Disclaimer: I do not own -man…

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO REVIEWED! Uhmm, yeah this chapter will be slightly longer to make up for the looong hiatus… (And I'll be going on another hiatus due to the End of Year exams…)


Night finally fell on the town. Everyone was already asleep, but only one stayed on the balcony. Allen sighed as he gazed up at the silver-white full moon hanging in the midnight skies. He couldn't sleep at all…

Timcanpy had been literally nailed to the wall, but Lavi hadn't been found yet. Of course, Kanda kept up his bad mood and refused to speak to Allen the whole day, but somehow it bothered him more than he should be. After all, the Samurai was actually ignoring him fully for the first time.

Allen walked back to his bed and lay down, still keeping his gaze on the moon. The crickets outside chirped loudly and the air in the room was more humid than ever. Allen inwardly grimaced. How exactly was he going to get sleep?

Just when Allen paused to adjust himself under the covers, the familiar sound of something against stone alerted him. The sound repeated, and then a low voice sounded.

"Che,"

Allen couldn't help but smile slightly. His eyelids grew heavier and sleep finally came as the soothing soft clanking of breaking rock echoed.

Now, he could sleep.

*****************

Lavi was thinking about surrendering to his friends. But of course, if he was forced to, he would. After all, he was having great fun threatening them, wasn't he?

Lavi shuddered as he remembered what had happened the day before. It was such a close shave, if not for Lenalee saving him; he would already be grilled over a barbeque pit.

Flashback:

"LENALEE!!!" Allen shouted as Lavi attempted to squeeze under Lenalee's bed. However, Lenalee simply shoved him into a cupboard and calmly opened the door after she had controlled the laughter she was holding back.

"What happened?" Lavi heard Lenalee open the door and pretend to be astonished.

"Have you seen Lavi?" came Allen's frantic voice.

"IF I EVER SEE THAT RABBIT AGAIN, I'LL PERSONALLY KILL HIM!" Kanda snarled out. Lavi swallowed uneasily. Uhoh.

"Hai, hai..." Lavi heard Lenalee say uncomfortably. "So, can you guys clear off? I've to attend to some matters."

The door slammed shut and soon, Lenalee opened the cupboard doors, her face serious. "Lavi, if you make it out of this situation, it'll be a miracle."

End of flashback.

That was it. Lavi had finally decided that he would migrate to Canada and stay in a village forever, surrendering to the serenity of the country.

--

Kanda awoke late that morning, after hours of training done on the previous night. He was basically too pissed and exhausted to get up, but then the lack of the usual squabble next door was somewhat disturbing.

So the samurai got up and dressed before he washed up. It was pretty late, about eleven by the time he stepped into the cafetiara. As usual, Allen took up the last table with his pile of impossible-for-one-to-eat portions. He settled himself five tables away from the moyashi and rested his Mugen on the table, now the usagi wasn't around to take it away.

"…Kanda?"

Allen's voice startled him. Alright, he wasn't going to admit that the Moyashi had actually frightened him for a while but Allen's voice was suddenly soft and weirdish.

"Don't you think it's sort of weird that Lavi is missing?" he said, pausing to look up at Kanda who was at least 4 feet away. He saw the samurai's eyes narrow. "It's too exaggerated."

To which, Kanda rolled his eyes. "Do you actually think I have the time and patience to think about that idiot? He's probably hiding somewhere else."

As if on cue, Lenalee appeared out of no where. Her eyes widened in guilt as both of her friends stared at her with the huge bag of food she was carrying.

"Ah, Lenalee-san!" Allen said, clearly confused. "You're packing for a picnic or something?"

Lenalee shifted uncomfortably at the suspicious stares thrown by Kanda. "N-No! really! I'm just…"

"Just what?" Allen interrupted, and Lenalee was startled. Since when was Allen behind her? She sighed, rolling her eyes. Trust Lavi to get her into deeper trouble.

"Okay…" Lenalee inhaled deeply. "Lavi," she emphasized on every word. "Has migrated to Canada."

The response was exactly five seconds late. Mostly, Kanda and Allen just stared at her before what she said digested into their minds.

"What the hell?!"

Allen looked incredulous. "You've got to be kidding!"

Lenalee giggled. "I was," she added. "He's just there, are you guys blind or something?"

Suddenly, Kanda spotted a very visible orange thing sticking out of something that looked like a bin. "Okay. I get it."

Lavi was soooo doomed.

--

It took at least a few hours to settle Kanda and Allen down. Lavi had rejoiced over the fact he was "forgiven" by them, but his joy didn't last for long.

It was Komui who gave them the worse news they probably had heard since the fight in Japan.

"Guys, you'll be separated for about three months. Allen is going to be dispatched to the Australia with Team Acdes on the night of the eclipse," He first announced flatly. "Kanda will be going to Japan one night before, and Lavi will be sailing to Europe. You guys have to depart soon because of the rate of unnatural deaths probably caused by Akuma and Noahs in the places I've assigned you guys to."

Kanda saw Allen's eyes dart to meet his, and he spotted a spark of worry in his gaze before they looked away. It was highly common to be sent to faraway countries, but why was this time more painful? Lavi turned pale.

"But we just got back from-" he protested, but was cut off by Komui.

"A month, Lavi. It has been a full month since we got back," the Supervisor said sternly. "One month is enough for the Earl to plan a full-fledged attack on the Order and wipe out the existing amount of Innocence left in the world. So, are you still asking why are we departing you guys early?" Komui was obviously in a bad mood. "You guys are the best group in the Order, but we have to break you guys up so we can cover more countries for Innocence in a shorter period of time!"

There was a brief silence before Allen spoke up. "We understand, Komui-san. But I'll have to ask, when's the eclipse?"

The reply took all of them by surprise. "Tomorrow,"

--

Allen's high spirits were already vaporizing as the three of them walked back to their rooms. Kanda was silent, an emotion that was unreadable playing on his face. Lavi was groaning away.

"At least you still have Lenalee-san, Allen-kun," he complained. "I've only Miranda with me!"

"Damare, Lavi." Allen sighed, before stopping and turning to look at the male Exorcists. "Promise you'll make it back?"

Kanda met his eyes uncertainly. "What do you mean, moyashi?"

"…you know, some of the Exorcists don't always come back…" Allen said distractedly. He watched as Lavi and Kanda exchanged glances for a split second.

Allen stuck out a hand, palm-down. "I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning, so I probably won't be able to catch you guys."

Lavi forced on a brave smile, placing his gloved hand on Allen's. "Deal. You make it back, and I will."

Both of them glanced up at Kanda, who was staring at a blank spot on the ground. He looked at them and then nodded. But Allen had already grabbed his hand and placed it on top of Lavi's. He saw Allen smile confidently at him before the warm feeling started again at the pit of his stomach.

As the three Exorcists stood by the corridor and had a last-minute chat(excluding Kanda, of course), Allen finally realized that the feeling of leaving the HQ was different from what he had felt a month ago. This time, he was determined to make it back, no matter what.

To see those cobalt eyes again after the mission, that was what he wanted before he was satisfied to let go of everything. The truth and what was he feeling all the while was crystal-clear now.

As always, those fireflies would not be distinguished by darkness.


A/N: This chapter was waaay abrupt, hurhur. I'm sorry for the late update again, and I would like to thank my English teacher for forcing us to complete a essay that broke through my writer's block. Plus, damn the exams that are approaching in 2 days. I won't be able to update until the 16th.

Reviews would be much appreciated.

-Skitter