Oh, dear. In writing this Man fic, I have completely neglected the Naruto ones I have… But we all know that Man is totally better than Naruto… So uh yes. Anyways, to answer a PM I got-- 'Niveous' means 'snow coloured'. Comes from 15th century Latin, 'niv' meaning 'snow'. So yeah! Anyways, let us commence forthwith with chapter 4 of 'Niveous Sky'!

Disclaimer: Man is the property of Katsura Hoshino. This series is a parody and nothing more, so please support the official release. Got it? DAMN WELL BETTER!


4. Internal Complications

It was growing dark fairly quickly as they walked through the town. All eyes were on them, all of them quickly locking their doors and making sure of it that nothing could get in-- or out -- of their houses. The streets were completely bare. The group of exorcists unconsciously moved closer to one another as they saw a little boy walk towards them, then he stopped, and ran in the other direction, crying for his mother. The woman gave them all harsh looks before quickly retreating into their house.

"Oh… kay…" Lavi looked around before going into another coughing fit. "I think we're kinda hated… And we haven't even done anything yet. We're supposed to find the Innocence, right?"

Kanda nodded, eyes darting around. "…Che, what are all these people afraid of?"

There was no response from any other exorcist as they proceeded onwards. It was a ghost town, even though there were living people within it, but it seemed that it may as well not have had any people within it. They approached the lone self-proclaimed inn with the name of 'The Lost Scarecrow' with caution. They were recently attacked by an Akuma, after all-- God only knew if another one was going to come after them… Miranda opened the door and pushed through first, and all eyes were on them. All of the patron's faces paled and immediately turned away from them-- even the person behind the desk.

"…Yuu-chan, any idea why…?" Lavi whispered as they followed Miranda up to the desk.

He shook his head. Miranda looked over her shoulder to them and looked back at the person behind the desk. He was cowering slightly, as if he were ready to give all of his money to them. "Uhm."

"G-G-Go on, do whatever you want!" he cried, his legs giving out and falling to the floor. "J-Just don't hurt us, please!"

Kanda pushed past Miranda and shoved her out of the way as he stared down at the person. "…We're not going to hurt you, we're just trying to figure out what's going on around here. Why is everyone here so scared?"

The man rose to his feet, hands behind his back and biting his lower lip. "W-Well, it dealt with an incident that occurred over a week ago, when the new train station that was built to replace the new one officially opened. The first people to get on the train via that way… never came back. We found the train in ruins about twenty miles up that way," he jabbed his finger to the left, "and all the remains of the people were dust pile and the occasional hat… And ever since, every train that has tried to travel this way has been completely destroyed… We grew afraid that it was a monster that could take the guise of many forms, even humans, because of the other incidents that are going on…"

"That explains a lot," he frowned. "The train me and my companions were on was destroyed not too long ago… But what other incidents are happening?"

The man paused, fidgeting a little as his voice dropped to a whisper. "Well, two major things come to mind, stranger. One, there is this thing that comes every night and tries to kill people. If it hits you, you generally are dead by the Pentacle-Curse. Every doctor in town tried to come up with a remedy, but so far, we have yet to find one. The other… The older inn, the one that came before this one… The reason we had to change was because every time a patron took a room, they disappeared, and the next day, they returned, gibbering and making strange noises that were not human. The doctors are trying to treat them, too, but it seems like there is nothing we can do…"

Kanda's weight shifted to his other foot, his grip on Allen tightening. The first one was an Akuma, no doubt about it. The one destroying the trains was also an Akuma, but he was pretty sure that it was now taken care of. But the third one… It sounded like a haunting of a ghost or something. Or maybe it was the Innocence. Lavi covered his mouth and coughed into his arm, growing more pale. "We're going to be investigating for you guys, and if it's under our expertise, we can get rid of these problems for you, okay? Me, Yuu-chan, Miranda and Allen here, we'll do it together! …But first we need a room."

The man nodded, pulling out a set of keys. "Would you like one room or two? I imagine the lady would want her own separate room, but the rooms only have two beds in them. Is that okay?"

Kanda was about to protest but Lavi nodded eagerly beforehand. "Uh-huh! Sounds good to us, right, Yuu-chan?"

