Hitomi: I feel a little discouraged about writing this story. Just a little bit. I guess it's because it's the first time in a while (or, period, first time ever) writing an AU fanfic. It could also be because I feel uneasy on where I plan to go with this; that is, if I ever do make it far with this story like I am with Unravel. Although I am confused on what to explain about this story since this is basically DGM characters in the 21st century, hence AU.

However… *small smile* If you're wondering what happened to the holy war in the 19th century (if that's what you guys meant for explanation), don't worry. That'll be revealed soon enough.

I know I am not a perfect writer; then again, who is? I know my writing needs work, I've already acknowledged that ages ago, but I still want to do my best because… I love writing, I really do. Coming back to FF . net also made me realize this as well as how much I missed writing fanfiction and I also rediscovered how much I have fun writing it like I did all of those years ago.

So, despite my mistakes, be it in writing or when it comes down to my actions, opinions, and decisions in real life… I hope my feelings in my writing reaches to you guys, somehow.

Thank you all for giving me encouragement to write, especially when I feel down like this. Because when hearing you guys like my writing and giving me feedback on how to improve on it, it makes me smile… And it makes me want to develop this story—as well as others—to its full potential.

I'm scared I may mess up the story's potential or it may be lacking in some parts, but hey…

Better trying than doing nothing at all, right?

Disclaimer: I do not own D . Gray-Man, Hoshinou Katsura-sensei does. The only thing(s) I do own in here would be my OC(s).

Ice Flare

III

Change in Routine

[We've gotten so used to doing the same old thing every day

That we've long forgotten about a certain saying:

"Expect the unexpected."

Time to embark on a new adventure!]

In the early morning, Black Order Academy was already on the go. Many people were rushing around the campus to their destinations in order to accomplish the day's objectives. As the school bell began chiming, endless chatter and laughter could be heard as well from the students, a lively atmosphere.

For one person, though, it was yet another one of those days.

Yawning loudly while stretching his arms, the eighteen-year-old male breathed in the crisp, autumn air. A light breeze passed by, making him tighten the orange scarf around his neck for warmth, a sleepy twinkle in his one, exposed green eye. Red hair—held up by a green headband—was still messy as if he recently just got out of bed – if he ever did go to bed at all. Letting out another yawn, he continued to head towards the main school building, his steps a little wobbly with low energy.

"Still so early…" The lanky teen grumbled with drowsiness and annoyance, rubbing his eye and letting out a third yawn. "I'm so tired. Damn it, old man, you really know how to torture someone."

"Early? It's only 8 AM! Morning, Lavi!" Making her way to his direction, a sixteen-year-old girl with green pigtails greeted him with a bright smile. Her violet eyes sparkled with energy like she was ready to face the day. At least he had a companion to walk to class with now. "Did you stay up late again?"

"Mmm, morning, Lena." Lavi Bookman Jr. greeted her sleepily with a slight, worn out smile of his own. "Yeah, didn't get any sleep again. The old man wanted me to do work, so I really had no choice. Not to mention that I had homework to do before that, so I was pretty much ready to pass out. Actually, I still have the urge to."

Lenalee Lee giggled a little at this, patting his shoulder in sympathy.

"You are the Bookman heir, so it can't be helped. You have to write about the war because that's your lineage. Still, it wouldn't do any harm to take a break since you've been working a lot lately. It's been for… What, three days since you've gotten any sleep?"

"Tell that to the old man." He chuckled wryly, his hand massaging his temples. The Bookman elder would have none of it – recently, he's been stricter than usual on their usual duties, perhaps this could be because of the war's growing tension. You really couldn't let your guard down at all, not even for a second, knowing that you could be killed off at any given time. That and there was the possibility that he had caught the junior slacking off in his obligation, so it may as well be considered a punishment – even if it was a harsh one. "I doubt he'll understand."

"Well, that's not good." She let out a crestfallen sigh, once again patting his shoulder. "You look like you're about to drop dead any moment now. Get some rest."

Hearing the worry in her voice, he looked to the pouting girl over his shoulder, reassuring her with a faint grin and a clumsy wink.

"Don't worry, I can manage. After all, I was trained to do this, right? So, it's no big deal."

"But—"

"Unless, of course, you wanna cover up for me?" He asked slyly, his grin wide.

