked up at him; his legs didn't touch the floor. "You need to learn what patience is, my boy."

"Patience my ass, it's 2 in the morning, please get on with it." He flipped a strand of red and rested his head against the wall.

"We are returning to the Order."

He opened his eye, blinked once then twice before shouting out. "Ehh?!"

"Its 2 in the morning, noises isn't appreciated." Bookman looked smug. The red head gave him a glare as a look that said 'your comments aren't appreciated right now.'

"So what you are trying to tell me is that we are going back to the Order after 2 years of absence?" Junior looked at him still a little confused. He never even knew that any Bookman let alone apprentice were allowed back to the same place.

"Yes." Bookman simply answered.

"Why?" He regarded the other with a clouded gaze.

"The Earl has started once again." And then he gestured to the papers all over the room, "and our logs is no where being complete."

He hopped off the bed, knowing it will take some time for his apprentice to take hold of the situation. It really didn't come as a big surprise to him that the red head would have such a hard time with swallowing all this. "So clean up, we are leaving tomorrow afternoon."

"Then who am I suppose to be?" The red head asked quietly.

"Rabi of course, don't tell me you forgotten about him already." Bookman remarked as if it was obvious. This was the first time that he ever allowed his apprentice to slip under the same alias.

"No…" He shook his head; a sad smile now graced his face. "How can I ever forget about Rabi this name?"

Bookman placed a hand on to the doorknob, but before leaving he decided to tell his apprentice one more thing. "I am sure you know that there comes a final test of becoming a Bookman."

"Yeah." The red head nodded knowingly, there was a final test but he didn't know what it was about.

"This was it."

"… What do you mean?" The red head, now called Rabi asked, the gears in his head snapped into place, he has a vague idea of what was to come.

"All Bookman apprentice has to go through a final test," He started, leaning on the back of the door. "Their masters must choose the appropriate time when the junior has unconsciously stepped too far into their character, and when that happens, the Bookman has to instantly withdraw their apprentice and leave."

He paused, Rabi didn't say anything, he didn't need to because all those puzzle pieces was finally fitting into his mind.

"As the current Bookman, I have to watch how you decide to cope with your emotions," he opened the door and he stepped out of Rabi's room. "Overcoming your feelings was the final test."

"And you passed."

The door was closed with a soft thud.

Rabi stood there frozen in his step; his mind was just slowly absorbing the last sentence that Bookman said. He looked at the closed door a while longer, and suddenly he just started to laugh. His laughter was such a clear melody in the night; he shook his head as he collapsed to his bed.

Breathing in the scent of the pillow, his lips were still curled into a wide grin.

"I passed…" He gasped out in disbelief, although he knew that this was only the very beginning of becoming a Bookman. It didn't matter anymore, he gotten through the hardest part.

He suppressed his feelings enough to be able to feel it and at the same time he was still able to withstand a new life with a new name even though he could feel the pain of losing the one that really mattered all the way.

He lay there, staring up at the ceiling. His thoughts wandered, now that he passed, it was only a matter of practice that he has to endure before he was the actual Bookman.

"Bookman." Walking into the library he gently called out his master's name. The little man looked up from his work and placed his pen down; he has been expecting this since two days ago when he first told his apprentice about their leaving.

"I can't leave now." His eye was to the ground; he couldn't even dare look at his mentor's eyes. He wouldn't be able to stand the shame that would most likely be cast upon him.

"Why is that?" Bookman looked at the Junior.

"Rabi is in love." The Bookman knew, he knew it all along. He was the Bookman after all; you couldn't expect any less from him.

"With whom may I ask?" He knew the answer to this too, but this was all just part of the routine.

"Yuu. Kanda Yuu." He replied, there was no point in hiding, his tone was bitter.

"The young Japanese." Bookman nodded.

"I know Rabi is not supposed to have feelings, but he can't help it." He shook his head with frustration flying towards himself. "Without me even knowing Rabi have fallen for him hard."

"It isn't Rabi who fell in love, it's you."

Bookman looked at him evenly; confusion was written in the red head's eye as clear as a pen on paper. "You don't know what love is, you are still young."

"But I know I can't leave now." His tone now brimmed with desperation.

"Bookmen shouldn't have feelings," The old man started.

"I heard it 100 times; I know it by heart, I—" He was cut off by his teacher.

"But we do." The red head paused and listened once more. "Bookmen have feelings no matter what we say, that is something we can't help but feel, because at the end of the day we are still human."

"Then why are you making me leave?" The red head was curious by that speech.

"Because you have to learn of all the unwritten histories before you can stay." Bookman picked up his pen; they both knew that their conversation has come to an end.

"History repeats itself." Komui pushed his glasses a little higher on the bridge of his nose.

He stood up from his desk, papers fluttered to the ground. Pushing open the doors of his office he called out to the Science department. "Riba, 65, Johnny! Come on, we have a little preparation for the return of two fellow friends."

"Brother!" Rinali stood there with a cup of coffee in her hand. "You cannot be serious!?"

"I am." His smile curled into a wide grin. The coffee cup slipped from her hand and Yoshi's face shattered into pieces.

Komui couldn't do anything even as his favorite cup lay broken on the ground; it was the exact same feeling as he watched the dual stepped on to the boat. He knew of the consequences but he was in no position to help it. It wasn't his business, but now was his time to help out. Whatever he can do he is willing to complete. For the sake of his friends and this family that came together under the most dreadful of circumstances.

He will pull them all through, no matter what it takes.

We are always going to fall in love.

And we are always going to break our hearts.

It had been 4 months since he left the Order, he dropped the name 'Rabi,' it was no longer his. 'Rabi' was dead the moment he stepped on to the boat. Maybe he died even before that, maybe it was when Yuu said those three words.

Good bye Rabi.

Maybe then was the time that Rabi completely died.

He didn't know, he couldn't care about it. Because that was 'Rabi' and he?

Who was he?

He didn't know.

He didn't remember and he no longer cared.

Days past but the routines never change. Battle after battles, they were all the same. Maybe on the surface they were all different battles but underneath those layers of guns and blood, it was all the same. Hate was the answer.

Stepping into another name, he was another person with a new life. You may ask how he doesn't get confused by all those different identities. They weren't his identities, they were just different people's lives and he was just slipping it on. He wasn't really them.

He can never be lost because he never had an identity for him to call his own in the beginning.

All those reasons, but never once did he really understand how he could have fallen for Yuu, so hard.

'Rabi' was just a façade, he was just a lie that he made up. How come he won't just die and never come back? The red head never understood and that's why he was so frustrated, how could a mask fall in love?

How can a mask feel and love like an actual human being?

It shouldn't work this way, it couldn't. But yet it did.

He then realized that since the day he met Yuu, his façade has slowly melted until 'Rabi' and him was one.

Now it wasn't just that Rabi has fallen in love, it was him, his whole self. He, Rabi or not, he was in love with Yuu. It didn't matter whether he was Rabi or not anymore, everything about him was in love with Yuu. No matter how many names he switched, he would still love Yuu, there was no question about it.

He was Rabi.

And Rabi was him.

Rabi loved Yuu.

And so therefore he loved Yuu too.

Many sleepless nights later, there was only one possible reason to this occurrence. He really didn't expect that the answer could be so simple but yet it was.

It all came down to the fact that he was human.

A human with a heart and soul too.

And we all know for a fact that facts can't lie.

He remembered everything really clearly; he left two years ago, hurt Yuu in the process and simply just got up and left. But now it was two years later, the red head was at a loss of what he could do again.

He hurt the other too much to just step back into his life with another one of Rabi's grins. He would just hurt the two of them once more, this time maybe the wound would be even deeper.

He sat up on the bed and looked around, the papers were a mess from before and he knew he only had till the afternoon to get it all cleaned up. Reluctantly he got out of the bed and started to put away the papers into the appropriate boxes.

One by one the sheets were packed tightly into boxes that were going to be sent to the Order. He leaned over to pick another one up, staring down at the paper, it was Yuu's note.

He felt as if he was thrown into the ocean with a rock tied to him. His breathing hitched as his eye ran over the words, tracing over the curves and the line of Yuu's hand writing.

A bitter smile tug at his lips, it stretched out but he really couldn't give this note one of his Rabi grins anymore. He knew that Yuu rarely lie, but right now he truly did wish that the other was lying as he scribbled him this note. The spur of the moment? He didn't care what you wanted to call it, he just want it to be a lie, or anything but the truth.

He just wanted to know that Yuu was lying as he spelled I hate you.

His hand traced over the printing once more before he gripped each side of the note and with little force the note ripped in half. He felt that his soul has lifted just a little bit, even though it may be the truth, he wouldn't believe it until Yuu muttered those three words from his own mouth.

A note was just a piece of paper, he had enough of them, he doesn't want anymore. The thousands of logs he completed was for him to write only, he didn't need Yuu to hand him another one.

"I miss Yuu, so much." He crumbled the note in his fists. The note didn't matter until it was actually a fact stated by Yuu only.

000

"Don't step in too deep again." Bookman warned as the two of them stood on the platform of the train station, they just arrived in musty London; the air was still a little heavy with the smell of rain.

"Its too late, Rabi had been drowning since the day he left." He shook his head and shrugged as he followed after the small man.

Bookman just gave him an even look, "then it's a shame, Rabi can't die yet."

"Then what about his feelings?" The red head's longer legs easily caught up with his mentor.

"Rabi's feelings are to be kept to himself, and for me to never find out." Bookman fasten his pace towards the exit. And the red head, no it was Rabi now, stood there grinning to himself as he looked up at the sky. It was a light gray, although the sun was probably not going to be out but he felt great, better than he has been for the last two years.

"We don't have all day, you stupid." Bookman called back.

"Coming Panda." He received a kick for the name, it definitely hurt, but at least the weather was no longer raining. The musty London air cleared slightly, and he knew it was going to be a good day.

XXX Kuro

How do you like that? Rabi's return, will Yuu take him back? But also remember, Yuu hasn't return from his mission yet. I hope this chapter explained more on why Rabi was forced to leave and everything. And Bookman is a sweet guy afterall, ;D. Review?