a/n: Happy Lunar New Year's Eve to all and sundry, regardless of whether you celebrate it or not =) Enjoy, and as always, do review. Thanks once again to GoGothGirl who's being the awesomest reviewer ever!

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.in orbit.

Lavi gulped as he took in the swarm of Akuma currently surrounding him and Allen. Sometimes he wished that he had both eyes covered so he wouldn't have to see this kind of thing. Then again, it probably wasn't a good idea to fight this many Akuma blind. "How many, Allen?"

Allen scanned the crowd with his activated left eye, posture tense, Crown Clown at the ready.. "Twelve, and around seven more on the way." He glanced at Lavi beside him, taking in his battered state, and mentally sighed. He knew he wasn't much better off himself.

Lavi sighed, but slowly smirked and raised his Anti-Akuma weapon, eyes narrowed in determination. "Great- more Akuma ass to kick, then."

***

"Boy, I'm whooped," Lavi complained, his hand running through his ginger-brown hair. His posture was slumped; his visible eye was half-closed in exhaustion. He pushed off against the wall every now and then to get what scant momentum he could from the action; his legs felt distinctly gel-like at the moment.

"Talk about it," Allen moaned, his hand rubbing soothing circles on his protesting tummy. "I'm starving!" Right on cue, his tummy gave out a loud growl.

They trudged down the hallway to Komui's office, and knocked on the door.

"Come in," a distinctly female voice called out.

"You again, Lenalee?" Allen leaned against the doorframe, peering into the messy room. As always, it was piled high with paper; everything was covered in them. Not one inch of the floor was visible. Lenalee stood out against the white, clothed in her dark Exorcist uniform. It looked like she had just returned from a mission as well.

Lavi strolled in past Allen, not bothering to heed the paper he was treading on and tossed the retrieved Innocence at Lenalee, who caught it gracefully. "I bet Komui's slacking off again, eh?"

Lenalee smiled, though her brows were knitted together with worry. "Far from it. He's down in the Science Department again." She cleared a small section of Komui's cluttered desk and set the Innocence vessel down on it.

Lavi groaned, and slumped onto the couch, eyes closed. "Just when I wanted to speak to him about all these missions we were getting." He pulled his long legs up and over the raised arms of the couch and tucked an arm behind his head, sighing in satisfaction at the comfort of the couch.

Allen frowned, holding a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah… Come to think about it, how come we're getting so many missions lately? This mission was the fourth in two weeks!"

"Yeah, and consecutively too! We didn't even get to rest in between…" Lavi whined.

"Don't complain- the other Exorcists are working as hard as we are," Lenalee reprimanded them laughingly, trying her best to tidy up some of the scattered piles of paper.

Lavi opened an eye and turned his head to look at Lenalee. "… The new Exorcist too?"

Lenalee's smile faltered. "Well… no. Komui hasn't sent her on any missions yet." Her hands tightened ever so slightly around the sheaf of papers she as holding.

Allen raised a brow. "Does this mean you've seen her since that day at breakfast, two weeks ago?"

"Well… no."

Lavi folded his arms behind his head. "We could just ask him…" he hinted helpfully.

Allen snorted. "Yeah, and how likely is it that he'll just answer all of our questions? Since that girl came, Komui's hardly talked to us. Besides mission briefings, which have been briefer than ever, I haven't exactly seen much of him." He paused and frowned. "In fact, if I didn't know better, it would seem like he was trying to avoid me. Avoid us. Like, to prevent us from prying or something."

Lavi and Lenalee's eyes widened with realization.

"That's it!" Lavi exclaimed, leaning forward enthusiastically.

"Huh? What's it-"

"What is the meaning of this, Komui- oh." Kanda shoved open the door and stalked in, only to stop in his tracks. He blinked, and looked around, his sleek ponytail swishing with his motion. "Komui?"

"He's not here. Obviously, idiot Kanda." Allen informed him sarcastically.

Kanda started in Allen's direction, burning glare in place, growl roiling in his throat. He placed his hand squarely on Mugen, and made to draw it out.

"Hey, hey, none of that here," Lenalee called out, placating. "What's going on, Kanda?"

Kanda spoke with a ring of annoyance. "Training Hall 1 has been cordoned off for over a week already. Komui told me that it's out of bounds to everyone but authorized personnel." His left eye twitched irritatedly, sporadically. It was obviously he was really annoyed; as opposed to just annoyed, which was how he was the rest of the time.

Lenalee wrinkled her brow. "Yes, that's right. Komui said it was closed for renovations." She looked up at Kanda curiously. "What's wrong?"

Kanda said shortly, "Then why is it that when I went to train earlier, I heard sounds of sparring in there?"

"Only you would train even with all these missions, Yu." Lavi groaned. He wiggled deeper into the couch cushions. Mm… they were starting to feel really comfortable. He briefly contemplated falling asleep right there and then.

"I know you think of Hall 1 as your territory, Kanda, but aren't you overreacting? You probably heard wrongly," Allen commented.

Kanda continued as if he hadn't heard anything, which was most unbecoming of him. "- and then I saw that new girl coming out of there too."

That got everyone's attention. Lavi raised his head from the couch to look over curiously at the others.

"Furthermore, I've been hearing sounds from that corridor." Kanda looked meaningfully at Lenalee. Lenalee placed her hand over her mouth in a soundless gasp.

"What? What corridor?" Allen demanded, clueless. He shifted his gaze from Lenalee to Kanda, and then back to Lenalee again.

Lenalee closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Remember when I took you on that tour on your first day here, Allen? There was a corridor of rooms that I avoided and told you that you didn't need to know about, right?"

Allen frowned, a deep slash between his brows. "Yeah, and?"

Lenalee forced the words through clenched teeth. "Remember the experiments on the Non-Accommodators I told you about? The ones that created Fallen Ones?"

Allen nodded, uncomprehending. Lavi's eyes widened with realization, and he stiffened automatically. Bookman, together with Komui, had mentioned those experiments before. They were a part of the Order's dark history; he'd thought those days were over when Komui arrived at the Order.

"Those experiments were carried out in those rooms in that corridor, Allen," she whispered, her voice wavering. She leaned onto the table heavily, her legs seeming to give out under her.

Allen's mouth fell open in shock. "Does that mean that they're carrying out those experiments again?" he demanded. He had been so sickened, so revolted when he had found out that the Order used to conduct such cruel, inhumane experiments in order to strengthen their side in hopes of triumphing over the Earl. If he found out that they were doing it again… His already-unhappy stomach roiled further.

Kanda shook his head, eyes darkening. "Not necessarily. The experiment rooms can be used for other experiments, of course."

Lavi spoke up. "How did that new girl look when you saw her earlier?" His visible green eye was intent, thoughtful. His mind raced. Maybe there was a connection to all the strange happenings of late, and the new girl. Scratch that- they had to be linked. He knew it.

Kanda sniffed haughtily, thought to ignore that stupid rabbit, then reluctantly spoke. "A bit battered, in some places bandaged. What's it to you?"

"Did you ever wonder how come we haven't been seeing Komui around lately, Kanda?" Lavi spoke, his words coming faster. "Or how he seems to be avoiding us in his efforts to hide something?"

Komui opened his mouth, then closed it again. They sat in silence for a while, absorbing it all in.

"Ah, what a gathering we have here. To whom do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Komui strode in jovially, carrying his usual cup of coffee. He brightened visibly at the sight of Lenalee, and promptly rushed to her side, flinging his arms open for a hug.

"Ah! Lavi and Allen came back from their mission, Brother. It was a success this time," Lenalee smiled, held out the Innocence and subtly edged away from his beckoning arms.

"Komui," Lavi began. "We've been wanting to talk to you about all these missions…"

"And about Training Hall 1…" Kanda added.

