The inconsistencies of the inventions in the D. Gray-Man timeline will be emphasized in this chapter :D Inspiration comes from drama series Heart of Greed
Black Order Tower
Aside from more wreckage done to the forest surrounding the tower, it seemed as if the Akuma attack never happened. Those injured had been sent to the hospital, those who were fine had returned to the Tower. The morning came as if the torment of last night never happened. A few birds chirped, and several insects added their own sounds to the quiet area. Inside the tower, however, the effect was more pronounced. In one of the private rooms, the door flew open and bounced back. Supervisor Komui Lee jumped into the room and started blowing a whistle, waking Lavi up from his sleep.
"Wake up, Lavi!"
Lavi kept his eyes closed, but he grabbed his covers and buried his head underneath. Komui frowned and grab the covers again.
"Lavi! Bookman Apprentice, wake up!"
"What's wrong?" Lavi whined, "It's still early…"
"Order from the Grand Generals!" Komui yelled energetically, "Because we were all so unprepared for that attack last night, the Exorcists are to have more exercise each morning! And you, Lavi, are no exception!"
"I'm of the Bookman line, not of the Exorcists, let me sleep!"
"You're with us and part of the Black Order family, so from this day forth, you'll be joining us in our exercise! Therefore….wake up!" Komui blew a whistle, again, and again. Lavi picked up a book and threw it at the man, or at least somewhere in his direction.
"Get out and let me sleep!"
"No, every single person must be up and awake! Up, up, up!" Whistle, whistle, whistle. The sharp ringing earned Komui a few more books to the head, but eventually Lavi gave in.
Outside, the Exorcists all leaned against a wall, still tired and half asleep. Komui marched forward and saluted Bookman, who was standing calmly at the side, awake and already dignified.
"All Exorcists are dressed and ready to roll!"
"Good," Bookman answered. Komui turned to the Exorcists again, and walked up to the first one closest to him.
"Exorcist No. 1, Sol Galen, look more awake, you're one of the older Exorcists and ought to set a good example to the younger Exorcists!"
"Supervisor…" Sol groaned, "I just fell asleep, haven't even reached dreamland yet. You dragging me up like this will only kill me."
Komui frowned, and moved to the next Exorcist, Gwen Frere; also of the Cloud Nine Unit. The girl let out a whine as Komui clipped her by the ear, "Supervisor…last night kept us all up, can't we put the order in motion tomorrow?"
Komui then looked at Kanda, who happened to be the next in line. The Exorcist opened his eyes and glared at him, "I can train myself fine, Komui." Not wanting to be at the end of Kanda's anger, Komui moved to the next in line, Lavi, who moaned pitifully when Komui pulled him upright by his ear.
"Komui…let me go back and sleep, I had to stay up and record the Akuma event last night…"
That was a good excuse, if only Bookman wasn't also standing there looking awake and fine. Komui looked at the next Exorcist, Allen Walker, who was leaning his head on Lavi's shoulder, half-asleep. Beside him, Linali was nodding her head. The other Exorcists in line also looked similar, so Komui placed the whistle in his mouth and blew it again.
Loudly.
The Exorcists all jerked upright.
"Exorcists, pay attention! On the count of three, I want you all prepared to start jogging outside!"
Further down the line, Miranda's head dropped to Aleister's shoulder, causing the vampire Exorcist to blush.
"Do you all hear me?!" Komui yelled.
"Yes sir!" Chakar suddenly roared, and his shout woke the other Exorcists up again.
In a matter of minutes, everyone was assembled outside of the Tower. It was quiet, and except for a soft glow in the grey clouds, the sky was still dark. Komui blew his whistle again as he looked at the Exorcists. "Everyone, pay more attention!" He looked at the Exorcists, inspecting them carefully, before stepping up to Linali, who had headphones on. He pulled one of them out.
"You think you're here to sing karaoke, eh?!"
"I'll let you hear some songs later," she answered.
"No! You lose concentration if you listen to those songs!" Komui held out his hand, and Linali reluctantly handed her headphones over to him. Komui then moved to Lavi, who had a fan attached on his shirt, allowing fresh air to wash over his face.
"Very cool, eh?!"
"I'll let you borrow it later," he answered.
