Okay, I'm back again. And before I say anything else I must confess that I am apparently the worst Lavi fan ever, because I completely forgot that yesterday was his special day. So, Happy Belated Birthday, Lavi!

Anyway, onto rambling about this chapter. I cackled madly to myself pretty much the whole time I was writing it. I figured that this story needed a bit of conflict, so this chapter will introduce the main antagonist. You'll figure out who it is rather quickly. I hope I do him justice as well. He doesn't start being too nefoarious for a while longer, however.

Chapter 8 is finished, which is why I'm posting chapter 7 today, but it is still rather meh. I feel like nothing really happens in it. I have a fun idea for chapter 9, but chapter 8 is just being a jerk. Also, I'm expected to accomplish some things and be a legitimate member of society today, so I may not have time to write :(

Anyway, I'd like to give yet another heartfelt "Thank You!" to everyone who has favorited and reviewed. It makes me feel like I'm doing something really good with this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own D Gray-man


A week and a half after Cross' eventful visit, Allen once again found himself in The Refectory. He was meeting Lavi for lunch; the excitable redhead had been babbling something about this "really awesome idea" he had (that was bound to be horrible and/or dangerous) during History class while Allen was trying to learn about early forms of pictographic writing, and Allen had finally proposed lunch in order to shut him up and talk about it later.

And now it was later, and Lavi wasn't there. Allen shrugged to himself, collected his food, and made his way toward Lavi's usual booth to wait. It was better than waiting up in the main area of the Student Union, where he'd probably be subjected to more irritating old man stories.

However, when Allen reached Lavi's designated table, he found that it was already occupied. And not by his red-headed friend.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Allen said, taking a step back. "I thought that this booth was empty."

"Not a problem," the boy who was sitting there said smoothly. "I'm just waiting for someone."

"That someone wouldn't be Lavi Bookman, would it?"

The boy nodded, smirking. "I take it you're after him as well?"

"I guess you could say that," Allen replied, frowning at the boy's choice of words.

"I see." The boy ran a hand through his wavy, shoulder-length hair and introduced himself. "My name is Tyki Mikk. How about you?"

"Allen Walker," Allen replied. "I'd shake hands, but mine are full at the moment."

"Not to worry," Tyki replied, his smirk transforming into an unnaturally wide grin. "Why don't we wait together? I'm sure Lavi won't mind. I certainly don't."

"Okay," Allen said, a little unnerved. Nevertheless, he placed his food on the table and slid into the seat across from Tyki. "So, are you a friend of Lavi's?"

"Oh yes," Tyki replied. "We go way back."

"I see," Allen replied, fidgeting. "That's nice."

"There's no need to be nervous," Tyki chuckled. "I won't bite."

I'm not so sure of that, Allen thought uncertainly.

"How about a friendly game while we wait, hmm?" Tyki asked, producing a deck of cards out of nowhere.

"What kind of game?" Allen wondered.

"Poker. You do know how to play poker, don't you?"

"I know how to play," Allen said. In truth, the white-haired boy was something of a card shark, and poker was his game of choice. In order to pay back all of his Master's debts when he was growing up, he'd taught himself how to win (AKA cheat) at cards in order to gain large sums of money quickly. He could be quite ruthless, in all honesty, but this Tyki person had done nothing to deserve meeting "black Allen" as Cross called him when he got deep into a game. Allen, with Lavi in tow, had taken all of the bills his Master had left for him that day in the restaurant and given them to Mother. She would get them back to their rightful owner, so Allen had no need to hustle money, either. This would be the first time in a long time that Allen would play cards for the pure enjoyment of it and though the boy sitting across from him was a little unnerving, he couldn't help but begin to feel excited at the prospect.

"Are you going to fricking listen to my awesome idea now, beansprout?" Lavi's voice interrupted.

"My name is Allen," Allen replied automatically.

"You are beansprout right now because you were a jerk earlier." Lavi stopped in front of the booth, glaring at his younger friend. "I don't like being blown off, you know?"

"I was learning!" Allen protested. "You need to stop excessively talking to me in the middle of class!"

Tyki cleared his throat, reminding Allen of his presence. Lavi turned toward him, baffled for a moment, but when he locked eyes with Tyki he froze.

"Hello Lavi," the wavy-haired boy crooned. "Miss me?"