When Lenalee heard that, her body tensed up and her face hardened into a disapproving frown. Since she and Lavi have been best friends for quite some time, she knew him well enough, even when it came to him saying something like this. Without warning, a sharp slap aimed at him from behind, no doubt coming from her.

"Owww! Lena!" Lavi whined childishly, clutching his arm in pain. "What was that for?!"

Though people witnessed this spectacle, it hardly stirred any outrageous reaction of some sort. The majority of people already knew the duo always acted like this, especially when it came to Lavi and his sleep. Some students were amused, some were even snickering, while others were just shaking their heads at the scene; and then, there were those who were muttering something like, "There they go again."

"Lavi, just because I'm the principal's younger sister doesn't mean that you get to have a free one-way ticket to skipping class!" She hissed angrily with a reproaching look, hands on her hips.

"Awww, come on, Lena! I only skip class when I'm dead tired like this! And I know that you're Komui's sister, but that's not why I became your friend and you know that." Now, he was giving her the puppy dog eyes, pouting as he did so. "You said it yourself too: I've been lacking sleep for three days straight because of Bookman duties and schoolwork, so I really need to catch up on snoozing. You wouldn't leave me hanging, right?"

"Lavi, don't you dare give me that look—"

"Pleeeaaase? I promise it'll be like this every once in a while!"

The girl only groaned from his begging, a twinge of guilt in her for hitting him earlier. Damn the puppy dog eyes, it was one of those things that can't make Lenalee refuse Lavi because, let's face it, the look suited him. Of course, if there was anyone else who could pull it off better, their friend, Allen Walker, instantly popped into mind.

Letting out a defeated sigh and shaking her head, she gave him a slight smile, letting her arms fall down and relax on both sides.

"All right, you win, Lavi. I'll make up an excuse to tell the professor of your ab—"

She stopped talking, a bone crushing hug cut her off. As he did this, Lavi was practically crying tears of joy and gratitude.

"Thank you, Lena! You're a lifesaver!"

"That's because your health is very important, so I want you to always take care of yourself. L-Lavi, you can let go now, I—"

"Ah, ooops!" He immediately released her, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that, Lenalee."

"It's okay," she assured him with a smile—though, she seemed to be wincing too—as she can finally feel herself breathe again. "I know you didn't mean it."

"Seriously, though, thanks."

"You're welcome, though you're not off the hook that easily." Seeing his puzzled gaze, she stuck out her tongue playfully. "You owe me chocolate cake!"

"All right, all right. I'll treat you when I feel better, okay?" He grinned with mirth, shaking his head at his best friend's cake craving. "Silly girl, of course I'll give you your indulgence. I owe you that much, at least, for always saving my ass when I need it."

"Okay, deal then~"

"Oy, guys!" Halting in place, the two turned around to the source of the voice. Spotting a head of white hair squeezing through the crowd, the figure ran to them; then, stopped to catch some air. Hands on knees and panting, moments later, the fifteen-year-old male looked up to them with wide gray eyes.

"Morning, Allen!" Lenalee chirped cheerfully, a bit taken aback that the boy was in such a hurry. "Boy, you looked rushed."

"Hey, Beansprout." Lavi greeted with a playful smile, mussing up the younger boy's hair affectionately. "Where's the fire?"

"Morning, Lenalee! And Bloody Hell, Lavi, how many times do I have to keep repeating my say on this issue?! It's Allen, not Beansprout! Don't make me call you Eye Patch! Geez, stupid Kanda for making up that nickname…" Allen Walker seethed, hating the nickname that obviously made fun of his short height. It was then that he remembered the topic at hand. "Word's been going around that a new Exorcist has arrived."

"Since when were you the type of person to listen to gossip? So, this is a different side of Allen we don't see. Normally, it'd be like Lavi to do something like that." The Chinese female mused, though she seemed amused about it. The aforementioned male, however, was scowling slightly – either he heard her statement or he looked to be lost in thought on what Allen had said.

"Well, I—" The British boy blushed, flustered that he had decided to report this in the first place. Nonetheless, he continued on, coughing as if to hide his embarrassment. "I didn't mean to! I've only been hearing it around on campus. Actually, I don't see how you two have been oblivious about this piece of news, there was quite a big fuss over it."

"Really now." Lavi murmured contemplatively, more to himself than his two companions. As his thoughts drifted off elsewhere, his alter ego came out of hiding with an ulterior motive.