"No! You have to feel our natural setting here!" Komui held out his hand, and Lavi reluctantly handed his fan over to him. Komui then moved to Allen, who had a sun hat covering his features, and his closed eyes.
"Still tired and planning to sleep, eh?!"
"I'll let you wear it later," he answered.
"No! You have to let the sun give you Vitamin D!" Komui held out his hand, and Allen reluctantly handed his hat over to him. Komui then moved to Kanda, who glared at him. Komui remained unaffected.
"Good job, Kanda! You are most prepared for this exercise, very good!"
Kanda glared, Komui smiled. The Exorcists thought them insane.
Then another Exorcist approached them, and as they watched, said Exorcist was riding a bicycle. The Exorcists stared in disbelief as Suman Dark of General Winters Sokaro Unit rode cheerfully up to them. Komui's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he stared at the scene, before he moved forward.
"Good morning," Suman said.
"Exorcist Suman Dark! How dare you!"
"Huh?"
"That Komui…" Lavi complained to Linali as Komui began ranting to the other Exorcist, "He's abusing his authority here, thinking of us all as people who should listen to his every command…"
"Brother is strange, but I think he's really into this because of…well, you know what happened to Reever."
"Well…fine, but does he have to take it out on us?"
"…and you're riding a bicycle, wearing sunglasses! No!" Komui snatched those items away and pointed at the row of Exorcists behind him. Suman obeyed the silent order, but not without muttering something undeniably rude.
"Let's not start killing each other over this," Cloud Nine walked into the scene, dressed in jogging attire. Aside from a water bottle and her pet monkey, she carried nothing with her. "Komui's really energetic about this exercise, so we will do as he says."
"Yea, you all heard her! Even the General is complimenting me! So, continue doing as I say! Before we run, remember, shoulders back, chest high, remember!" Komui blew the whistle again, before continuing, "Listen up, whoever slacks off, runs an extra five hundred yards!" Lavi choked in disbelief. "Okay, you all get the message?! Let's go then!" Komui blew the whistle again.
Soon the Exorcists were jogging, and despite their complaints earlier, Lavi and Allen were first in line. The two of them were most energetic, poking each other in childish delight before running off, chasing each other as if engaged in a game of tag. Komui, meanwhile, was riding on Suman's bike, wearing his sunglasses, Allen's hat, and had Lavi's fan attached on his own shirt while Linali's headphones dangled by his ears.
"More energy, come on! Run, run, run! Feel the fresh air and warm sunlight!"
Up ahead, Lavi slapped Allen's shoulder lightly before running off. Allen yelped and chased after the redhead before pouncing, catching Lavi's shirt and dragging it behind him. Lavi quickly started complaining, Allen started countering, and the two of them engaged in a brief battle of wits before Komui blew the whistle on them.
"Exorcist Allen Walker and Bookman Apprentice Lavi! What do you two think you're doing?! Fooling around, goofing off, where's your spirit in running? How old are you two anyways?!" Allen pouted before sticking his tongue out at Lavi, whose eyes widened comically as he pointed at himself in disbelief. Komui continued "Stop acting like children and get on with running!"
"That Komui…" Suman complained, "Took all our stuff so that while he's all fine and dandy, we suffer and sweat like slaves!"
"You know the Supervisor," Gwen laughed, obviously in a much better mood than before, "He's not the type who could endure suffering."
"True, true" Linali giggled.
Up ahead, Allen started hopping around, mimicking the childhood view of rabbits. Lavi pointed at him and made a tsking noise, before Komui rode up to them again. "Allen, why are you not running properly? Slacking off? An extra five hundred yards!" At those words the redhead grinned and waved a finger at the younger boy, who stared indignantly at Komui.
"No fair! How come you let the others get away with not running, but accuse me of wrong?!" And he was right; some of the older Exorcists were already trailing behind the group, out of breath.
"Well…they're older then you, and do not have all the energy you young ones should have!" Allen huffed angrily, and Komui noticed something else.
"Hey, where did Exorcist No. 1 Sol Galen of Cloud Nine Unit go? Hey, Sssssoooollll!" Komui turned and rode back to their previous path, except Linali blocked his path.