"Mikk," Lavi replied stiffly. "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to see you," he replied, resting his chin on his hand.

It was then that Allen realized what Tyki had meant when he asked if Allen was "after" Lavi as well, and he blushed to the tips of his ears.

"Well, you've seen me. Now it's time for you to go." Lavi glared at him and pointed toward the door.

"Tsk tsk, you're not being very nice. I haven't seen you since last spring and this is how you greet me?" But Tyki didn't look upset. In fact, it looked to Allen like he was having a grand time.

"What do you want?" Lavi asked through gritted teeth.

"You," Tyki said simply. Lavi paled, and the wavy-haired boy grinned triumphantly. "Come now, don't tell me you're changing your mind."

"I don't remember any of what you claim happened between us," Lavi said quickly, glancing furtively at Allen. The white-haired boy raised his eyebrows.

"Pity," Tyki sighed. "But I won't give up on you so easily, you know." He slid out of the booth and stood up, looking down on Lavi with a leer. "Your friend is interesting." His strange golden eyes flicked toward Allen for a moment before coming back to rest on Lavi's face.

"Leave him alone," Lavi said dangerously.

"Ah, I see how it is. No matter. I'll see you later, Lavi. Boy." He grinned that creepy grin at Allen and left.

Lavi slammed his fist onto the table, shocking Allen out of his confusion.

"What the heck, Lavi?" Allen cried, holding a hand over his heart. "You scared me!"

"He graduated," Lavi was muttering—mostly to himself, Allen assumed. "He graduated in May. I thought I'd gotten rid of him. Why is he still here?"

"Um, Lavi? Is it okay if I ask what that was all about?" Allen questioned.

His friend slid into the seat Tyki had previously occupied and folded his hands on top of the table. "Remember what I said about gin the first time we were here?"

"About how you and it were not friends and I should prevent you from drinking it in the future?"

"Yeah," Lavi said. "Apparently, I get really flirty when I drink gin."

"Because that's so different from you on any other day," Allen said sarcastically.

Lavi scowled at him. "What I mean is, apparently I flirt with everybody." He stopped for a minute, and Allen could see that he was blushing. "Boys included."

"So you got drunk on gin, flirted with Tyki, now he's interested, and you don't remember any of it?"

"That's exactly what happened."

"Well," Allen said, placing a finger on his chin. "I suppose that's what you get for being an incorrigible player."

"That's cold," Lavi whined. "Have some sympathy for me, Allen! Tyki is stalking me."

"Who isn't?"

"He has no reason to be on campus," Lavi continued, ignoring Allen's smart-alecky comment. "He isn't even a student here anymore. So what the hell?"

"He's obviously enamored of you," Allen said, sipping his Pepsi. "And I must say, I got a creepy vibe from him before I even knew he was one of your many stalkers. Hmm, they should start a club. It could be a student organization. I'm sure they could get a lot of people to join."

"Thank you for making light of my predicament, buddy. I really appreciate it."

"No problem," Allen said, giving Lavi a bright smile. "But I'm afraid there's nothing you can really do about it at present."

"He's just so scary!" Lavi shuddered.

"Want me to beat him up for you?" Allen asked.

Lavi stared at him.

"Kidding," Allen said, smiling even wider.

The one-eyed boy shook his head and chuckled. "You're hilarious."

"I do what I can. But seriously, why don't you just sic Kanda on him? Give him the Death Glare."

"I tried that already! He just laughed and patted Kanda's shoulder, which is so not allowed because no one touches Kanda. He made me wash all of the dishes for two weeks for that."

"Wow, it's like this guy isn't human," Allen mused.

"He's ruining my life."

"We'll get rid of him," Allen said, reaching across the table and patting Lavi's hand reassuringly.

The redhead surprised him by moving his left hand on top of Allen's and squeezing it. "You'll help me?"

"Of course," Allen said, feeling a little awkward now that he was essentially holding Lavi's hand. "What are friends for?"

Lavi sighed, smiling gently. "That's why I like you, Allen. You always come through for me."

"Yeah," Allen said, even more uncomfortable than before. "You can let go of my hand now."

Lavi's placid grin turned devilish. "Nope."

