Lavi wasn't having fun in the least, but he at least had entertainment. Allen was undergoing surgery to rid him of the stress basically rusted onto his body in the form of an ulcer and what had also been discovered as pneumothorax, or a collapsed lung. He was worried. Of course he was worried. But not as much as Kanda.

The stressed out swordsman had made both of those labels known to whoever passed as he obtusely cleaned his katana in the middle of a hospital. Lavi had the not so sneaking suspicion that the reason the weapon remained in the health facility was because if anyone rejected it, it would end up admitting them as a patient. The man seemed to have reverted back to some samurai survival instinct in hope for his Moyashi to be alright, and Lavi noticed that the few words passing between them had become Japanese at some point or another. Lavi spent this time wondering that if he sneaked a piece of paper close enough it would be made into origami, but didn't carry out his idea since Yuu would almost certainly find a way to slit his throat with the parchment. Or castrate him.

Lavi was freed from the unsettling atmosphere of trying to be relaxed while staring at the sword that had almost taken his life more times than Heidi Montag had been nipped and tucked, when the double doors keeping them from Allen opened and another doctor came out. The man looked to them with a smile, letting them know everything was okay, and Lavi asked quickly. "Everything's alright? Can we see him?" He stood and the doctor closed the room's doors.

"He's fine," the doctor said calmly. "Everything went smoothly and we moved him to another room so he can rest."

"How did you move him to another room?" Lavi asked in wonder of why he hadn't seen his friend being transferred.

"We have emergency passages for situations like this."

"What do you mean emergency? You said he was alright."

The doctor jolted slightly and smiled sheepishly. "Oh no, he is fine. I just didn't want to bring him out here."

Lavi completely understood what the man was saying as he followed an accusing finger to the glaring Japanese man polishing his sword. "Yeah... that's probably a good call." Lavi smiled as a stupidly happy 'tch' came from the 'grumpy' swordsman, who had risen and stood threateningly before the surgeon.

"Doko?" Was the firm, foreign question that jabbed at the man with the simple meaning of 'Where?', that Lavi wanted to know the answer to as well.

"Um, he's in room ninety-nine, but you really shouldn't see-"

The young man was cut off by the sound of Kanda's boots hitting the ground as he trekked down the hall in search for Allen. He was so pissed he didn't know what to do with himself. A day after he found Moyashi the dumb brat had the guts to be knocked out for a fucking day. He was in there for hours and now they were trying to keep him from seeing him. What the fuck was he going to do to Moyashi? Its not like he brought his damn sword so he could cut the kid up. Kanda just needed to remind himself that he had a way to protect him from now on.

Kanda ran his fingers across the hilt of his beloved sword and spotted Allen's watchdog in front of a door. "Oi," he grunted to the formally dressed blonde. "Step aside."

"Back in America now, Yuu?" Came the idiotic trill that could only come out of an Usagi's, soon to be shredded, throat.

"Piss off, Usagi."

"But I don't have to go now, Yuu."

Kanda didn't grace that with a verbal response and instead raised his favorite finger in the idiot's general direction as he had a subliminal battle with Allen's pet. Glares were held like Kanda in Teidoll's arms; it was an uncomfortable, forceful matter with both parties struggling hard to win. After a few dark, bone-chilling moments of trying to send the other to infernal regions with their mere aura, the blonde guard let out a gasp and closed his eyes in defeat towards his demonic adversary. The dark-haired samurai pressed the shorty to the side with one finger digging into his spotted head and ripped open the door.

Kanda's insides blazed and his body was strangled by an extrinsic blend of hot rage and devastating fear as his gaze was studded with gold. Fiendish white teeth grinned a wicked grin and mellifluous words chilled Kanda's spine.

"One of your friends, Shounen?"

...

Allen felt like he was floating. He was floating in stagnant air away from anyone or anything. Alone with his thoughts. Back in darkness. Yet, there was a small light, a light that assured him it would be okay. 'You'll see them all soon' it would whisper. 'You'll see you're loved ones. They need you, so you'll be sure to go back to them'. The light would fade in and out, repeating the words when Allen began to feel lost and he would nod astutely in response to the mission being handed to him.

It was his most important after all.