"I'll go look for him, brother, why don't you continue this exercise?" Without waiting for an answer she ran off, Komui blinked, but decided to listen.
"Alright, people, continue running!"
Meanwhile, Linali soon found Sol sitting under a tree, staring blankly at the sky. She walked forward to him, adopting a commander-like tone, "Sol, you're slacking off and drinking coke! If I was brother, I will be taking it away!" The young man didn't react much, just looked up at her.
"Linali…I'm really conflicted," The seriousness of the tone made her pause. Always someonw to help a friend in need, she sat down beside him.
"What's wrong, Sol? Would you like to talk to me about it?"
"I met this girl…"
"You met a girl?" Linali knew Sol well enough that by 'this girl', he also meant potential interest, "What's she like? Where did you meet?"
"After I got back from my last mission," Sol answered. "It was a failure, and I was unhappy, so like most people I tried to find something to occupy my time. I went golfing in a nearby golf course, and there I saw this beautiful girl. At first, it was just admiration of her looks, every time I went there I would look for her, but she wasn't there all the time. Nor did I once ever speak to her, she probably never noticed me."
"So your recent interest in golfing was due to this girl?" Linali asked.
"Yes"
Sol swung his club again, the ball bounced in the grass feebly. The Exorcist shook his head in disappointment, but another voice soon drew his attention.
"Who taught you to golf like that?" He turned around to see the girl standing behind him. She truly was beautiful, and her voice wasn't offending. Sol knew the girl could teach him, he had seen her skills. "If you stand like that, you'll easily injure yourself. Here," she walked up to him and laid her hand on top of his. Nothing showed on her face, but something inside Sol made a leap at their contact.
"Fingers like this…and your legs apart like this," her touch was gentle, but Sol felt as if they contained an electric current. When she stepped back, Sol quickly missed her warmth, but he took a swing with the golf club. The ball flew across the field and into the hole. The girl smiled and clapped her hands, and Sol, grinning, bowed playfully to her.
"So, that girl was good at golf," Linali smiled, "What else?"
"We not only liked to golf," Sol continued, "We shared many common interests as well. The most random subjects could have us talking for hours. We were always laughing and joking, every time I was with her, life was perfect. I could forget about all my troubles and insecurities, about the Earl and the Akuma, and she herself admitted she was happy with me. We were always happy whenever we got together. I knew this wouldn't be a one time thing, but…I always felt as if I wasn't that important to her. Aside from knowing her first name was Tina, she never told me her last name, what her family is like, where she lives, why she always wore a hat when outside, and why she dislikes going to crowded places."
"Acting mysterious and keeping secrets?" Linali frowned, "Unless she's also from the Black Order, that shouldn't happen…could she have just thought you two were friends?"
"I don't know, I don't know anything. It's also usually because of those reasons that we argue many times as well."
"I don't understand" The girl, Tina, said "Why do we always argue over such trivial things?"
Sol looked at her "I don't think its trivia, I've known you for a while now, yet I know close to nothing about you. I don't know your phone number, where you live, if you don't contact me I don't know when I'll ever see you. Even your name, Tina, I don't even know if it's true."
"Even if I told you all of that," Tina countered, "You won't know if it's true or not. That's how the world works, nothing is one hundred percent certain. As long as we're happy in our times together, it's fine."
"I really don't feel as if we are really together," Sol said, "I feel like…this is not even a proper relationship." At those words, a hurt look crossed over Tina's beautiful face, and Sol instantly regretted it.
"Sorry," he apologized, taking her hand, "I promise you, I won't bring that up again, I truly do love you, so I won't make you unhappy." Tina stared at his honest face and knew that his words were true. Making a decision, she tugged his hand.
"Come with me," she said, and led him to a magazine stand. Her eyes glanced over the glossy covers quickly, as if she knew exactly which one she was looking for. Finally, she picked one up and paid for it, before handling the magazine to Sol. He looked at the cover:
HOSTILE TAKEOVER OF CIG INVESTMENT GROUP – GILBERT ARKS STRIKES AGAIN
The cover displayed a large photo of a weeping group of people, while another group dressed in expensive business suits walked out of a door. Sol was no businessman and didn't have much knowledge about the rise and fall of enterprises, but he did know of the ruthless - at least in business - Arks company, headed by a man named Gilbert. The Exorcist stared at the cover, unsure of how the business world connected with them, so he turned back at Tina, "What's this about?"