"What?" Allen attempted to tug his hand from Lavi's grip, but the taller boy held fast. "What are you doing?" He glanced around and noticed that everyone around them was watching. One girl was even taking a picture of the two of them with her cell phone. "Lavi, everyone is staring!"

"Exactly. This is punishment for ignoring me and my awesome idea earlier."

"You're still on about that?" Allen exclaimed, pulling harder. Still Lavi wouldn't let go.

"Are you going to listen to it now?" Lavi asked, leaning closer to him. To an outside observer it would look like he was about to…

"Yes, yes, I'll listen! Just get away from me!" Allen yanked his hand with as much force as he could just as Lavi released it. This sent Allen slamming into the back of the booth with a resounding crash.

Lavi cackled like a madman. "Sorry, pal. You're just so fun to tease!"

Allen glowered at him. "See if I help you with your Mikk problem now."

"Oh, but you just did," Lavi said cryptically, glancing at the girls who'd taken photo after photo of the two of them on their cell phones and were excitedly texting them to all of their friends.

"Huh?"

"Anyway," Lavi said, shrugging the whole incident off. "Listen to my idea. It is super great." He dug in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of white paper. He smoothed it on the table and Allen tilted his head to read the writing on it.

"Neighborhood meeting to discuss the student threat," Allen read aloud. He looked up at Lavi's expectant face. "That one Mr. George was talking about?"

"Yep! Mother showed me this flyer. There's one stuck inside the front door of every house on the street. Except for mine and yours, of course."

"So?" Allen wanted to know.

"So! I say we crash it."

"No way," Allen said, holding up a hand to silence Lavi's protestations. "Last time I talked to George he said he'd call the police on us if we showed up."

"I'm not afraid of the cops," Lavi said, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back. "I know how to deal with them."

"Even so, I don't think the neighbors would be too thrilled if we just showed up unannounced."

"That's why we listen in from the window," Lavi said conspiratorially. "Then we can see what they're planning and start preparing our counterattack."

"This isn't a war, Lavi," Allen snorted. "Besides, they have every right to be annoyed with you. You do throw obnoxiously loud parties nearly every weekend. I'd be annoyed as well, were I them."

"Yeah, but they're annoyed with you too. Doesn't that make you mad?"

"A little," the white-haired boy admitted. "I mean, I didn't do anything to them. They assumed I was bad news the minute I showed up."

"Which makes no sense, because you're, well, you." Lavi shook his head. "I still don't get how anyone can look at that innocent face of yours and think 'hooligan'."

"Um," Allen said, scratching the back of his neck self-consciously.

"So, you wanna help me? We can prank them or something. It'll be great!"

Allen looked up into Lavi's excited face and silently cursed his inability to say no to him. He must have been taking pointers from Lenalee.

Speaking of…

"Why don't you ask Lenalee?" Allen said, dodging the question. "She lives at your house, after all. The meeting is about her as well."

"Oh, she's already coming," Lavi said, waving a hand. "She's trying to get Yu to come too, but it's pretty slow going. He thinks my idea is stupid." The taller boy pouted.

"Kanda thinks everything is stupid," Allen said. Then he sighed. "All right, I'll come too."

"Kickass!" Lavi crowed. "It'll be a party! I gotta tell Lena it's on." He pulled out a sleek black phone Allen recognized as a Blackberry and started frantically texting.

As Lavi began muttering about camouflage and covert ops, Allen sighed again—he was already beginning to regret this decision.


"I'm starting to think he's a bit of a lunatic," Allen confided to Lenalee as he turned a page in his Freshman Composition textbook. "And that I'm an even bigger lunatic for agreeing to his plans."

"Oh, Allen," Lenalee giggled. "It may not seem like it, but Lavi actually does know what he's doing. Most of the time."

"Not very confidence-inspiring, Lenalee," Allen deadpanned.

"The meeting isn't until eight-thirty, so I wonder why Lavi wanted us to meet this early?" she wondered. She checked her watch before adding, "and to top it all off, he's late!"

"Have you ever known Lavi to be on time for anything?" Allen seriously wanted to know. "In my limited experience, I have discovered that punctuality is not his forte."

"I heard that!" Lavi said, pressing his face against the screen of Allen's porch.

"You've offended him," Lenalee said, smiling.

"He has no right to be offended, because it is the truth," Allen declared.

"Anyway," Lavi said, disgruntled. "Get your asses out here. We're going shopping!"

