Alrighty, here's the next one...As usual, it didn't really reach the point where I wanted it to, but it'll suffice I think? I thought I could finish this story before updating Pierrot, but...ahaha, things don't go my way all the time.

Next, I have not replied my reviews, if I'm not mistaken. Terribly sorry, it was either reply or update, cause I have exams this week, so I picked update. Trust y'll understand.

Disclaimer: I don't own D.Gray-Man, cause if I did I'd own Kanda. 'Nuff said.

WARNING: I don't think I need to say this anymore but Kanda is a girl here. XD


9. Embrace

"Allen went out!?" Lavi exclaimed when he saw Lenalee outside of Hisaki's room, pacing.

"He just stormed out, dragging Tyki along with him…" Lenalee said. "It's already so late, I wonder where he went…" she trailed off.

"Ahh…that idiot!" Lavi thought, grabbing his coat. "I'll look for him, stay here." He told the Chinese girl, and she nodded.

--

Kanda glared at the figure standing at the exit of the room, the girl was smiling sweetly. "What a pleasant surprise, isn't it?" Road chimed out, further irritating Kanda.

"Yes, a surprise indeed." Kanda bit out sarcastically.

"You should be happy to know that Allen-kun is on his way right now, to rescue you." Road said a little too happily. "So I'll have you locked up here until he comes." She giggled childishly. "I do hope you don't mind the darkness."

Having said that, Road slammed the door closed, and Kanda heard the clicking of the door lock. Gritting her teeth, she tried to feel for Mugen, only to remember again that it was not by her side. After a few minutes, she had already estimated the size of the room, though it didn't do much. She knew that if she stretched her hand out, she could reach the door, it looked as though Road had locked her in a closet or something.

"Damn." Kanda cursed, pulling her leg towards her chest. "I don't know how long I'll last…" Burying her head into her knees, she tried not to think of how small and dark the place was.

--

Allen stood in front of the Noah mansion, slightly irked that he had to come all the way here. Not that he minded, it was to save the girl he loved after all, but he had hated the mansion since his first visit. It gave off a weird aura that he could not name.

"Allen-kun!"

Road stood behind the gates, waving at him. "I'm so glad you came!" she exclaimed happily, as the massive gates swung open, and she ran out to greet the young aristocrat. "I was getting worried when you didn't show up earlier…"

"Road." Allen said stiffly. "Where's Yu-Kanda?"

Road continued smiling, but she did not give him a reply. Instead, she took his hand, pulling him into the mansion. "And I've already prepared a late supper for us, you know, since we rarely get together!"

Fighting the urge to just slam the girl into the wall, Allen allowed himself to be lead into the mansion, but he stopped just before they stepped in, and Road turned around, her expression no longer pleasant.

"Allen-kun, do you want something to happen to your…Kanda-san?"

He glared at her, but he did not move. "Stop playing games, Road." He shook of her hand, racking it through his snow white hair. "You know I hate people who beat around the bush."

Road chuckled, leaning against the doorframe. "My my, Allen-kun certainly has a temper, don't you?"

"It's part of my charm, I assure you." Allen said, scowling. "Now tell me where Kanda is."

"Or what?" Road challenged. "What will you do, Allen-kun?"

"It is not the matter of what he will do, it is the matter of what I will do." A deep voice said from behind Allen, startling Road. Allen smiled his usual smile and nodded.

"Tyki, would you be so kind as to take care of this little problem?" Allen asked, before slipping around Road and into the mansion, leaving Road and Tyki alone outside. Tyki bowed towards the young girl, and Road frowned.

"So you're taking his side now?" Road said quietly, clenching her fist.

Tyki smiled, patting Road's head softly like he used to do all those years ago, back when they would stay awake together, deep into the night when she couldn't sleep. "The past should remain in the past, Road."

Road slapped his hand away, eyes burning with anger. "You shouldn't have left, Tyki!" Road shouted, and Tyki merely stared at her. "If you hadn't left, maybe things would be different! It would be the Millennium Company standing at the top, not the Black Order!"

"And what?" Tyki said calmly. "And the world would be filled with more grief? Filled with more people...like us?"

Road flinched, but she stood her ground. "You know it wasn't supposed to go wrong…" she whispered. "It was supposed to work, orphans were supposed to walk free and live their lives-"

"But they didn't." Tyki interrupted. "They died from the experiments." He continued, his eyes blazing. "Screaming for someone, anyone to save them from the pain, crying, bleeding, they didn't even know who to call out for when they died!" the volume of his voiced was raised towards the end of his sentence, and Road had to take a step back.

"Allen survived…we survived…" Road said, staring straight into his golden eyes. "We…survived."

"At what cost?" Tyki spat. "Allen's left arm looks disfigured, his appearance will remain like that forever, living like a cursed child, and we…" he trailed off. "Are above humans." He finished, looking sadly at the girl. "Does that make you happy, Road? To know that we are above human beings, that we will live longer, watching as the people we know age and die as we continue to stay young-"

"Stop it!" Road screamed. "Why do you make it so hard to accept what we are!?" she pointed a finger at him, her face no longer in grief, but anger. "You, who was the most successful experiment! Why do you keep saying things like this!?"

"I reject."

Road's breath caught in her throat as she felt herself suffocating, and she glared at the Portuguese man in front of her. Clutching her throat, she struggled not to fall.

"You should be more careful when you talk to me." Tyki said quietly. "As you said, I am the most successful one, therefore…the most dangerous one." He snapped his fingers, and Road coughed, dropping to the ground. "Even if you are older, you could never compare to my powers."

"Tyki!"

Lavi's voice was recognizable to Tyki's ears and he turned to see the redhead jumping off a black horse, running towards the butler. "Allen…" Lavi panted. "Where is he?"