"Look at the picture of the lady by the side of Gilbert Arks," Sol did so, and Tina continued, "Don't you think his wife looks like me?"
Sure enough, the photo displayed a young woman with long dark hair and Tina's features. Sol stared at it in shock, before looking up at his new girlfriend. Tina pulled her hair out of her ponytail and finally removed her hat. Her sleek dark hair framed her face, an exact replica of the wife of Gilbert Arks.
"What?!" Linali sprang to her feet, "You fell in love with the wife of Gilbert Arks?! Don't you know how rich the Arks family is, or how vicious the three sons are? There are rumours that they, along with their three different biological mothers, played a role in their father's death, so that the sons could fight over the money left behind in the man's will! Even when all that fuss died down a few years ago, the sons continued to make headlines due to their successes and rumoured under-the-table dealings! Gilbert Arks is infamous for his way of ruining his business competitors, if he finds out you're having an affair with his wife, he could have you killed!"
"It's really strange," Sol said wistfully, ignoring Linali's shock, "When I found the truth about her identity, not only was I not mad at her, I felt the need to protect her."
Linali slapped her forehead, before turning back to her fellow Exorcist, "She has a husband already! She doesn't need your protection!"
"You don't understand, Linali, her husband doesn't just have her as a lover, he has many of them. There is no love between them any more, sometimes, when her husband's in a foul mood, he'll yell at her all the time. What's more, her husband keeps comparing her to his brother's wife. Tina's really in a bad situation."
Linali ran her fingers through her hair and tried to talk some sense into the man in front of her, "Sol, listen to me, this is like a large gaping hole, if you step into it, you might not be able to ever get out!"
"Tina is already talking about divorce with him," Sol continued, "I'm serious about this relationship, I won't let her go."
"That's not the point!" Linali cried, "As long as she's not divorced, she is still someone's wife! If you two really want to be serious, can't you wait until everything's settled and she's legally divorced?"
"I'll try, but Linali, please don't tell anyone. I don't even know why I told you all this, but it no doubt means I trust you. So please, don't make me feel as if it was a mistake." Linali reluctantly nodded, and Sol let out a breath of relief. Then he remembered, "Ah…I was supposed to be jogging, right?"
"Yes!" Linali grabbed Sol and dragged him up to his feet, "Let's go, before the others start to suspect something!" The two hurried forward and finally caught up with the others. Komui burst out into tears when he saw Linali holding onto Sol's hands, and after some yelling, crying, and the Exorcists snickering, Linali kicked her brother away before proceeding with the jog. Once it was finished, everyone separated to do their own thing.
Well, except Allen and Kanda, who Komui immediately summoned them to his office.
Later, when Lavi found out from Linali that the two were assigned on a mission in Italy to retrieve Innocence, he choked.
"Yu-chan and Bean sprout?!"
"Bean sprout?" Linali repeated.
"Oh, you didn't hear? Yesterday, after we took Allen back to Headquarters to be properly examined, he interfered in a potential fight between Yu-chan and the Finders. Yu-chan called him bean sprout, and that's what he's been labelling Allen as." He looked at Linali, and noticed the stack of magazines she was carrying "Hey, what's with all the magazines?"
"It's nothi…"
"They're all old and even expired, hey, is that one of Gilbert Arks?" Lavi skimmed over the magazine covers, "These magazines are all business related, aren't they? I didn't know you read them, Gilbert Arks takes over another company…buyout…hostile takeovers…that guy's all over the news, and so are his former step brothers."
"Bookman as the recorder of history, do you even record him as well?" Linali asked. She needed to research about Gilbert Arks, now that Sol had told her about his affair with the man's wife.
"Not really, but I'm aware of his existence," Lavi nodded. "His father had three sons with three different mothers. Gilbert was the oldest, and ever since he was old enough to help in his father's business he's been drawing attention. Same goes to his step brothers, they too joined in the business. But then there were several scandals and rumours in the family, causing it to eventually fall apart. There are also rumours that the sons played a role in their father's death so that they could fight over the money. The civil case was closed several years ago, the sons all received equal shares of their father's money, and then they all split. Only Gilbert kept the name Arks, the other two switched to their mother's names. Don't know about the adopted children, though."
Linali looked up, "Adopted children?"
"Aside from his three sons, there were other children taken into the Arks family. Apparently the father took them in because he loved children, and also because he wanted children who wouldn't give him the headaches caused due to their different mothers and the sibling rivalry. There were also children who were financially supported by him, even though he technically has no connection to them. Those children were mostly kept out of the public eye though; since most of them do not live in the Arks household, not much is known about them."
"What are you two talking about?" Komui suddenly popped up between them, causing both to jump.
"Brother! What are you doing here?"
"Just checking on how my sister is doing!" Komui pouted.
"Don't you have work to do?" Lavi asked.
"Why do you two wish me to be gone so quickly?" His eyes widened considerably, "Could it be…you think I'm a third wheel?! Liiinnnnaaaalllliii!! Were you so upset I thought you were with Sol because you were actually with Lavi?!"
"WHAT?!" Lavi yelled.
"Brother!" Linali flushed, "It's not like that! Jeez…go sit in your corner and think about this for a bit!" A swift kick sent Komui into the wall before he slid down. He recovered at an amazing rate though, and stood up quickly.
"Alright, alright, now….oh, did I make you drop all those magazines?"
Indeed, Linali's magazines were all spilled out on the floor. The three of them knelt down and began picking the magazines up, and half way through, Linali looked up at Komui, "Brother? Are you planning to visit Reever?"
Komui paused, and a faint smile passed his features, "Can never hide anything from you, right? Yes, I plan to, his condition is already stable enough, and we will be transporting him to the closest hospital here, as opposed to leaving him out in that town."
"Hum…." Linali paused, and randomly picked up one of her magazines, "it's not much, but you might as well give him something to read." Komui smiled and took it, before heading out of the Tower.
An area of darkness, lit up by floating candles and grinning jack-o-lanterns
"You fail, Alfredo," Tiki smirked as said man came into the room. Alfredo's eyes narrowed as he looked at the other man.
"Watch your tongue, Tiki," He spat. "Don't forget who you're talking to."
"Thought getting Allen would be so easy? You must have a superiority complex, you fool…"
"Stop arguing!" Rhode snapped as she walked in. As soon as they saw her, the two men stopped, but there was obvious dislike in their eyes. The younger girl looked at them, "Can't you two ever get along? I don't understand why you two hate each other anyways! We're both the children of Noah, we're all family! Why do we have to keep fighting?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Tiki sneered, "He doesn't know what family is, he's never got along with his human family, who gave birth to him and raised him, how can he belong in our family?"
"Unlike you, Tiki, I do not associate too closely with those filthy humans."
"Can you two please stop arguing?"
"Fine," Tiki answered as he folded his arms. As much as he disliked Alfredo, and vice-versa, both of them cared about Rhode enough to hold it back for a while. Once the First Child moved away and out of earshot, the squabble continued.
"I fail to see why you insist on protecting that freak," Alfredo stated.
"I fail to see why you insist on making his life miserable," Tiki countered.
"Simple, he has Innocence, and by instinct Noahs hate Innocence."
"True, but by now people control their instincts. We are not in the primitive times where instincts overrule the mind, you of all people should know that, scientist."
"And you will do well to remember that, Tiki. I think on a higher level then you and your ragtag group of humans do."
"Keep them out of this, Alfredo."
"Did I hit a sensitive spot? At least the humans I am in contact with are all those with brains."
"What are you…"
"They're fighting again!"
"As usual."
The arrival of two new voices stopped the argument, and the two men turned to see the Twins standing there, guns dangling from their hands. Their crazy hair and outfit contrasted sharply with the men's suits. Jasdebi (1), it seems, couldn't break their habit of barging in at the most untimely moments. Well, untimely for the arguing Noahs, anyone else will beg to differ. The Twins continued to talk:
"Alfredo, after he's done with Skin the Earl wishes to see you."
"About what?"
"Hee! You can't expect us to ask!" Jasdero exclaimed.
"He was laughing…" Debitto began.
"But he looked extremely angry too!" Jasdero finished.
"…Angry?"
"Yup!"
"We think he might be mad at you for releasing the Akuma specimen out too soon."
"I thought that project was deemed a failure?" Tiki asked.
"You thought it was a failure," Alfredo sneered, "The Earl hasn't given up on it yet. I may not like the New Child Projects, but if asked to do it, I will make it work. Now if you'll excuse me," The man walked off, leaving Tiki alone with the Twins, as he prepared to deal with the Earl.
Restaurant
"Why did you call me out so urgently?" Sol asked as he approached Tina. At his arrival Tina gestured to the chair beside her, the gesture was tensed, it was obvious she was nervous or afraid.
"Sit down quickly," Tina answered. Sol did so, and Tina quickly held something out to him: an envelope "I've just received this."
"What is…" Sol opened it, and froze. From inside the envelope several photos peeked out. He took them them out quickly, hoping that weren't what he thought they were. His hopes were in vain, the photos clearly showed him and Tina in rather intimate embraces. Judging from the angle, it wasn't from a distance typical of stalkers like private detectives or reporters. If anything, they were..."These photos were taken with my personal camera, didn't we lose it some time ago?"
"Someone found it and is now blackmailing me with it! They're demanding seventy thousand dollars, if we don't give it to them they plan to send these photos to every newspaper and magazine company!"
"Seventy thousand? For photos? That's pushing it."
"You know that it is almost the equivalent value! These photos are enough to scandalize the whole country! Probably not just that either! The Arks family has many international businesses and is quite well-known, people will recognize me! But that's not the biggest problem!"
Sol had never seen Tina like this; she appeared to be close to tears, "I can't let him see these photos! He can never know that I've betrayed him! Or don't even speak of divorce; he'll never let me go away so easily! And what of my mother? She's old already, and the only family I have left! She depends heavily on us to be financially secured; he'll ruin that if he sees these photos!" A passing by waiter glanced at her, but with her hat and hair tied back, he didn't appear to recognize who the crying young woman was. Tina's body trembled, and though she succeeded in keeping her voice volume low the pitch of it showed how much turmoil she was in. "Ever since I've gotten together with you, I've always been returning home late, it already upsets him deeply! He cut off all my credit cards, took back all my jewels, even if I sell all my possessions, it will never reach that seventy thousand! I need to have those photos back, but I don't have money! I don't have money!"
Seeing her distressed state, Sol embraced her tenderly. As she sobbed at his shoulder, he comforted her.
"Don't worry, don't cry, that seventy thousand…I'll find it, somehow."
Easier said then done.
The Black Order did not pay their Exorcists, Sol himself had no idea how he was going to get that money. When he returned to the Black Order, he met someone he really did not want to see at the moment: Reever, his uncle. What was more, he was with Lavi, who greeted Sol way too energetically.
"Hello, Sol! How have you been?"
"I'm…I'm fine."
"Ya don't sound like it, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine!"
"Alright, no need to shout!" Lavi dramatized Sol's volume by clutching his ears, Sol frowned.
"Lavi, I'm not in a good mood at the moment, where's Linali?"
The sharpness of his tone was evident, but Lavi didn't take it seriously. "Shouting and letting your…"
"Lavi, where is Linali?!"
"Sol, what is wrong with you?" His uncle asked, Sol ignored him, the Exorcist's eyes were only fixed on Lavi.
"She's…she's talking with Jeryy," Lavi finally answered, startled by the sharp tone. Sol took a deep breath.
"Thank you, Lavi," The older boy walked off, Lavi and Reever looking after him. Sol wasn't exactly famous for his temper, but his outbursts tend to be triggered by the smallest things. When that happened, he either retreated to his room, or take it out on everyone around him, and even then he might not admit what was wrong. It often gave the mistaken impression that he was as grouchy as Kanda or as arrogant as General Cross. As it was, Reever shook his head.
"Did I spoil him too much in the past? My Exorcist nephew…"
"Ah, who knows, maybe he really is in a bad mood at the moment…" Lavi trailed off as well.
"Yea, I'll…I'll go help the Black Order accountants now, they said something about needing larger budgets this year, and with Kanda being sent out today…damages tend to increase."
"That's why you sent him to a ghost town, didn't you?" Lavi asked, "Though sending him with Allen…"
"We need to see the recruit's skill, and considering his suspicious background, we need to have someone who could keep him in check."
"In other words, someone like Kanda." Further conversation was interrupted by Lavi's golem calling him. Reever waved goodbye before heading to the accounting department, and Lavi picked up, "Hello?"
"Lavi, is my uncle still there?"
"No, he left already, still thinks he spoiled you, Exorcist nephew." Lavi regretted the cruel tone as soon as the words left his lips, he sounded hostile, that was not in the personality of Lavi. There was a sharp breath on the other line, but before Lavi could apologize, the line went dead. Lavi stared at the golem for a while, wondering whether he should persist on an apology.
But he was the one in a bad mood and acting rude…
Once again, the golem interrupted further thought when it rang. Forgetting his earlier hostility, Lavi picked up instantly.
"Sol, I'm sorry…"
"Apologizing like a love struck school girl, and here I thought it was this Kanda you were eyeing"
Lavi's eyes widened, he stared at his golem in shock and terror before whirling around, checking whether anyone was listening. No one was, but he was still in the corridors, so he quickly grabbed the golem and ran to one of the abandoned rooms. Once he slammed the door shut, he turned back to his golem.
"You…how did you get…?"
"Remember that night when you got drunk? Your golem was with you when it got destroyed, remember? I destroyed it, actually, but when that Akuma child returned it to you, remember how most of the pieces were intact? I did my own research on it so that not only would I be able to fix in, but in time, enable myself to reach you through it. Obviously, I was successful."
"Tiki…"
"Unless you want us to see face to face often, you should be grateful I've limited myself to contacting you via golem. Of course, if you wish to actually see me again, that could be easily arranged."
"No!" Lavi nearly shouted, and clamped his hands over his mouth. He looked around, reminding himself that he was currently alone. Still, walls have ears, and Lavi hoped the sound of his voice didn't reach anyone's ears.
"I can already picture you looking around, trying to comfort yourself in the fact that nobody can hear you. While you do that, I am completely at ease enjoying some good wine. Alcohol is making me remember how I met you, you were very warm Lavi. It was then you mentioned your fellow Exorcists to me, in case you didn't remember. I was tempted to just deal with the Exorcists right there, but having you in my arms was distracting enough."
"Stop it"
"As you wish, speaking of 'that night', what of 'last night'? I hope Allen wasn't injured."
"He wasn't, you don't have to worry about him," Lavi answered coldly. "He won't be getting hurt that easily now, the Tower now has a General living in it's walls. A direct attack like yesterday will no longer be a threat." Lavi didn't bring up the fact that Allen had been sent on a mission with Kanda, knowing Kanda's uncaring attitude, Allen might get himself injured on the mission.
"I see, well then, have you found out the mastermind behind the event now?"
"The Supervisor told us about the Noah of Consumption already," Lavi answered, "And he is related to the serial killer loose in the town nearby the one Allen was found in, correct?"
"Good job, to know that there are two people involved in those murders, and not just one like most people would assume. When you find out who exactly this Noah is, it will only confirm that the man wasn't even in town during those murders. The easiest and hardest way to find him would be to look at the targets he contacted. That's your piece of the puzzle today. Good luck with it, Lavi."
And the line went dead.
Hospital
The nurse was nice. She was polite and treated his wounds tenderly. She was also very strict, and wouldn't let him move an inch away from the bed. Reever didn't mind that much; it was rare for scientists of the Black Order to ever be allowed to stay still without stretching their brains to the limit.
Still, just staying in bed could get boring very easily, not to mention lonely when your nurse didn't bother speaking much to you after the first few seconds.
So when Komui came into the room, life seemed to sweep in. The Supervisor smiled, "Hello Reever."
"Supervisor…"
"How are you feeling? Do your wounds still hurt?"
"They're fine…"
"Are you hungry?"
"I ate some food earlier."
"What were you doing before I came in?"
"Counting cracks on the ceiling"
"You wanted to?"
"No"
"I guess you were bored"
"I was"
Falling back to the old pattern was easy, with Komui making a few rather obvious and random statements while Reever tried to counter logically and normally. For a while, they could both forget that they were now in the hospital, and that Reever nearly died due to his wounds from a Noah. Sometime during their talk, Komui remembered Linali's little pass time for the injured man.
"Here ya go, Reever! A gift from my precious sister, in times when you feel bored, just read this magazine!"
"…this is a business magazine, are you sure Linali brought this with me in mind?"
"Well, she did give it to me at the last minute, but…IT'S A GIFT FROM MY PRECIOUS SISTER AND YOU SHOULD FEEL HONOUED TO HAVE RECEIVED IT!!"
"This is a hospital Supervisor!"
"Oh right, oh right, whoops, sorry"
Reever took the magazine and flipped through it, he paused suddenly, as if struck by a sudden thought. "Supervisor…"
"Hum?"
"Last night…when the Noah attacked us…his words clearly says he knew you, what…what was your history with him?"
Komui's happy eyes disappeared as light suddenly flashed over his glasses, hiding them, his 'windows to the soul'. Lips turned into a flat, thin line, instantly giving him a blank look. Komui folded his arms, "I don't know."
Reever stared, "You don't…?"
"More precisely, I don't remember," There was a short silence as Reever stared, obviously waiting for further explanation. Eventually Komui continued, "My past after Linali was taken away is a blank. I don't remember anything, as if nothing ever happened afterwards until the day Bookman and General Tiedoll took me in and helped me into the Black Order."
"You don't remember anything at all? Nothing at all?"
"Do you want the truth?"
"Yes"
"I remember hatred," Komui's words were soft, but there was something beneath that tone, "I remember an intense hatred, I remember a fury so wrathful it consumed me and made my blood boil. At the same time, I remember a sharp regret, regret for something that I cannot remember. Regret that nearly drove me into insanity until the Black Order found me. At the same time, for that moment, I remember wanting to laugh hysterically. I remember thinking that it was funny…for some strange reason that I can't remember till this day." Komui allowed his eyes to become visible once more, but there was a shadow over them still.
"Do you find that odd? I do too, but at the same time, I know I don't want to remember. Something tells me that I am not forgetting, but am suppressing my memories. If that is the case, then I will probably be better off not knowing."
Reever nodded, though Komui didn't say it, he knew his Supervisor wanted the conversation to end. At the same time, Reever felt as if Komui had actually graced him with something, as if his Supervisor had shared a secret with him. Now that Reever thought about, Komui's life before joining the Black Order was rather vague. The files didn't say much, only that Komui had proven himself in the world of Science before Bookman and General Tiedoll helped him in. Like Komui said, it might as well be a blank. Not even Linali knew what happened during the time of their separation.
Reever, however, could guess who did.
Because when Komui left, Reever looked through the magazine again. Business magazines did not concern him, and sometimes he did not understand the terms used to describe stocks, investments, and other things. But halfway through, he stopped at the full-length pictures of the Arks family, each detailing the exploits of the three sons after their legal battle regarding their father's will.
Gilbert Arks, the oldest, was becoming vicious in the business world.
Harry Pinefresh, the youngest, was becoming known as one of the youngest owners of an international corporation.
Alfredo Roswell, the middle, was contributing to ground breaking discoveries in the world of science.
The photo of the man was recognizable as the same person who killed several Finders and nearly did the same to Reever. Alfredo was smiling in the photo, gaze superior and confident, the exact way he had been smiling as he faced Komui and the Finders when Reever came in. The only difference in this photo was that the man lacked the crucifixes on his forehead, and the eyes were not the gold of a Noah. Otherwise, the expensive suit, the almost mocking smile, and the arrogance pouring out of the man's attitude, was all the same.
And this man, Reever thought, was probably the one person who would know Komui's past, something that Komui himself didn't know.
(1) I really have to ask, is this character male of female? The anime indicated male, but in one of the title pages of the manga they were described as 'sisters'…
The reviews have been decreasing in number again :( Sarewuh guessed correctly when she said I need a certain number of reviews for EACH CHAPTER before continuing. Is everyone away for the summer, or are you guys just not interested anymore? I'm aware this story has a good amount of reviews, but I look at reviews PER chapter, so if there's sudden decreases again, I assume people have lost interest. I'm not the only one, its one of the tips I received from fellow writers - gradual lack of reviews might mean your readers are losing interest