"Why?" Allen asked warily. Even Lenalee narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Because! We can't be sneaky without all of the proper gear. I say we dress up like ninjas. Won't that be great?"

"That is the worst idea ever," Allen grunted.

"Hey! I am the squad leader of this mission, and we will do as I say. Now, to Walmart!" He said valiantly, holding up a fist.

"I hate Walmart," Allen grumbled, but he stood up nonetheless.

"Are you auditioning for the part of Kanda because he's not here?" Lenalee wondered. "You're doing a pretty good impression of him."

"Gross, no!" Allen squawked, waving his arms. "Who would want to be that jerk?"

"You sure are whiny today," Lavi said, as Lenalee and Allen exited the porch and joined him in the yard. "Anyway, I'm driving, so let's go!"

"No way," Lenalee said, yanking on the back of Lavi's shirt. He stopped and stared at her in surprise. "I refuse to ride with you. You drive like a maniac. We'll take my car."

"Aww, Lena, you're no fun!" the redhead huffed.

"Now who's being whiny?" Allen asked.

Lavi stuck out his tongue as they trailed Lenalee into the garage. She slid behind the wheel of her Civic as Allen shouldered Lavi out of the way and hopped into the passenger seat.

"What's this?" Lavi cried. "How come I have to be in the back?"

"Because," Lenalee said, adjusting the rearview mirror. "Just get in, okay?"

He clambered into the backseat, muttering something about "insubordination." Allen and Lenalee shared an amused look.

The ride to Walmart was short and uneventful, but the minute Lenalee pulled into a space in the parking lot, Lavi sprang out of the car looking like he was ready for action.

"Let's go, team!" he shouted, marching toward the doors.

"Lavi sure is being silly today," Lenalee said to Allen as they followed their "squad leader" inside. "Did something happen earlier?"

"We had an interesting encounter with some guy named Tyki Mikk who is apparently hot for him," Allen supplied. "I don't see how that would cause him to act like this, though."

"Ah," Lenalee said wisely. "He always acts strangely after he talks to Tyki. Trying to take his mid off of it, I think." Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "I didn't think he'd have to deal with Tyki anymore, since he graduated in May. This isn't good."

"What's so wrong with it?" Allen wanted to know. "He doesn't seem to be too concerned about any of his other stalkers."

"He isn't," Lenalee assured him. "I mean, most of his admirers, both male and female, are like Chomesuke—kind of crazy, but relatively harmless. The thing is, I've heard a lot of pretty disturbing stories about Tyki."

"What kinds of stories?" Allen wondered. They followed at least ten steps behind Lavi as he wandered down a random aisle.

"Weird ones," Lenalee said, not meeting his eyes. "Apparently Tyki is really possessive, and he's been known to get…violent."

Allen stopped in his tracks and gaped at her. "You think he might hurt Lavi?"

Lenalee shrugged helplessly. "Who knows? Lavi sure is worried about it, though."

Allen bit his lip, concerned for his friend. "Well, if I see him hiding in my bushes at all, I'm calling the police."

Lenalee smiled and opened her mouth to say something when Lavi—who'd disappeared down another aisle, oblivious to their serious discussion—appeared out of nowhere, wearing a dark blue ski mask and brandishing a foam Nerf sword.

"How absolutely ninja-esque do I look right now?" he asked, voice a bit muffled.

"What's with the sword?" Allen wondered. "You're not going to whack George over the head with that, are you?" Now that Allen thought about it, he might like to witness that.

"Nah," Lavi said, swinging it around a bit. "It's just that the tag says it's called the 'Blue Thunder Ninja Sword,' so I had to grab it. You know, to go with our theme. Ooh!" He said, his only visible eye lighting up. "We should do a ninja party. What do you think?" He looked between Allen and Lenalee expectantly. "We could decorate the house to look like a dojo or something. Yu would know what to do. I'm gonna go call him right now!" He pulled his Blackberry out of his pocket and rushed off, pushing buttons excitedly.

Allen was surprised when he heard Lenalee give a small sniff. He turned and placed a concerned hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry," the Chinese girl said quietly, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand. "It's just… thinking that someone might try to do something to him…" she trailed off and sniffed again.

"Don't worry," Allen said bravely. "We'll protect him. That Tyki guy didn't look so tough."