All the more to extract information, so that it would be written down in Bookman records. Deak sneered in Lavi's mind, really anticipating on this. It's been quite some time since getting new data, so let's see what this new Exorcist is all about. Keep your cool like always, just like countless times. History shall be made and the Bookman clan will prosper for many generations to come.

The host said nothing in response, already knowing that it would come down to this again. Well, this was always the Bookman clan's job.

"So, what's the big news about this new Exorcist?" He finally came back to reality, just catching Lenalee's question.

"Well, errr… That is to say…"

"Spill it already!"

"I don't think you'll like to hear about this, though."

"Eh?" Deciding to join the conversation, Lavi arched an eyebrow at the younger male's direction. "Is it really that bad?"

"Well, if you were to suddenly hold up Vice Principal Reever at gunpoint, you'd be freaking out too!"

This had gotten the older teens to shut up in silence, deadly silence. You could cut the tension with a chainsaw, that's how thick it was.

Then, loud, hysterical shouting followed soon after.

"THE NEW EXORCIST DID WHAT?!"

* * *

In the corridor, on one of the high floors of Black Order Academy, it was abuzz with chitchat. Whispered rumors were already circulating in the vicinity, the spectators giving two certain people looks of all sorts: amazement, shock, horror, suspicion, bewilderment, excitement. Already, they were trying to piece together what happened and why it did or maybe they had decided to speculate with their own conclusions.

"Whoa, a new student's going to the principal's office already?! Busted, right on the first day too!"

"Did you see what happened in the college square?! He held up a pistol to the Vice Principal's face! That's wrong and fucked up on so many levels! You don't do that to an authority figure in school!"

"The new kid on the block, eh? Heh, the Walker kid was already weird with that pentacle scar down his left eye… Now, we got another odd one in the bunch!"

"So, that's the new student? He looks… Intimidating. It's no wonder he's caused quite a fuss, given on what had happened a few minutes ago. Wow, maybe this guy will rival Kanda's craziness."

"You think this kid's a weapons fanatic? Because, from what it looked to me, it may be a model gun. But, I don't know… From the way he was holding that gun, I felt for a split second that he could really use it. Maybe it's just me."

"You're not the only one. If he's packing a gun; then, it's likely he knows how to fight from his own experiences."

"Yeah, that's also a big possibility. I mean, check out the scar on his face! Wonder what happened there?"

Careless, that was very careless of you. Rue felt a strong urge to kick herself, sighing under her breath. It's only your first day and you just…! Your brothers already told you not to do this, but you've already made yourself stand out!

"I'm sorry…" Ignoring the gossip completely, Rue couldn't bring her eyes up to the man escorting her to the principal's office. Her hands clenched in fists, the anxiety within her constricting. "I'm sorry, Vice Principal Reever… I-I did that out of reflex, I d-didn't know it was you. P-Please believe me, I didn't—"

"Relax, Rue." Reever couldn't help but smile a little at this, clasping a hand on her shoulder to show her that he was okay; however, this got a jolting shock out of her. "I suppose it's my fault too. You're a new student, you must've been nervous already; then, I had to go approach you from behind and ask if you were lost. My mistake since, I'll admit, responding to my question with a gun to my face scared me out of my wits. That was really unexpected, you know."

"I'm sorry again."

"That's all right. I suppose you had your… Reasons."

"But, if I had known it was a superior (you are my superior since you're Vice Principal); then, I wouldn't have done that. I was raised to respect my elders, so…"

They had stopped in front of the principal's door, the whispers in the hall growing louder. She reluctantly gazed up at him, trying to keep her face composed, but it was already clear that she looked sick. She gulped hard; to have it come to this was taken as a point of no return in her point of view.

"I told you," he gave her a reassuring smile. "Relax."

And in they went.

* * *

"Is that really you, Rue?!" Komui did a double take on her; then, came up to her and pinched her cheeks. He seemed to be pulling them too for that it looked like Rue was smiling. "It is! Wow, long time, no see! Lenalee would be ecstatic to see you!"

"Itsh nishe to shee you too, Prinshipal Kamoui. (It's nice to see you too, Principal Komui.)"

"Komui, let go of her cheeks." Reever commented with a grin, amused at the scene. "For all we know, she'll bite you if you don't stop doing that."

"But, it's just too cute—though, not as cute as Lenalee—to do this to her, though!"

He complied, anyway, releasing her cheeks and walking back to his desk. Like a rubber band, her face returned to its normal, calm expression. And the girl, relieved, sighed while rubbing her face with her hands.

