A/N: Hey guys! I finished up finals last week so I finally got a chance to write!(: Unfortunately, it's just a filler chapter. Sorry about that, but hey, at least it's something!

Thank you to readwithcats, Kyuubi's Death, MesuNeko,jy24, Shinigami Merchant, lizyeh2000, stardancer1000, Zakath1, Ryuakilover, and Kuroi Rin for reviewing the last chapter! I really appreciate getting to hear your thoughts! Love you guys.(: Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nope.

Chapter 6

—3rd Person POV—

~Red~

For a split second, Red couldn't comprehend what he'd just done, until he connected the dots between the revolver in his hand and Link's crumpled form. "Shite. Fuck. Fuck me. I'm so fucked," he hissed, tossing aside the gun as if it'd burned him. Red pointedly ignored the way his heart clenched when he caught sight of Cross' blood once more, and instead slung Link over his shoulder and rushed out of the room, crumpled map clenched in his other hand. By some miracle, he managed to stumble back into his room a few minutes later.

Carelessly, he tossed Link onto his bed and began to pace back and forth, teeth gnashing and fists clenched. On the upside, Cross' gun could only eliminate Akuma, so Link was alive, if a little bruised up from the bullet hitting him at close range. On the downside, two-dots would now believe that it was Red who had murdered Cross. "Ugh, this is fuckin' shite," Red growled, fist lashing out and striking the wall.

This place will soon be crawling with CROW agents. But who the hell would be daft enough to help me?! Red thought furiously. He was so frantic, he latched onto the first idea that hit him. Stalking back out into the hall, he hurried down the corridor until he reached the female side of the Exorcist sleeping quarters. Without a single care, he stormed into Lenalee's room. She shot up with a surprised shout at the sound of him kicking the door shut.

"R-Red! What are you doing?!" she demanded, shielding herself with her blanket.

But Red couldn't care less about her state of dress. For a moment he could only pace back and forth, until he spat out, "I need yer help." And didn't it just pain him to admit that? But he'd already come too far.

Blowing away a few strands of hair shielding her face, she stared at him pensively, hand still clutching the blanket to her chest. After a short, tense silence, her expression abruptly softened and she requested, "Explain."

Red groaned into his hands and collapsed back onto the chair positioned by her desk. "It's a clusterfuck, Lena," he growled, "All I was tryin' ta do was hunt down Cross so I could figure out what the bloody hell the man is up to now, but then… He's dead, Lena. Someone killed the damn bastard."

"What?!" Lenalee jumped out of her bed and jerked on her bathrobe. "General Cross… was killed? Oh Red… I'm so sorry," she whispered, kneeling by him and taking his hands into her own.

Red froze. "It's… it's whatever," he said gruffly, shaking her hands away. But she refused to move from his side. "That's not even the kicker. Two-dots caught me red-handed. He thinks I killed 'im."

"No," Lenalee gasped. "What… what did you do?"

Red scoffed, "I shot the tosser." When Lenalee paled considerably, he rolled his eyes. "Don't get yer knickers in a twist, woman. It was just Cross' gun, so it can't kill humans. Two-dots is currently taking a kip over in our room. But when that pillock wakes up, I'm fucked."

Red observed the way Lenalee's face slowly darkened. He didn't think he'd ever seen her wear such an expression. It was unsettling. Abruptly, he shot up from his seat.

"I 'ave to get the hell out of here. Before that bastard Leverrier fucks me over. That wanker's jus' lookin' for an excuse," he hissed, making his way towards the window.

"Wait," Lenalee suddenly called. When Red paused, she asked, "If I told you I could find a way to make him forget, would you stay?"

His eyebrows shot up. That was… unexpected. He'd come here because he thought her naïve enough to want to protect him. But seeing her do so didn't bring a feeling a superiority over her. It just… made him feel hollow.

"I don't think so," he finally answered, expression dark. "I only stuck around 'cause of Master Cross. Now that he's gone… I 'ave no reason to stay."

Red ignored Lenalee's hurt expression.