Lenalee nodded, smiling through her tears. "I'm sure we have nothing to worry about."


They emerged from the superstore forty-five minutes later with a bag-full of gear each. Lavi was scampering about in exhilaration, babbling about stealth and retribution.

"What I don't understand," Allen began, pulling a long-sleeved, cotton shirt partially out of his bag, "is why all of these clothes are blue. Don't ninjas wear black?"

"Ah, but they didn't," Lavi said, swinging his plastic bag over his shoulder. "In order to blend in with the rest of society, ninjas simply dressed the same as those around them. The outfits we think of as being typical of the ninja were actually worn by the stage hands of Japanese kabuki theatre. But, the outfits are cool, so we're going to wear them."

"That does not answer my question," Allen pointed out.

"Black stands out like a dark outline against the night sky. Navy blue blends in much better."

"Oh," Allen said, impressed with Lavi's profusion of knowledge on the subject.

"Yeah," he said, smiling at the shorter boy over his shoulder. The second Lenalee's car came into view, he broke into a run, calling "shotty!"

Allen just let him go, shaking his head fondly.

When they arrived back at Lavi and Lenalee's, the redhead dragged Allen into his bedroom in order to change into their ninja attire. It was the first time Allen had seen Lavi's room, and it looked pretty much as he'd expected it would. Everything was in slight disarray, with wrappers and papers strewn about the floor. Lavi's bedspread was as violently orange as his armchair downstairs, and his pillowcases were a clashing shade of blue. The closet was overflowing with balled-up pants, rumpled shirts, and mismatched pajamas. The dresser drawers hung open and clothes spilled out of them as well. The thing that did surprise Allen—though later he realized it really shouldn't have—was the large volume of books that covered every available surface.

"Okay, so, we need to get a move on," the redhead declared, squinting at his alarm clock. "The meeting starts in ten minutes, and knowing these people they'll all be early." With that he pulled his shirt up and over his head.

"Um," Allen said, feeling very awkward and blushing slightly at his friend's sudden half-nakedness.

"What?" Lavi asked innocently.

Allen averted his eyes and began to dig in his own bag. "Nothing."

"Oh, I get it," Lavi said behind him, and Allen could hear the smirk in his voice. "You're jealous of my rockin' body, right?" Allen looked up at him sharply just in time to catch the redhead running his hands over his admittedly impressive abs. "We can't all be blessed with awesome bodies, but luckily I am. Don't worry, Allen, I won't laugh at you."

"Thanks," Allen muttered sardonically.

"I mean," Lavi continued, "I can tell you're probably pretty scrawny just by looking at you. But that's nothing to be ashamed of. We'll just have to start you on an exercise program. I usually don't go to the student Rec center because it's too much of a hassle, but maybe we could start going together!"

Allen knew that Lavi was trying to be supportive, but he just ended up feeling insulted. "Thanks," Allen said again.

"No prob, little buddy!" If Lavi had heard the sarcasm in Allen's voice, he didn't acknowledge it. They both changed in silence after that, and Allen felt rather foolish when he pulled the ski mask over his head.

"All right!" Lavi shouted, striking a ninja pose. "This is gonna be so much fun!"

They met Lenalee in the living room. She was dressed all in her blue clothes but held the ski mask in her right hand. She was smiling sheepishly at Kanda, who was sitting on the plaid loveseat with an incredulous expression on his face.

"Yu!" Lavi greeted. "Are you gonna come with us after all? You don't have any ninja clothes, but that's okay."

Kanda glanced that them over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. "You both are more retarded than I could ever have imagined." He turned back to Lenalee, ignoring Lavi's indignant spluttering and Allen's angry rebuke. "But I expected better from you," he told the girl reproachfully.

"Oh, come on Kanda," Lenalee said. "It's going to be fun! It's like an adventure!"

"Exactly," Lavi agreed brightly. "All right, team. Kanda is obviously not cool enough to join us on this mission, so let's move out!"

Lenalee stifled a giggle and slipped the ski mask over her head. It bunched awkwardly over her pigtails but she didn't seem to care.

They filed out through the front door, Kanda muttering disgustedly behind them, and crept across the street in the gathering darkness. At George's house, the last few neighbors were just arriving. George himself was berating them for being "late," though it was still only 8:27. He was wearing a ridiculously tall hat that he seemed to think made him look commanding, and Lavi clutched his sides in silent laugher from their hiding place behind the air conditioning unit that sat against the back of the house.

"All right," George's voice could be heard through the window just above their heads. His house butted up against the school's tennis courts, and a few boys who were hitting a ball back and forth looked at the trio in confusion. Lavi held a finger up to where his lips would be if they could be seen through the mask and the boys just shrugged, resuming their play.

Lenalee leaned forward on her knees so that her eye-level was just above the windowsill. "The whole neighborhood is here!" she breathed. "They all look rather disgruntled."

"Well, they are here to discuss the 'student threat'," Lavi said, using air quotes around the words "student threat." He was not being as quiet as he could have been, and was shushed by both Allen and Lenalee.

"This meeting can be called to order," George said. "We're here to discuss a grave issue. Slowly but surely, and quite nefariously, students are taking over the neighborhood. Our quiet, peaceful street is being overrun. What can we do about this?"

"I've been doing some research," an unknown man's voice replied, accompanied by the shuffling of papers. "According to documents I found at the government center, this neighborhood is still subject to some of the city's older laws."

"What does that mean for us?" George asked eagerly. "Anything we can use?"

"This is the most promising one so far…" the man trailed off, shifting through even more papers.

Lavi's hands twitched, and Allen looked a question at him. "I want to read those papers," Lavi explained, rocking forward and sitting on his hands to still them. "I really want to read those papers."

"You're too curious for your own good, you know," Lenalee whispered, not taking her eyes off of the scene in the living room. She was the only one who could see inside, and Allen was a little jealous.

"Who's the moron with the horrible filing system?" Lavi asked, when the shifting of papers continued longer than anticipated.

"I think he lives at the end of the street," Lenalee murmured. "In the brick house. I've seen him a couple of times. Don't know what his name is, though."

"Ah, here it is," brick-house-guy said triumphantly.

"What's it say?" George asked, impatient.

"This is a law from when the town was first established. It says that if four or more unrelated people live in a house together, it technically constitutes a brothel, which of course is illegal. How many people live in that party house?"

Lavi had collapsed to the ground at the mention of the word "brothel," and was currently rolling around and trying very, very hard to stifle his laughter. Allen had to hold a hand over his mouth as well, and Lenalee was clutching the windowsill so hard her knuckles were turning white. She was shaking her head back and forth in quick jerks, tears of mirth filling her eyes.

"I'm not entirely sure," a woman's voice answered. "It has to be at least five, though. There are so many people coming and going all the time. Maybe it really is a brothel."

Allen flopped down on the grass next to Lavi, unable to control his laughter any longer. The redhead turned and buried his face in the hollow of Allen's neck, gasping for air yet still trying to keep his laughter soundless. Lenalee kept making strange squeaking noises, hands clamped firmly over her mouth as she tried desperately not to give away their position.

"I wouldn't doubt it," George said darkly. "From what I've heard about this Bookman character, he's quite the little slut."

Lavi sat up with an indignant gasp. Allen grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down, putting a hand over the place he guessed the redhead's mouth to be.

"I refuse to allow you to speak about him that way," a voice, undeniably Mother's, croaked. "Lavi is a kind boy. He may be a little exuberant in his social endeavors, but he is a very sweet person. I think that this entire meeting is ridiculous. They're still just children."

"Your opinion is noted," George said in a bored tone. "But they are not children. They are all legally adults, and they should act accordingly. I think we should pursue this brothel idea, see if we can maybe get them kicked out."

"We should make sure all of their bedrooms are up to code," another woman's voice added. "Especially if someone is living in the basement, there are very strict regulations they need to follow regarding windows and such."

"That's a good point," George said, enthusiasm returning to his voice.

"Come on, you guys," Lavi said, twisting out of Allen's grip and grabbing the white-haired boy's hand himself. "I think we've heard enough. I have an idea." He reached over and grabbed Lenalee's hand as well. He pulled the both of them back across the street, keeping low to the ground. The boys on the tennis court laughed and waved.

"What is it, Lavi?" Lenalee asked, taking off her mask when they were safely back inside the living room.

Kanda looked up from his spot on the loveseat. "You back already? That was a short adventure."

"You won't believe what they said about us, Yu!" Lavi whined, whipping off his mask as well. He flopped down into his favorite orange armchair. His hair was wild and staticky from the mask, and Allen sighed, moving behind the chair to smooth it down.

"Oh, hey, thanks pal," Lavi said distractedly. Allen just walked back around the chair and sat next to Lenalee on the couch. "Anyway, Yu, you wouldn't believe what they think about us."

"Well, obviously they hate us," Kanda said, uninterested. He continued to flick through the channels on the TV, not stopping long enough to actually see what each channel was playing.

"They think we're running a brothel!" Lavi exclaimed.

Kanda just stared at him.

"He's not kidding, Kanda," Lenalee added. "They actually said that they think we're running a brothel out of our house." She shook her head, disbelieving. "What is wrong with these people?"

"They called me a slut," Lavi continued, pouting.

"Well, you are," Kanda said.

"Hey!"

"Oh my gosh, I just had the most brilliant idea," Lenalee said, eyes shining. She jumped off of the couch, grabbed the front of Lavi's shirt, and pulled him after her.

"Whoa, what's going on, Lena?" the redhead asked, stumbling a bit.

"I'll show you, it'll be great! We'll be right back," she called over her shoulder to Allen and Kanda as she dragged Lavi up the stairs.

Allen sat stiffly on the couch, aware that Kanda was glaring at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Um," Allen began, but Kanda silenced him with a scoff.

"Don't even try to talk to me, beansprout."

Allen colored. "My name is Allen, jerkface."

"Whatever." Kanda continued to flip channels before growling in frustration. "There's nothing on the damn TV." To Allen's surprise, he turned it off and threw the remote control on the floor. Then he turned to face Allen with a ferocious scowl.

"What?" Allen said defensively.

"Why the hell are you here all of the time?" Kanda demanded.

"I'm hanging out with Lavi and Lenalee."

"Why do you insist on doing it somewhere I have to look at your ugly face?" Kanda wanted to know.

"You think I like looking at you?" Allen grated. "It's bad enough you persist in confusing me by looking like a woman, but you could at least smile once in a while."

"You better watch yourself," Kanda said, dangerously quietly. "You're not one to talk about looks, idiot, with that hideous scar on your face. Where did you get that thing, anyway?"

"Like I'd tell you," Allen retorted.

"Pft, you probably think it makes you special," Kanda said. "You obviously want attention. Who dyes their hair white?"

"I didn't dye it," Allen snapped. "It's naturally like this."

"What are you, albino or something?"

"It's from trauma, okay?" Allen said tiredly, not wanting to fight anymore. "I got them both—the scar and my hair—during the accident that killed my father." To his surprise, Kanda didn't say anything back. He simply scrutinized him with an unreadable look on his face before turning away and giving his trademark "che."

"Ta da!" Lenalee's voice rang out, breaking the tension. She was standing at the foot of the stairs holding a large piece of cardboard. Lavi was standing just behind her, looking excited and holding a bunch of painting supplies.

"What is it?" Allen asked, standing and walking over. Once he got closer, he could read the words that had been stenciled upon it in a fancy-looking script."This was your idea, Lenalee?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yep!" she said proudly. "Lavi likes it too, though."

"I think it's hilarious," the redhead chortled.

"Brilliant," Allen agreed.

Lenalee beamed. "Thanks. Wanna help me paint it?"

"Sure!" Allen said, taking a brush and a tube of blue acrylic from Lavi.

An hour later the attendees of the neighborhood meeting trudged out through George's front door. They stopped dead in their tracks when they caught sight of Lavi's house—"The Party House," as they referred to it. Sitting on the front porch were three of the hateful students they had just spent so long discussing, drinking lemonade and laughing boisterously. But the three weren't what had caught their attention. Leaning against the front of the house was a large cardboard sign painted in bright colors.

It read:

Bookman's Bordello—For Hourly Rates, Please Inquire Within.


So yeah, Tyki. I actually really kind of like him as a character, even though he's obviously a creeper and tried to kill Allen and stuff. I figured he could pull of being creepy/insane, so I put him in there. He'll show up again in chapter 9. What did everyone think of my attempt at drama? Usually I just stick to comedy, but I guess this is a sort of comedic drama because it is pretty absurd and whatnot. So...review? You know you want to!