Komui took one look at all of their serious faces, grabbed the Innocence from Lenalee, stole a huge bear-hug from her which left her gasping and backed away hastily.

"Ah, excellent, I'll get this to Hevlaska right away, she'll be glad to have found another one…"

And with that, he bolted out of the room.

The others slumped their shoulders in resignation. Lavi sulked, a petulant expression crossing his tired face. "We're no closer to solving this mystery, are we…?"

***

Lavi sat up in bed with a sigh. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep tonight, despite the exhaustion that had claimed him earlier. He pushed aside his sheets, got out of bed and padded in his bunny slippers to the door. Slipping through the door and closing it quietly behind him, he stepped into the common corridor.

"That new girl mystifies me," he muttered, frowning as he started to walk. He ruffled his hair absently as his Bookman brain started to analyze every detail he gathered so far, racing through every thought with a mechanical precision.

Training Hall 1 is supposed to be closed, yet the new girl was seen coming out.

The experiment rooms are being used again.

The gathering of the Generals, as well as Leverrier and Link.

The abundance of missions.

The hurry for us Bookmen to get back.

The old panda's silence.

Komui's evasiveness.

Everything revolves around the new girl's arrival.

Who… is she?

A quiet click interrupted his thoughts. He glanced up, startled, to see a small figure slip out of the infirmary. He hadn't thought that anyone else would be up- it was the middle of the night. A smile slowly spread across his face as he registered the identity of his fellow night-wanderer. Speak of the devil.

He followed her, a safe distance behind, while she walked silently, swiftly.

I wonder where she's going in the middle of the night?

As she strode down the corridor, the light from a nearby lamp threw her into sharp relief. Lavi caught himself stifling a gasp before he recovered rapidly.

A bit battered? In some places bandaged? Kanda's comments had nothing on what he was seeing right now.

Almost every exposed part of her was either swathed in bandages or purple with bruises. His sharp eyes caught the way her arm wound itself around her torso- almost as if it was trying to hold her body together. As they walked, he picked out more details- the way her hands and fingers trembled ever so slightly, her fevered breathing, though she tried to keep that in check, the slight sheen of sweat forming over her brow…

Finally, she stopped- right in front of Training Hall 1.

"You're in no condition to train," he said lowly, stepping out of the shadows. She retracted her hand from the doorknob and turned around sharply. They appraised each other in silence; his green eye curious, her blue ones wary.

"Why are you here?" She spoke at last.

Lavi grinned. "I could ask you the same question," he offered. They stood in silence for a while more, playing the staring game, until she finally broke their stare-down to stride past him coolly, back in the direction they'd come from. He caught up with her easily, his long legs eating up her shorter strides, and walked by her side.

"You know, you never told me your name," he smiled down at her. She ignored him and continued walking.

"…Okay, then, are you a new Exorcist?"

No reply.

"Why'd you come here?"

"How did you get hurt?"

He continued peppering her with questions until they were back at the infirmary. She strode right past it, not bothering to even cast the door a look.

"Hey, the infirmary's here!" he protested, arm reaching for her elbow.

She shook the arm off and turned her eyes up at him. Eyes that were curiously blank. "I'm sick of that place." Her tone was cold. Lavi shivered involuntarily.

"Well, then, where do you want to go?" He pushed his hands into his pockets.

She remained silent.

"…You don't know where else to go?" he guessed. She turned her head away from him. He took that as assent. "Come on, I'll bring you somewhere." He started to walk further down the hallway. She hesitated, then followed. This time, they walked in silence.

"Well, here it is. The library." He held open the door for her. She slipped through the door quietly, looked around in the dimness and made her way to one of the window-seats. The soft moonlight shining through the large windows afforded an ethereal look to the usually-austere library.

"Good choice," he commented as she settled into the deep-red cushions. "This window has one of the best views of London," he added as he sat on the same seat, across from her. Though the seat was just wide enough to fit the both of them comfortably, she tucked her knees closer to herself, avoiding any possible contact. He surveyed her cool, aloof demeanor. For some reason, he disliked what he saw. What happened to the timid, shy girl I met earlier?