Tyki smiled slightly, and pointed inside. "Follow him, I doubt he'll find her alone."

Lavi nodded, ignoring the girl at the door, he ran inside.

"It would be better if you hadn't done this." Tyki simply said as he walked in after Lavi, leaving Road to glare at his back.

--

Allen ran upstairs the moment he came inside, knowing that all the rooms were located there, as Road had graciously given him a tour when he first came. Looks like the tour had been some good for him after all. Another problem was presented however, when he noticed that there were a lot of rooms to go through, and the huge Noah standing in his way was the bigger problem.

"Allen Walker." Skin smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Do you like sweets?"

Allen chuckled, pulling his glove off his hands. "Love them." He replied, before Skin came charging towards him without warning, and Allen barely managed to avoid him as he sidestepped the attack.

He swung his left hand towards the man's head, hoping the hardness of his disfigured arm would be enough to knock him out, but he didn't see Skin's cruel smirk, and the Noah swung his own hand out at Allen. Allen's eyes widened, and by luck he tripped on his own leg, avoiding the blow. He wasn't stupid, he knew the Noahs were the same as him, experimented on. Skin's body was as hard as Allen's left hand. The young aristocrat sighed as he was forced to roll away when Skin jammed his foot down where Allen's face had previously been, thinking it would take longer than he thought to find Kanda.

"Allen!"

The voice distracted both of them, but Skin recovered first. Grabbing Allen by his leg, Skin slammed the boy into the wall, and Allen clawed at the hand that held him. "Bastard!" Allen coughed, lifting his leg to kick Skin under the chin, and Skin dropped him. Allen smirked, the face was always the weak part.

Lavi rammed into Skin, effectively pushing the bigger man down the stairs, and Lavi whistled as he rubbed his shoulder. "Dang, I feel like I just rammed into an elephant." Lavi complained, looking at Allen, who smiled.

"He isn't going to be down for long." Allen said.

"I know." Lavi replied. "Go look for Yuu-chan, I'll keep him busy."

Allen nodded, but before he turned, Lavi grabbed his shoulder. "In a mansion, what's the best place to hold someone you hate?" he asked, and Allen was puzzled.

" A…room?" he answered uncertainly, wasn't that part obvious?

Lavi chuckled. "A room, what kind?"

"The attic maybe? Dark, small…cram." Allen tried again.

"Exactly." Lavi said, his expression turning serious. "Dark, small, cram. If Yuu-chan is in that kind of room, she needs to get out, fast." He said, giving no explanation. "Hurry up and find her."

"But-"

Lavi didn't give him a chance to ask questions, as he ran down the stairs as soon as he finished speaking, and Allen let out a frustrated sigh. What was with Lavi and his unfinished explanations?

Glancing around the floor, he noticed there were no small rooms, and he continued up the stairs. Even though Lavi sounded urgent, Allen was certain he would take a while to find a room that fitted the description in such a big mansion.

--

Lavi bit down from shouting out in pain, slamming a chair onto Skin's back. His left arm was broken, thankfully the bones were not shattered as Skin just sent him flying through a doorway and his hand was unfortunately in the way of the frame. His back protested at the movements he made, but he knew he couldn't stop, not if he wanted to live through this. Skin laughed as he grabbed Lavi by the neck, waving off the pain in his own back as if it was nothing.

"Bookman junior huh?" Skin grinned manically. "Bookman will just have to find another-"

"Put him down, Skin."

Tyki stood at the door, his expression stern. Lavi couldn't really see because his vision was blurring, probably too much pain. He felt Skin's hold loosen, and he fell to the ground non too gently. He saw Tyki's mouth move in words, but he couldn't hear it, and he saw Skin leaving the room, albeit reluctant and then Tyki was beside him.

"Lavi, can you hear me?" Tyki asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Hear you fine…" Lavi muttered. "Allen…where's…Yuu?"

"He's still looking for her." Tyki said, grabbing Lavi's right arm and hoisting him up. "I'll get you to the carriage and we'll wait for Allen and Kanda-san there."

--

After what seemed like running through endless corridors, Allen finally found a store room which he hoped was the right one. Slightly out of breath, he took a moment to calm himself before grabbing the doorknob and turning it, only to realize it was locked. He frowned, but wasted no time in knocking off the knob, which he should have done in the beginning. Wrenching the door open, he was a bit surprised when no sarcastic remark greeted him, although the girl he was looking for was sitting on the ground, hugging herself.

"…doesn't…will be…"

And she seemed to have not noticed his presence, Allen thought as he crouched down to examine her. Was this why Lavi had said what he said?

"Yuu…" Allen called softly, reaching out to touch her arm. "Yuu, are you okay?"

Her reaction was unexpected, for when he touched her, she screeched and clutched her head, backing away further into the dark room. Allen stared in surprise as she continued mumbling, her eyes wide and she seemed to be hallucinating and could not see what was in front of her. She seemed to be crying, he noted as he slowly inched towards her again. He had to get her out of here.

"Yuu…" he tried again, this time grabbing her shoulders as gently as he could in the situation. She immediately started struggling, refusing to be held. He wrapped his arms around her shoulder, trying to get her to calm down, but she continued struggling, going so far as to kicking him. "Yuu!" Allen called out again, his voice now desperate.

"I don't want to be here!" she cried, and it was the only sentence that Allen understood since he came in. "Let me go, let go…" she sobbed, and she kept repeating it while hitting Allen on his back. And Allen did the only thing he hoped would wake her up.

He lifted her head and ignored her fearful expression as he leaned down to capture her lips.


Aww...first real scene of romance...sort of? See, Lavi got more than just a punch from Allen! And...that's not the end of it actually...poor bunny brat. XD

Please review!