He could have sworn he saw Mugen being unsheathed, but it was too quick to tell as he heard Kanda mutter something that sounded like "not worth it". They followed the man up the stairs and into the small rooms that were there. The colouring was okay-- your typical brown wood, probably made from ash, for the floor and white walls. "This can be your room, stranger males."

"We're called Exorcists!" Lavi said cheerfully, pointing to the cross on his uniform. "We're from what we call the Black Order! I would say we deal with the paranormal, but that's not quite it."

"Is that so?" the man rose an eyebrow. "Well, then, strangers, I hope you can help our town to be back in order again. If you need anything, just call for me and I'll assist you with whatever you need. Okay, madam, this way…"

He closed the door, leaving three of the four Exorcists alone in the room. Lavi broke into another coughing fit, it being longer than the other ones, but he tried to ignore it and smiled at Kanda. "So, Yuu, what're we gonna do with Allen-chan? And why the hell is he still knocked out? Are you sure you didn't knock him out or something?"

"I would have done more than just knock him out."

"Hah hah, guess you're right."

"Che."

"Anyways…" Lavi pulled Allen off of Kanda's shoulders and dropped the British exorcist onto the bed, sighing. "I have a feelin' we're dealing with several level two Akuma and a possible level three…" he frowned. "But I'm not to sure 'bout the entire older inn thingy. It could be the Innocence, yeah, but it just started happenin' recently, so I really don't know…" he coughed again. Kanda rose an eyebrow. "'Less of course it got an accommodator by now, which actually makes sense…"

"Baka Usagi."

"Hmm?"

"Why are you here when you're fucking sick?" There was a strange hint of annoyance in the older man's voice, a little hint of actual... Caring? Lavi couldn't put his finger on it as he coughed again, frowning.

"I couldn't let poor Mir-Mir-chan be all by herself while you and Allen-chan fight all of the time," he admitted. "She'd get killed in the cross-fire… Speaking of which… I just realized, there are only two beds… And Allen-chan's still knocked out…"

'I don't care if he's sick-- I really want to cut him in two.' He let out an irritated sigh, one with heavy annoyance and hate, as he placed Mugen off to one side. "You share with Allen. I get my own bed."

"Who spared you from running in the sun for about three hours while the possibility of another Akuma might attack you?" Lavi reminded, grin on his face. "I think I deserve it."

"Che."

The lone female exorcist in the group walked in, small smile on her face and not noticing the rising tension in the room. "Uhm… I just wanted to ask… We're investigating tomorrow, right? Because it is actually growing dark fairly quickly, and Allen still needs to wake up, so…"

"Mir-Mir-chan, question! Who do you think is more deserving of the bed and to not share one with Allen, me or Yuu?"

'Huh? He's asking my opinion on something… Somebody wants my opinion…' Her thoughts raced, utterly confused and not knowing how to respond. Her mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish. 'Wh-What if I say the wrong thing? What if they get mad with me? Oh, no, they should not be asking me this! AUGH!' Lavi and Kanda stared at her, noticing the wide array of emotions crossing her face. Her eyes widened. 'Oh no! I'm taking too long! What do I do? What do I do?!'

"…Lavi…"

The three of them blinked, their eyes slightly widening by the addition of a fourth voice. It was obviously Allen's, but he should have not been functioning at the moment… He groaned, rolling over on his side facing them, eyes still shut. He looked slightly more pale than usual, but the white hair might have helped with the way the lighting was. "…Lavi is more deserving… Ba-Kanda can… sleep on the floor…"

Lavi gave Kanda a smug grin that nearly resulted in a beating, him retreating out of the room temporarily. Miranda felt extremely out of place. "Uhm. I'm going to pick up some more… information… It seems like there should be something else, too… So I'll be back before it gets too dark… And, uhm, Kanda? C-Could you not kill either Lavi or Allen? I know you hate them, b-but…"

He wasn't paying any attention to the last part she as saying as he nodded. "If you're not back… I'll send the Baka Usagi to go looking for you."

She gave him a hesitant smile as she walked out, leaving the door open so that Lavi could come back in. He gave him a look of confusion. "So… Where's Miranda goin'? And is Allen awake or was that just a temporary fluke?"

He ignored him as he sat on the floor, sighing, partially annoyed. With Miranda getting more information, he hadn't much to do. "Che. She went to gather more information on what the hell has been going on around here. She thinks there is more to it than what the owner had said."

Lavi contemplated the given information and nodded. "M'kay! I'm gonna go follow her, alright, Yuu-chan?"

"Don't call me that."

"Yeah, yeah," the apprentice Bookman just waved at him as he was half-way out of the room. "You watch over Moyashi-chan while we're gone, okay? Once we get more information, we'll be sure to tell ya. Toodle-loo!" He quickly retreated as he tried to locate where Miranda was, leaving Kanda with an annoyed look on his face and Allen basically at his mercy. The thought of smothering all of them-- excluding Miranda-- was unbelievable, but he resisted as he stood up and looked down on him.

Idiot got done in by a train. So stupid. He should have died on that train, too. And I would be happy for once. He sat down beside the bed, frown deepening. Then… Why did I panic when I realized that he could have been dead? What in the seven hells is going on with my head? That stupid bean sprout. Stupid, stupid Allen… So stupid…Che. Maybe he has grown even stupider ever since he let that Akuma get away… But was that my fault?

He didn't know. But he did know. He frowned. He didn't want to go over it in his head more than it was already re-playing, but he knew damn well that he fucked it up, he actually let that Akuma get away, and the reason why he did it was beyond any reason of his imagination. If he said he were distracted, it would have been a slight understatement. But Allen never did let that Akuma get away. He did. And God only knew it could grow to a level four because of his mistake. He grinded his teeth together, anger apparent, as his fingers clutched the fabric of his own clothes. Worst of all, he did not want to accept why he was distracted. It was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong.

Allen's eyes opened slowly to see stars and bright, shiny things. Did he get a concussion? Or maybe he was still sleeping? He heard the groaning of someone beside him, and there was no doubt in his mind that it was Kanda Yuu. But why would he be groaning? Was he sick? Maybe he had the same thing that Lavi and Link had… If that was true, then that would be pretty bad for the mission… He blinked once, then realized he was not on a train somewhere. He sat up, startled, and then saw Kanda giving him a ridiculed look.

"W-Where are we…?"

"If you hadn't passed out, you would know. Che."

"Listen, Ba-Kanda, I wouldn't be talking to you unless it was of something of importance. Are we in the town or what? And what happened?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Kanda!"

There was a pause as both men had radiation of anger surrounding them, only Kanda's seemed more deadlier, due to Allen having the possible concussion. It remained quiet for a fairly long time, neither of them willing to talk to one another. He frowned. Why was Kanda here, anyways? And where was Miranda? If anything, she should be greeting him first, not him… Was this also a symptom of his strange behaviour…?

"Uh, Kanda, sorry for asking again, but… Are you feeling okay? I mean… you've been acting really strange lately… And I was wondering if it was because you failed a mission and…"

The man twitched. This kid was too fucking caring about everything, too damn nice towards anything, and most of all, he was highly annoying that he really did just want to smother the little bastard and make him cry and beg for mercy, and even go as far as to ripping out his intestines and tying him to a tree with them. Yet at the same time…

"…everyone has their bad days! Even the best of people can screw up once in a while-- Huh? Kan… da? You're spacing out... That is so not you..."

"Che. What does it matter?"

An anger mark was the main answer, followed up by yelling that would later induce a migraine. "Kanda! I mean, seriously, can't you see that I'm worried about you?! I mean, granted, we don't get along, but still! It's so obvious that something is wrong with you, and I just want to help… You know?"

"Listen to me." Allen found himself pushed down into the bed, immediately overpowered. He winced. He must have touched a nerve or something. "I don't want anything to deal with you, understand? The second the 14th Noah takes you over is the second Mugen is going to run you through and send you back to hell where you belong. Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth, Moyashi? Because I sure as hell can not wait to do that." He got off of him, leaving Allen to cough ferociously from the amount of weight that was just on top of him.

'H-He's being crueler than usual... W-What's going on with him?'


The town records didn't have anything of the recent events that were happening, either. Lavi frowned, shaking his head at Miranda. "Nothing here, either. I swear, it's as if the entire story the guy said was a lie. Or they just don't record things. Where to now?"

"W-Well, a good place for information is a local bar, right?" Miranda suggested. Lavi shrugged as he led the way to the bar, opening the door to reveal the sole person there who was the bartender. He looked to be in his mid-forties with blonde hair and green eyes, wrinkles creased all over his face. His hands looked to have the rugged feel that you would expect of a farmer. He looked up from cleaning one of the tables and waved at them with a warm smile.

"Howdy, strangers. Never seen either of you before. How can I help you?"

Lavi smiled back. "Ah, we're investigatin' the strange things that have been going on around here, but we've hit a wall. We're trying to get clues of as to what it might be, you know?"

The bartender shrugged. "What do you want to know? Loads of information come across these old ears of mine-- I have a habit for listening. But then again, you might get more information from this town's protector, Hagar, who lives several miles up north from here. He has been avid in trying to figure out what the cause of the problems are. But enough of my rambling. The name is Seymour, by the by."

'Strange accent. He must not be Swedish,' Lavi concluded as he grinned widely. "I'm Lavi, and the shy woman over there is Miranda. We came with two other people to try and help out your town. Is there anything that you could help us with? Like what the cause of all the people speaking in gibberish and stuff once they reach the old inn? Who used to live there, anyways? Who owned it?"

"Ah, your guess is as good as mine," he said, standing up straight and resting his left hand on the table. "The old inn was built over a hundred years ago, and it served this town well. It was called something different then, something with the owner's last name as a part of it, but he died a long time back and was taken over by someone new and renamed it to 'The Lost Scarecrow'. It's stayed that way ever since." He glanced out the window, pausing as if he were trying to remember something, and sighed. "Other than that, I don't know. I'm sorry. But everyone rumored that it is actually a demon in human form who is making people this way. I don't believe it myself, but these days I don't know what to believe."

"No, that's more than we knew," Lavi said. "Would this Hagar fella be awake right now?"

"Actually, he doesn't allow anyone near his house without permission," Seymour grabbed a glass and poured himself some water. He took a sip before continuing. "He's what we call an enigma. But even so, he would protect this town with his life. There may not be that much here, but we try to make the most of it."

"Thank you for you time--" Lavi broke into another coughing fit, almost not recovering. It was getting worse… He wondered why that was. "--and have a good night!"

"You should probably bathe to get the chills out, then enjoy some hot chocolate while you're at it," Seymour suggested. "It's almost winter soon-- If you get a cold in the middle of winter, as the rumor says, you will die."

'T-That definitely did not sound ominous at all,' Miranda thought as she followed Lavi outside. "S-So we need to talk to the man named Hagar first thing tomorrow, right? To see if he knows anything… Hey, uhm, Lavi? H-Haven't you noticed that Kanda has been acting weird lately?"

"Yeah, he's been acting like that since the last mission," he nodded. "Something must be on his mind, but knowing Yuu-chan, he won't say anything of it. He's always like that. And knowing Allen, he will be as persistent as ever to get it out of him. That's why I kinda came along… I didn't want you to be in the middle of it. And with me around, you have an excuse to get away from them." He grinned widely before coughing again. Now even Miranda was growing concerned. "Anyways, we will be seeing this Hagar guy tomorrow first thing, just so that we don't miss him if he decides he wants to go out or something. By then Allen should be awake and whatever the hell is on Kanda's mind might actually be resolved… But then again…"

The two, who were walking slow to begin with, slowed down to a stop. Neither one of them really had any idea what to do. He looked up blinking. "Ah~ah, that Seymour guy was right-- It does look like it's gonna snow soon! If it does, Mir-Mir-chan, we have to recruit Allen and Kanda to have a snowball fight with us! How often does it snow, anyways? This should be fun!" He began practically skipping down the road, grin plastered to his face. "C'mon, Mir-Mir-chan! Let's get back to the inn before we turn into popsicles! Damn it, and now I'm in the mood for popsicles…"

She didn't have any idea how to react as she just followed him quietly in the darkening, empty streets to the inn that they were going to sleep in. For a moment, she shuddered. Why did she have a feeling that one of them wouldn't make it out of this mission alive?

And why did she feel like it was going to be Allen?


Argh, bad place to end it. I'm so very sorry! So, did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Destroy it? Hit me with a review, por favor! And thank you thank you THANK YOU for all the favourites! Holy crap I lost count of all of them! There has to be at least over 40 or so! (It's the most I've had ever. I think? Nah, one of my Naruto ones is more popular.) Even so, I'll see y'all in chapter 5, yatta! --K.S.