He couldn't quite figure it out, but it was obvious that something had changed since that day at breakfast. In the way she carried herself, her expression, her eyes… everything radiated ice.

He spoke up. "The way I see it, you owe me two, so you should at least answer two of my questions."

She turned from the view to look at him, eyes carefully blank, and raised a brow.

"One, for bringing you here. Another, for not ratting you out to the Head Nurse."

Her brow was still raised, so he hurried on to elaborate. "The Head Nurse will chew you out for leaving your bed when you're still so seriously injured. You really don't want to cross her. Trust me on that." He shuddered when he remembered how the Head Nurse nearly took his head off for doing precisely that, after the destruction of the previous Headquarters. He had lived in fear of the deceptively harmless Head Nurse ever since. Come to think of it, he didn't exactly want to be involved when she found out that he had assisted one of her patients in fleeing the infirmary...

The tips of Evans' lips turned up in a humorless smile. "One. Haven't you noticed?"

He broke away from his memory to look at her. "Notice what?" Then, he really looked at her. The bruises on her exposed skin had visibly lightened, even in the short span of time since he'd met her. He looked down over her whole body, then up again to meet her eyes, surprised, though not too much. He'd known Kanda for years, after all.

"Wha-"

She interrupted, her smile turning into something more like a smirk. "Two. If even Bookman did not see fit to tell you anything, why should I?"

He was taken aback, and pouted. "That was a low blow," he sulked.

Her lips were pressed in a thin line, as if she was trying to keep from laughing. He noticed, and couldn't help but break out into a wide smile. She realized, and immediately, a guarded, almost reproachful look came into her eyes. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, calming her features. When she opened her eyes, her face was emotionless once more.

"Why do you do that?" he whispered, his eyes taking in her swift transformation, fascinated.

Cold eyes stared at him blankly.

He sighed. "Fine."

Then, he perked up. "At least tell me where you're from. You should be able to answer that one, right?"

Her gaze on him was weighted, considering. He waited patiently. The answer came softly, swiftly, but he caught it anyway. "South Carolina."

"Which town?" he persisted.

Her eyes darkened, and she turned her head away quickly. "Arcadia," she whispered.

He wasn't quite sure how to proceed- this seemed to be a bit of a sore spot for her. "So," he began brightly, hoping to lighten the mood, "where did you learn such fantastic combat skills? I heard that even Kanda couldn't touch you." He waited patiently once more.

After a while, the answer tugged reluctantly from her lips. "Renee."

"Renee Epsteine, Black Order North America Branch Head?"

She tilted her head slightly in a small nod. He remained silent, sensing that she hadn't finished speaking. True enough, her lips parted in a whisper. "… And my father."

"Your father taught you combat?" He asked, surprised. He had travelled the world in the course of his Bookman duties, but in this time and age, the average woman wouldn't have had neither the chance nor the permission to touch weaponry. The rare woman that was skilled in such areas would be an assassin, or something of that sort.

A minute lift of her shoulders- she had shrugged, acknowledging his surprise.

"So, how do you find it here?" He asked, curious.

Her eyes darkened once more, and she fidgeted slightly. "I don't know," she whispered, eyes lowered.

"Why did you come here, then?" he persisted, wanting to take advantage of her current willingness to communicate. It appeared to be a wrong move- she closed off once more, her lips firmly pressed shut in a thin line. She stared at the view outside the window coolly, determinedly ignoring the question. He waited, but apparently, that was all he was going to get out of her. He resigned himself with a sigh, and sank deeper, more comfortably into the cushions, taking in the gorgeous view outside the window. Night-time London was really quite a beauty.

They sat like this, in a silence as strange as it was comfortable.

When Lavi began snoring, the girl slipped quietly off the window-seat and out of the room, her skin glowing smooth and unblemished in the pale moonlight.

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a/n: Look forward to the next chapter =)