Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man characters belong to Katsura Hoshino; Carreau is not my own creation
Claimer: I own the plot and OCs
Warnings: AU; mentions of blood
Pairings: Lavi X OC
Which side is up?
"****!"
Is this what it feels like to be set on fire? No, wait… this is what it's like to be submerged in lava.
"****** **** **, ****!"
Had every bone been broken?
"****** **, ****!"
The air is fire, the light are daggers inside eyes.
"NAVI!"
The female redhead lets out a screaming groan at the top of her lungs, hugging her body tightly as nerve endings explode all over again. Colors almost break her mind, memories destroying everything in their path as Navi feels as if she's being cut open alive. The smell of windblown clothes enters in through her nose, instantly making her screaming stop as all pain goes away.
"Navi?"
"Lavi?"
Wary hazel-colored eyes look up to the angel holding her close, and he gives her a strained smile. He moves his body back to sit the teen girl up, letting his green eye roam over Navi's pale face.
"You're… human?"
"Am I?"
"You are… ya suddenly started screaming my name and… I heard you."
Navi groans, holding the place where her heart is beating but throbbing in pain… but there're no wounds. Seeing Lavi makes it hurt with every beat, consuming all thoughts and space in her head.
"Navi?" he asks.
"Don't call my name… I don't deserve it."
"Huh?"
An overwhelming tidal wave of certain emotions causes her heart to hurt. Navi is ashamed and guilt-ridden. She knows she's not worthy in her original greed and cruelty. Demons don't love, feel remorse, or really have the heart to experience the emotional capacity of humanity.
Navi has the capability now.
"Oh God, don't look at me!" Navi snaps, angry for these feelings of guilt. "Don't touch me ever again! I'm dirty! I'm a sweat stain compared to you! Go away, you goody-two-shoes!"
Navi flinches violently when Lavi puts a hand on her shoulder. She turns to grab his wrist, but he grabs hers in return, green eye staring steadily at her.
"Guilt, remorse, and another full life ahead of you means you're deserving of a second chance, Navi," Lavi says. "God is loving and forgiving, and you can be within His grasp. This is a new beginning. Be good from now on and maybe you can redeem yourself."
Her jaw tenses, teeth grinding, as hot tears spring up. Navi's heart still throbs. When she speaks, her tone is tense, "I hated God so he hates me. I'm going to hell where I belong, and I'll burn for eternity. Going human, just to get you to come to me… is by far the stupidest thing I could've done."
"Navi… I-"
"No," Navi interrupts, tearing her wrist out of his grasp. "As a demon I wanted to overthrow Carreau, a boss, so I had an insatiable need to know things about angels and I started with you. Stalker-curiosity, Lavi. That's the only real form of love a demon can properly express because they're incapable of that emotion of love. It's a luxury I can't have now. You and your stupid purity treated me like its normal to be a demon. That wasn't fair!"
The male redhead pulls the newly-human Irish woman close into a hug. She grabs a handful of his hair, pulling to try to make him let go. His grip gets tighter, making Navi stop.
"Stop," she demands through grinding teeth. "You're making it worse. I know angels can't get romantically involved, so just stop."
Lavi is silent in response but he doesn't let go.
Even if he wanted to say something, a moment later a suave voice says, "That's mine and I suggest you let go."
The angel lifts his head to see who spoke, not noticing Navi going stiff in terror since she knows exactly who it is. Carreau stands by a decrepit head stone ten feet away with his hands behind his back, regarding the two with an air or arrogance and an air of self-entitlement.
"Wha-? Who are you?" Lavi asks.
"Carreau is my name. I was Navi's boss. Seeing as she's human, a living 'soul,' so to say, I believe she rightly belongs in hell. Since she was my subordinate, that means I claim rights."
"Wait, you can't. That's not allowed!" Lavi says.
An unnatural smile twists into the demon's face. The sides of his mouth literally almost reach his ears as he purrs, ""I don't care."
Black, burned, crispy arms shoot out of the ground, grabbing Navi's clothes and legs. With the arms come the muffled sounds of groaning and screaming. Despite their weak muscles, the hands are able to start dragging her body under dirt like quicksand.
"N-No…" Navi is breathless, terror in hazel eyes and a silent scream on her lips. Lavi grips her tighter when he realizes what's going on as he shouts, "NO, WAIT!"
He keeps one arm around Navi's waist as she tightly grips his jacket, breathing loudly in his ear, as he tries to pry the hands off. They start burning under his touch, something he remembers when Navi helped him, but it only brings more blackened hands to form a moving black mass, gripping higher on Navi's body now that her legs aren't in sight.
"I love you," Navi whispers in pure fear and regret. "I know you don't, but I love you."
"I'll find a way to bring you back!" Lavi says, losing the tug-of-war. "I'll bring you back so you can have your second chance! Believe in that!"
Navi lets out a choked sob. Lavi's jacket rips. Without the aid of her holding onto him, she slips through his arm around her waist. He barely has time to barely graze her hand, holding it for barely a second, before he's left alone with the dead buried beneath the ground, staring at the churned dirt.
[*][*][*]
Lavi sits in a chair in the library with others gathered around him like Allen, Lenalee, Krory, Miranda, Marie, and Kanda who's nearby pretending he's not listening. Others are there to listen to his story that he didn't finish by the time he and Allen came back from their errand run. Everyone naturally gathered round, and many frowned as the story comes to an end.
"Have you found a way to pull her out?" Allen asks as a firm believer in second chances.
"Feh. She was a demon. Let her rot in hell," Kanda snaps, accidentally revealing he'd been listening.
"I've… hit a lot of dead ends," Lavi admits sheepishly. "By now I think it's impossible."
It neither said nor denied he was still trying to find a way. He can't deny he might be doing it for personal reasons—does he really know?—but it would certainly benefit him knowing if it was possible. Bookman wasn't helping him at all. Allen stares at the redheaded angel, making him nervous because ti would seem those silver hues exuded understanding—something Lavi shouldn't see or earn.
"You might've given up, but even Navi deserves a second chance," he says.
Lavi's eye twitches as his pupil dilates. Allen knows the truth, but was helping him keep up appearances. He's not supposed to need help, much less for something personal that shouldn't be personal in the first place. Allen is good, so to earn Allen's help meant no neutrality. Lavi is being pulled into their cause…
"If you say so, Beansprout…" Lavi says, putting on a fake smile as Allen retaliates his nickname, but they both knew how fake the mask is right now.
And that's the end! Thank you so much for sticking through this story to the end if you've read through this chapter! It was short, just how I like it! Please leave reviews saying if I can improve anything!
Again, thank you for sticking with me this time as I've lazily updated!