"And what will you go back to?" Lenalee whispered, "The circus? The Noah? Is that really what you want?"

Red sneered, "I dunno know what the fuck I want. And so what if I joined the Noah? I'd probably fit in better with them, don't ya think?"

"No. I don't think that at all. You're more human than you'd like to believe. Why else would you be so hurt by the death of Cross?" When Red didn't immediately reply, Lenalee said, "Please stay. We can be your family too."

Red's expression remained blank with emotion. "I gave up on havin' a family a long time ago," he bit out.

The silence became strained.

"What 'ave you got in mind?" Red finally ventured.

It took her a second, but when Lenalee realized he was willing to stick around a little longer, her demeanor brightened. "Right!" she nodded, straightening up, "Get back to your room. I'll meet you there in a little bit."

Wordlessly, Red nodded and headed back to his bedroom. Fortunately, Link was still passed out.

He was surprised with himself. With his head a little clearer, Red was beginning to regret his decision. "Should'a legged it when I had the chance," he sighed, collapsing onto his bed. "Now what?"

It felt like an eternity until Red finally heard hesitant knocking against his door. Lenalee yelped when she was suddenly yanked inside.

"Careful!" she warned, cradling a black, leather medical bag in her arms.

Red narrowed his eyes. "What's all that for?"

Lenalee nervously shifted from foot to foot and admitted, "For the drug I'm administering to him. If I'm not careful, I could kill him."

Red blinked. "That's shitty."

"Yeah… But it should be okay. I'm familiar enough to feel confident," she assured him, taking a seat on Link's bed and sifting through the bag.

"How familiar?" Red wondered, leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

The dark-haired girl rolled up Link's sleeve, and as she began to dab rubbing alcohol along his upper forearm she quietly explained, "When I was little, I was brought here against my will. I wasn't cooperative. I struggled a lot and attempted to escape many times. So, they drugged me. A lot. Though it kept me calm and from hurting myself, a lot my memories were lost in the process. If I administer just the right amount, Link will be dazed for the rest of today and his memories will become fuzzy enough to become questionable."

Red observed as she carefully punctured his veins with a needle.

"Be sure to remove the band aid in a few hours," she advised, "This whole plan is fairly risky, as he might notice some things don't add up. At this point, all we can do is cross our fingers."

"I wouldn't worry," Red's lips twisted into a sharp grin, "I 'ave a hunch Link won't be feelin' too brill in the next few days."

Lenalee frowned as she began to store away the supplies she'd borrowed from the Hospital Wing. "Why do you say that? The drug isn't meant to last that long. And a too large dose is fatal."

"I dunno, Lena. Could be an improvement to his supper," Red mused.

"You want to lace his food," Lenalee clarified. Suddenly she drooped with exhaustion. "I don't know if I can go that far, Red. If we get caught…"

"Don't worry yer pretty head 'bout it. Just leave the bag 'ere."

"I… No. I'll keep it with me for now. Just in case. If you go through with it, you can come find it in my room," Lenalee decided.

"Suit yerself," Red shrugged, unfazed. Because if Lenalee thought that this was over, she was dead wrong.

"How is he doing?" Lenalee asked under her breath, eyes trained on her bowl of cereal. It had been nearly a week since the incident, and she had stubbornly remained by Red's side through it all. Through the interrogations; through the sudden influx of CROW agents flooding HQ; even through all the suspicious glares now pointed his way. Red may have been an Exorcist, but he had in no way gained the trust of anyone, with the exception of sweet, naïve Lenalee. But who needed the lot of them when he had an in with the Supervisor's sister? If he could learn to deal with Lavi's obnoxious goading, he could learn to deal with Lenalee's annoyingly sweet demeanor.

Though there were times where he honest to God wanted to smack some realism into the stupid girl.

"He's gettin' back on his feet," Red shrugged, referring to Link. What the duo hadn't counted on were the side-effects that the drug brought along with it. And so, Link had remained curled up on the bathroom floor most of the past week, either puking or being caught up in lucid dreams. The plan turned out to be more perfect than they'd intended. Link couldn't recall anything from that night, let alone accuse him of a crime he hadn't committed.

