Disclaimer: -man and its characters belong to Katsura Hoshino.
Allen sat in the office with Miranda, Lavi, Bookmen, and Kanda to be debriefed on their mission to Edo (and General Cross). However, the team was slightly smaller than it would be when they arrived at Edo, for they were to meet up with Teidoll's group.
Once Komui had finished telling them the details, Aydl handed them all an envelope and eyed Cielo who was hanging back behind Komui. In the last four months Cielo had become Aydl's apprentice, and the two would rarely go on missions. If they did they went together. In a way Allen knew that they did it so Aydl could teach Cielo in the free time of their missions, and in another way he supposed it was also because Aydl's Crib and Tear Drop worked together rather well.
Allen packed up, glanced toward the team, and with a nod of mutual understanding they entered the elevator to the canals.
"Lenalee?" Allen questioned, seeing the female preparing the canoe instead of the regular Finder.
Lenalee looked at the group with determined eyes. Even with her broken legs she was still prepared to fight on the battlefield. "I'm coming with you."
Kanda sighed, and before he could give anyone a way to object without incurring the female's wrath he stated simply, "Fine."
Cielo watched as the group towards Edo and General Cross departed. Once she could no longer see them she collected her golem and set up a canoe- pulling it back along the canal deeper until she couldn't go farther. There she found Aydl with the rest of their stuff.
"We'll be taking a small boat to Edo. Unlike their group, we shall be remaining on the sea with stops only for resupplying," Aydl stated once more as they tied down the canoe on the outside. "I will create a storm to cover us, and anything that gets past it we leave alone."
"Even Akuma?"
"We want this to seem like a natural storm. It won't by a full blown natural disaster, just something big enough to cover us. So if nothing makes it out of there it will cause suspicion," Aydl answered calmly, swirling her hand slowly as the two made their way to a small boat.
"Why do you swirl our hand like that? You don't do it on our other missions," Cielo noted.
"Why did you agree to be my apprentice?" Aydl countered.
"Why did you ask me?"
Aydl sighed. "You appeared smart enough to know what you're doing, but not too smart where you'd start choosing a different way."
"It was a sincere offer, that's why," Cielo then answered, waiting for the answer to her first question.
Aydl tapped the finder to confirm to him they were prepared to leave. After a few minutes out in the vast waters Aydl began to swirl her hand again, earning a glare from Cielo.
"It's a calming tactic," Aydl finally said, surprising Cielo and slapping the glare off her face as she accepted the answer, not paying too much attention to the twinge in Aydl's expression of regret. Aydl sank back into the hammock placed off in a corner, closing her eyes and feeling the already beginning effects of the oncoming storm. She stopped twirling her hand and dozed off.
Cielo followed suite as she would be the next shift driving the boat.
Allen frowned as he began to take the effects of being on a ship, with an energetic Lavi pissing off Kanda where he was also taking on the samurai's wrath.
"If Aydl was here she'd zap him and he'd be knocked out for most of the ride," Allen sighed, getting a from the beat up Lavi next to him.
"Haha, he got us pretty good," Lavi chuckled, observing some of Allen's own injuries as they both sat on the railings.
"I wish Lenalee wasn't busy cooking the meals all the time for you Allen. If you ate less she might be able to keep Yuu-chan off our backs more often," Lavi cried theatrically.
"Don't blame me! You should blame yourself for being the one to always piss him off!" Allen argued with Lavi.
"Are you made at me, too, Moyashi-chan?" Lavi asked with his best puppy dog eyes.
"Yes!" Allen screeched at him.
"Not you too!" Lavi cried, with more sincerity than normal.
Aydl glanced over to the sleeping Cielo. She then redirected her gaze towards the floor, her hand unconsciously pulling the gloves she wore a little tighter. After gripping her hands tightly she then forced herself to pull the gloves off to stare at the Innocence circles embedded in her skin. She watched as she twirled her hand and the circles began to glow. Soon a small cloud fog spread through the room and enveloped the boat. The circles dimmed, and once more she pulled on her gloves, hiding away her Innocence from her companions. She shook her head and once again doze off.
(824 words)