When sitting in his chair, he decided to make conversation.

"So, are you comfortable now? You must be nervous, but excited too, I bet." He began quietly, a slight smile on his face. For a moment, however, his face changed into a small frown. "Though, I heard about your little incident with Reever…"

At the mention of this, she looked down into her lap, refusing to say anything about it.

"Komui, she already feels bad about it." The Vice Principal explained hastily. "She didn't know it was me, so she ended up doing what she did without thinking."

"Of course I figured that would be it that since I know her well enough." He countered with a dismissive wave of his hand. ("Then, why bother bringing it up?" Reever grumbled under his breath, but it was ignored.) "It can't be helped due to her circumstances. Froi told me all about it."

The Australian man only gave his boss a confused look, ready to open his mouth to question; but, seeing the girl's somber face after hearing that forced him to close it.

"Now that you've finally gotten yourself settled in the academy…" The Principal decided to change the subject with a wide smile. "Is your Innocence doing well?"

Her head perked up at the question, keeping eye contact with the Chinese male in front of her.

"My Innocence is adequate. Kanda's been helping me increase the synchronization rate as well unlocking the powers by being my sparring partner. Even though I feel I should better myself, General Tiedoll's been telling not to overexert myself."

"I see," he nodded. "Would it be okay to show it?"

"I don't think I can, Principal." She looked stern. "I don't feel confident just yet. After all, it is the first time showing it to other people—other than the Tiedoll unit and Lenalee—in public, so I…"

"I understand. Perhaps, you'll feel at ease once you battle Akuma."

"Correct."

"Ummm, Komui?" They turned to a confused Reever. "What about Lavi's problem? You know, the bodyguard proposal?"

"Didn't I tell you?" There was something about Komui's face that would've piss someone off, maybe it's because there lingered a seemingly innocent smile. "Rue will be Lavi's bodyguard."

"Like Hell you told me that!" He hit the other's shoulder. While the Principal howled in hurt in the background, the Vice Principal turned to Rue in a curious manner. "So, you were chosen to be Lavi's bodyguard."

"Yes, I've been given the task." The female nodded curtly, remembering the details from the night before. "The given information why he needs to be guarded tells me it's a crucial situation. So, I've decided to take up this job."

"And did you accept this on his terms?"

"I did." This was said bluntly. "As long as I follow that condition, I'm allowed to keep watch."

* * *

"Hmmm, do you know where your class is?" Reever asked Rue once they got out of the Principal's office, escorting her once more. The halls were quieter now, though traces of chitchat still made itself faintly known like a light breeze. "This academy is vast, as you can see, so you might get easily lost if you're not careful."

"I'm not sure myself." Rue responded in thought, looking at the paper in she was holding in front of her, her schedule. "Principal Komui said that I'm in class where I'll know some people. Probably he means Lenalee and the others. And since I'm guarding Bookman Junior, it's likely I may as well be in his class too."

"Let me see." When given the schedule, he scanned the information. His blue eyes gleamed with a knowing look; then, handed back the program card. "Looks like you're in good hands. So, don't worry about it."

She only nodded, deciding not to question it further.

Having been walking around the spiral staircases, they had gone to a full stop in front of a door.

"This is Class GRAY." The Vice Principal stated with a firm clarity, looking at his companion from a side glance. "This is your class, Rue."

"I see."

For a couple of seconds, maybe a few minutes, he saw that she wasn't moving a step inside. Her eyes were still glued to the door, her body rigid, her feet rooted to the ground. She was scarcely making movement, save for breathing with the rise and fall of her chest.

"Are you… Nervous?" This was asked with a raised eyebrow.

Whether his eyes were playing tricks on him or not, he didn't know, but he could've sworn he saw her nod very slightly. With a sigh, he only smiled at her.

"Why didn't you say so? If you wanted me to go with you; then, you could be honest about it."

She mumbled something incoherently; afterwards, sighing to herself and looking up at him.

"Then, shall we go inside, Vice Principal Reever?"

* * *

The majority of Class GRAY's students were doing their own things. There was some chattering with friends, absorbed in the conversations. Some were dozing off, enjoying their sleep for as long as they can until the professor arrives. Then, there were those who kept to themselves; be it whether they were texting on their cellphones, typing on their laptops, reading some form of literature (novel or manga; in the case of those who logged in on the Internet, the writing would be fanfiction, original fiction, and—for those who were on the Internet via cellphone—cellphone novels) or maybe just staring into space, lost in their own thoughts.

It looked like Lavi ditched the idea of skipping class because he was right in the classroom, dozing off on his desk with his head tucked inside his arms. It was possible that he was too tired, too lazy, to go to the clinic to rest there. Maybe he was just in for the attendance; then, planning to go straight to the infirmary after that. Or it could be because he had a strong curiosity to see the new Exorcist Allen was talking about.

Conceivably, it may as well come off as an odd combination of the three.

"Hm, does anyone know which General the new student trained under?" He could hear Lenalee's curious voice from the front, addressing to Allen, who was her seatmate. "Well, it's possible that he—or she—trained with their Innocence without knowing it was Innocence in the first place until Akuma were probably hunting after them; then, got recruited to here as an Exorcist because their Innocence got involved in one of our missions and he or she was found by one of the Generals or one of us. Or maybe he or she transferred from another branch of Black Order Academy."

"Well, from what it looked like…" Allen spoke up with a quiet certainty, all the while eating away at his snack – sticks of mitarashi dango. "He looked plausible enough to train under General Nine."

"So, the student's a he, huh? Oh? That's an interesting thought, Allen. What makes you say that?"

"It's only a feeling, but his aura and General Nine's is the same: a cool, calm, and collected air." He shivered just remembering it. "And just like General Nine, the new student is quite intimidating."

"Or maybe he was taught under General Sokalo." Riley piped in from the front of Lenalee, having turned around in his seat to face them and join the discussion. Secretly, he knew who they were talking about (honestly, who else would put someone at gunpoint out of surprise and suspicion?), but he kept his mouth shut about it. Allen and Lenalee just stared at him like he had a third eye in the middle of his forehead, making him all the more amused at their reactions to his opinion. "Well, hey, you did say that the new student ended up pointing a gun in the Vice Principal's face, right?"

To the right of Riley, a few seats away from the group, Kanda overheard this and he was trying to suppress a snort from the absurdity of the statement.

"Big talk you got there, Ri!" Daisya hollered just three seats away from the left, banging his fist on his desk as he was laughing so hard. Marie, his seatmate, only shook his head at this. "Training under General Sokalo?! That's crazy talk!"

"Hey, General Sokalo IS the definition of crazy, period. Come on, everyone in the academy knows that!"

"Shhhh! He'll hear you! You know how it is here, the walls have ears!"

"Well, at least the new Exorcist wasn't under General Cross's care, that's for sure…" Allen huffed exasperatedly, incensed by the very thought of his master. Lenalee and the others have heard stories from the pitiful Parasite Innocence user – that General Cross would spend a lot of money on drinks and women; then, rack up a lot of unending debts and run away from his debt collectors because he couldn't pay them back. It had gotten so bad to the point that Allen himself had been left on his own to pay his master's bills for him!

The others, knowing how he felt about his master, backed away—even Kanda did so very slightly and Lavi, without looking up, shifted discreetly away—from the dark aura that Allen was giving off.

The classroom door suddenly opened, interrupting everything that was going on as the students looked up expectantly. In came Vice Principal Reever and tailing behind him was another familiar person…

Moments later, a frantic murmur filled the classroom, the Exorcists aware of what happened earlier in the morning. There were mixed opinions being said, so it was hard to tell whether it was a good or a bad vibe.

Allen was frenzied with panic or excitement when seeing the new figure, elbowing Lenalee in the rib.

"That's him!" He made a low hiss to her direction, which had gotten the female into full attention. "That's the new Exorcist!"

She stared in front as if in a daze; then, her eyes widened as if in realization.

"Ah…!" A startled cry escaped from her before she was able to stop herself, causing Allen to look at her peculiarly. "That's…!"

From the distance, Kanda shot her some sort of look (a highly likely chance that it was a sharp glare) as if to tell his childhood friend to shut up and not to say anything about what she knew. Feeling the weight of his stare, she seemed to have gotten his message as she had instantly gone quiet, but her eyes were still round when looking at the Exorcist in front. Her seatmate saw the exchange between the two, looking at them back and forth in utter confusion, but this was stopped by the same look the older boy had given earlier.

Marie kept a calm expression on his face, revealing nothing odd of the sort. Daisya lowered his head from their view, but he was grinning widely like an idiot when seeing the newcomer. When Riley saw who it was that arrived with Vice Principal Reever, he chuckled to himself.