"How relieving," Lenalee sighed, most likely feeling guilty from all the drugs she'd laced into Link's food.

Red had to admit, he hadn't thought her capable of such deceit. For the umpteenth time, Red checked to make sure Timcanpy remained nestled in his hair. It was a pain having to keep an eye on the depressed golem, when Tim insisted on revisiting the site of the murder scene.

"Prick had it comin' to him," Red offered her a careless shrug, absentmindedly stroking Tim's feathers, miffed with all the paperwork two dots forced him to fill out.

"Who had it coming to him?" Lavi popped up, breakfast tray in hand and a sunny grin in place. Ever since his return, Lavi had been treating him as if they were the best of buds. Red was on the verge of pulling something that would remind the idiot redhead that they were in no way friends.

"That bloody wanker Cross," Red smirked viciously. To his disappointment though, Lavi didn't even flinch.

"Aww, we all know you don't mean that shortstack," Lavi patted his shoulder faster than Red could react.

"Bloody hell I do," Red hissed, stabbing his food with a fork.

"Honestly Red, just eat your food," Lenalee sighed, exasperated. "Every Exorcist has to be in Training Ground B by 10 AM. Come on you two, hurry it along and eat up."

"Yes Ma'am!" Lavi saluted her.

Red rolled his eyes and shoveled more food into his mouth, fed-up with the thought of having to socialize.

Already it had been two miserable months since Master Cross' assassination.

As if to remind him, Timcanpy begin to replay the recording… "Hey Red… Come to think of it, I've never asked you this before, but… Do you like Tim? I asked you to keep hold of him for me, but… To be honest, I was always planning on giving him to you."

"Tim, would you cut it out?" Red hissed, breath escaping his lips in puffs of white. The castle was freezing in the middle of December and the coldness of the stone ledge where he was curled up on seeped through his pants and coat like ice. He didn't dare lean against the frosted glass of the massive castle window.

"I've told Tim he can do as he likes from now on," Cross' voice continued to bounce and echo throughout the lone corridor, "You may not want to listen to me, knowing that I'm carrying on the Fourteenth's Will. But in case you're thinking you're being made to walk a path that the Fourteenth and I chose for you… I just want to tell you that you're wrong."

Red scoffed bitterly. "You're fuckin' dead. What the hell does it matter now?"

"A path is something you create it as you walk it. The ground you've trodden hardens, and that's what forms your path," Cross continued in a tone that was so contradictory to every memory Red had ever formed of him. "You're the only one who can create your own path."

And every syllable uttered was like a stab through his chest.

"So stop wearing the mask of "Red." Recall who you were before me; before the circus. Don't allow the Order or the Noah to form your path. Walk on your own. If you haven't given up yet, that is."

Silence engulfed the lone corridor once more. Red pressed his fingers against his eyes, shielding gold, teeth gritted tightly until the back of his head began to ache. "Damn you," he snarled, fist lashing out.

Crack!

The thick glass shuttered and cracked beneath his clenched hand.

Because Cross was right. What the hell was he still doing here, allowing himself to be a puppet of the Black Order?

"There you are," Link suddenly appeared at the base of the hall. "Now's not the time to be running off. Supervisor Komui has called for you. A debriefing for a mission I believe."

Red took a moment to make sure his eyes had lightened to mercury once more, before he lifted his head and offered Link a nasty grin. "Of course. Wouldn't want ta keep 'im waiting."

A/N: So the mission Link is referring is the Phantom Thief G Arc. I am still debating whether I will actually be including that in here. There are a few cons and pros that I see with it, but I still remain unsure. Let me know what you think though! And for anyone who is impatient with Red having not join the Noah yet, just give me a little more time please! While having Red just up and going to join them is technically a possibility, I want to make it a little more dramatic than that.

Once again, sorry for the filler chapter. But please let me know your thoughts and suggestions in a review. Until next time!(: