Chapter 9

"No way!" exclaimed Lavi, as he took a large bite out of his chicken leg. It was a few days later, but already news was flying throughout the Black Order about the new accomodator, Tyki.

"It is true." replied Allen as he wiped his mouth on a napkin. "Tyki is compatible with a piece of Innocence, and therefore can become an Exorcist."

"It is probably a fake. The Earl could have made one for him."

"No I don't think so. When the Science Department tested it, they told me that it really was a piece of Innocence."

"Still, I've never heard of a black Innocence before." noted Lenalee.

"Well neither have I, but the Science Department is looking into it. But nevertheless, they are still having me keep a watch on Tyki. Speaking of which, I need to go down and feed him."

"What? Has Tyki become your pet or something?" Asked Lavi as he leaned over and looked at Allen. Allen sighed, pushing his friends face out of the way.

"No, but I am still in charge of him."

"Allen, are you going to tell him about…the mission?" Asked Lenalee quietly. Suddenly the air got very heavy, a black cloak seemed to engulf the group. While the three friends may have been back for a few days, Allen had yet to tell Tyki about the mission.

"Do I really have a choice Lenalee?" muttered Allen, looking up from his plate. Lenalee seemed like she was going to respond, but then thought better of it. "Crack, Momo, and Eaze were Tyki's only human friends. He deserves to know about them; be him evil or not. However, I am only going to tell him when I think the time is right. This will be a large blow to him."

"Heck, it was a huge blow to the entire Black Order, and they weren't even there!" Commented Lavi. Allen nodded.

"I'll tell him eventually, but not yet. Not yet."

Inhaling deeply, Tyki let the smoke from his cigarette fill his lungs. Oh, how he would love to get out and walk around, but he knew he couldn't. He wanted to return to the Earl, and see if he could get his powers back. He longed to get back to see his human friends too.

As he watched the smoke swirl in the air, Tyki saw his caretaker coming towards his direction form the corner of his eye. Seeing the boy carrying food, Tyki exhaled the smoke before stomping out his treat. Finally, he could eat! It was nice having the boy back. That blue-haired samurai had left him without food for several days while the teen was away. Tyki would not be surprised if he had lost weight as a result. As the boy got close, Tyki noticed the difference again. It wasn't his appearance, but it was something else. It had been the same in the past few days. Ever since the teen had returned from his mission, something was different about him. He was still talkative, and seemed to act normally around him, but it was different than before. Allen seemed to be a little reclusive, and had stopped asking about Tyki's friends. As soon as Allen spotted Tyki looking at him however, the boy's attitude changed completely.

"Good morning Tyki." Said Allen cheerfully as he approached the man's cell. "I got some chicken and gravy for dinner. I'm sorry I couldn't get a potato though."

"Don't worry about it." Replied the man, studying the boy. Allen looked the same as usual. He didn't appear to have any injuries (other than the one on his head of course), and his Innocence was still working. Nothing different. But there was, Tyki just couldn't see it. He knew it was there. As he looked at the boy's eyes, he saw it. On the surface, the grey-colored orbs looked no different from the rest of his body. But as Tyki gazed deeper into Allen eyes, he could see a hesitation. An uncertainty. A secret. A lie.

"Tyki?" Asked Allen, pulling the man from his thoughts. Tyki blinked to see Allen straining , looking a little confused.

"Oh. Sorry." Muttered the man as he took the tray of food from Allen's hands. He had seen it. The lie. There was something Allen was hiding from him, and he was determined to find out what it was.

"Thank you for the meal." The two engaged into a small conversation as Tyki munched on his chicken. Allen seemed to be the same as always. The Order had no plans to send Allen on another mission anytime soon, so life had gone back to the way it had been before the boy had left. But Tyki knew better. He noticed the way the Science Department looked at him when they ran their tests. Whatever Allen was hiding, the rest of the Order seemed to know about it.

"…And that was when Lenalee told Lavi that he had not actually eaten a cooked snail, he had eaten a raw slug!" Finished Allen, chuckling.

"You seem to have a fun time with your friends." Commented Tyki as he downed the last bit of chicken on his plate.

"Yeah." Sighed Allen. "Lavi and Lenalee are really nice people."

"My friends are like that too. I remember one time we managed to trick Crack into thinking that there was no work on one day. He took the day off, and as a result was punished with scrubbing the bathrooms. We helped him out though of course, since we were the reason he was there in the first place. But Crack really needed the time off, so it was a pretty good day." Tyki noticed that as soon as he mentioned his friends, Allen had gone silent. As he looked at the boy's eyes, he saw the lie once more.

"You saw my friends while you were on the mission didn't you." Stated Tyki. It was not a question. It was a fact. Allen's head snapped up.

"What are you-?"

"Don't lie to me boy." Cautioned Tyki, standing up to tower over the boy. "While I am a prisoner here, I am not blind. I know you are hiding something from me."

Allen said nothing, his eyes hidden behind his bangs.

"Oi boy!" barked Tyki, getting a little irritated that the boy was taking no notice of his comment. "What happened on the mission? What happened to my friends? I demand that you tell me!" The room was silent for a long time. Finally, Allen raised his head once more. Tyki was stopped. Gone was the mask of deceit that Allen had so carefully woven over himself, and in its place, a look of great sadness, sorrow, and regret.

"I was hoping to tell you this in under different circumstances, but I guess I have no choice."

Allen's words sent shivers up Tyki's spine. Something had happened on that mission. Something bad.

"I did, in fact, see your friends on the mission. I saw all three of them. They were working at the coal mine. Lavi, Lenalee, and I were there. We had hoped to locate the Innocence piece there, and we did find the shard; actually, Eaze was the one to find it. But as we were coming back from the mine, there was an attack on the camp."

Tyki froze. No.

"Many miners died in what is now known as the Miner's Massacre." No no no no NO!

"Tyki Mikk, your friends and several others were killed during this Akuma attack."

A/N And here is chapter 9! I hope you have enjoyed my story so far!

Next week: Tyki's reaction!