Your uniform suits you… He thought warmly, smiling towards to the newcomer's direction. Welcome to the Black Order Academy… Sister.

Wondering what the loud ruckus was about, Lavi had finally gotten out of his catnap. As he stretched his arms and yawned, he blinked as if to let his eyesight focus into normal and out of sleepiness. When everything was clear again, he averted his gaze to the front and saw the new Exorcist.

This is him, huh? The one who put a gun to the Vice Principal's face. He mused calculatedly, his eyebrows rose so high that they almost disappeared into his bangs. Looks like things are going to be interesting from now on.

He started studying him from head to toe, taking in all of the details as much as possible. Very short strawberry blonde hair with long bangs at the front, sharp blue-gray eyes, and an indifferent expression. Interesting to note that there was a scar on his face, diagonal and a clean cut at the bride of his nose. Like all of the uniforms in the academy, his was customized. From the back of him, there looked to be a black cloak wound around his neck and shoulders, falling down to below his knees. It looked worn out as the end of the cloak was in tatters. The rest of the monochrome clothes were intricate, looking more like a military uniform, the Rose Crest like a badge.

However, the Bookman apprentice couldn't get a look at the Exorcist's Innocence, so it was hard to tell whether he was a Parasitic or Equipment type.

Hmmm, so this is the person Walker was talking about earlier. Finding out about this one would be just like a puzzle. Deak commented to his host casually, but there was surely no denying on how anticipated he felt about unlocking the mysteries of this one – just as he had done with everyone else in the academy.

"Settle down, class." Vice Principal Reever finally ordered the class with a loud, stern voice. The class hushed up, 0n full alert on what he had to say next. "Your professor is not in yet, so you'll have to wait a bit longer. However, as you can see, we have a new student in the school, so I want you guys to make 'him' feel at home here."

He turned to his companion; from that moment, it looked like they were having a wordless conversation with their eyes.

Are you sure it's okay to refer to you as a he?

I've no problem with it since that was my intention all along. I'd prefer to keep it that way, anyway.

"So, please…" He flashed an encouraging smile to the new Exorcist. "Introduce yourself. Don't be shy."

All eyes were on "him," waiting in baited breath for "him" to speak. Clearing "his" throat, the new Exorcist stepped forward and straightened "himself," one hand up to the head in a crisp salute.

"My name is Rafale Marucut and I am an Exorcist in the Tiedoll unit."

Hitomi: And there you have it, I'm done~ And yes, this was a quick update, wasn't it?

Oddly enough, I really don't have anything to go in depth with this chapter. It may be because I'm tired or something else. *yawns* I'm just wondering if I've kept everyone in character and if this chapter didn't come off as too serious again. Well… *grins* I did try to take a stab at writing a bit more humor since this story is supposed to have its share of comedy.

I'm wondering who I should make the professors in the academy. Well, I do want the Generals to have more of a role in here, so it would be nice. But, I wonder if it'll make sense to you guys, though (and plus, for those who know DGM canon, General Yeegar was a former teacher before becoming an Exorcist). XD For some odd reason, though, I want to place Bookman as the history professor. Probably it's because of his role in here as well the canon DGM. Really, I'm just sorely tempted to do it, especially when I want to write the banter between him and Lavi in that class.

*snorts* Oh, I can already see it now, them arguing with each other. XD It's an amusing scenario.

It's nice to write the DGM cast like this. I always wanted to write something like this, so Ice Flare formed. But… *laughs nervously* Sometimes, I still feel like I've no idea what to do in this story and I'm afraid I'll screw this up.

… *SHOT* WHY AM I UPDATING THIS MORE WHEN I SHOULD BE FINISHED WITH CHAPTER 25 OF UNRAVEL!? XD

*coughs* I have to update it soon. I've been holding it off long enough!

Hmmm, I still feel dissatisfied about the ending of this chapter, though, because I'm not sure whether Rue revealing her being in the Tiedoll unit would be right or not, given the fact she's Lavi's bodyguard… So, I might change it, but I want to know how you guys feel about it.

Oh yeah, if you were confused on why Rue was referred to as a he… Well, like in Unravel, she's a crossdresser. That's how tomboyish she is. Her male name here (alias in Unravel), Rafale, means "storm" in French if you don't remember.

Be seeing you next chapter~