Of everything in the world, the ones he kept close to his heart were placed above all, towering immensely over any possession or wish of his own. As long as they were safe and happy he could be at peace, in life or death. 'Although now,' he thought to himself 'I'll need to live in order to go back to them. Because, that light said they needed me, and if that's true then I can't give up now.'

He hadn't felt any immediate danger in the matter of passing on. But knowing that his important people would need him alive made him want to stop floating and leave this darkness more than ever. Other people were hurting right now because he was wasting his time bobbing up and down in loneliness. So the sooner he was back in light and by Kanda's side the better.

Allen knew he had many important people, but this name was the one that had floated through his mind. He loved the person with that name. Yes, that he was sure of. Thinking of the name made him feel like he should smile, although he couldn't at the moment, he was looking forward to it later when he saw that person. After all, he would have to do the smiling, for Kanda wasn't one to.

Ah, right. He was the one hurting now... or he was the one hurting most. Nobody else could tell, but when he had seen that person last he was very scared and pained. Allen would need to fix that when he met with him again. He would say he was alright, making sure he meant it, and give him an apology kiss. Yeah, that would be good. Allen was sure Kanda would like that. Another part of him was sure that he would have to be careful if he did that... Allen decided not to listen to that part.

Allen halted his thoughts as the light came into view again, wondering why it had come back so quickly. He wasn't lost nor lonely... perhaps the light was lonely or lost, and this time Allen need assure it.

That was not the case.

...

"Put him down." Kanda commanded with words as sharp as the sword grazing a tan neck.

"Oh?" Questioned the dark-skinned creep who was standing with Allen in his arms. The stranger's thin lips curled and Kanda pressed his blade deeper into the man's skin. "Kanda, is it?"

The man in question raised his chin and narrowed his already icy stare. "How do you know me?"

A casually menacing chuckle choked the air and sinister fingers trailed the dull edge of Mugen. "It would only make sense, no? You, being the Order's old dog, and Shounen here being the replacement."

Kanda's mouth was ready to growl something like 'Quit spouting shit you fucking creep and put Moyashi down.', when Lavi entered the room with Link, and yellow flashed to his side.

The metal glinting against the intruder's neck tripled as Link revealed two squat blades coming from the top of his fists that were held venomously in juxtaposition at the fore and rear of his throat, threatening to puncture the adam's apple shaking from what could disgustingly be perceived as excitement.

"Well look at this," the man announced mildly, with a vague look of maddened mirth. "Now there're three of the Order's pets, and a shaking rabbit."

Kanda followed a golden gaze to Lavi. The redhead's stranded emerald eye was wide in anger and fear and a pale arm crossed his waist to let tense fingers dig into his thin wrist. It was the first time Kanda had seen such a strong emotion on the cheery idiot's face and it honestly ripped him up at his core. Who was this man for him to make the plastic faced Lavi show such obvious aversion?

"Yuu..." The name fell calmly from Lavi's lips as Kanda watched him settle down. "Kill him. He's a Noah."

Kanda's eyes widened and his sword swung before his neck so he only caught a glimpse of the man easily dodging both his and Link's pointblank attacks and taking an overly easeful step backward. "Now, now," the man started, gazing down to Allen. "If you keep making such a fuss you'll wake Shounen. We're all civilized people here, so I think we should be able to come to an agreement."

"There is nothing civil about what you do to fellow humans," Link stated using words tinged with the first emotion Kanda had felt from the man; disgust.

"That's only your opinion. We're simply ridding the world of useless people such as yourself."

"Does that mean that Moyashi is one of the useful ones?" Kanda asked with his self-control at its limit; he was practically shaking as he held back the instinct to forcefully rip Allen from those threatening arms that sent alarms screaming in his mind to attack the NOAH and protect what was his.

"Well of course. You could be useful too if Shounen here hadn't trained you so well." His dreadfully golden eyes flitted down to the lulled teen in his arms that was almost mockingly at ease in his enemy's hold and the scum sighed playfully as he scanned the room. "Well, I suppose this situation isn't quite in my favor, ne? So~, unless you're willing to let me leave with the shou-"

"Just put him the fuck down" Kanda commanded, raising his wary blade in encouragement for the creep that was going down whether he let the Moyashi go or not.

"Yes, yes. No need to be so worked up," he muttered accusingly as he laid Allen gingerly onto the mattress, raising his hands in submission. "I'll just be on my way then." The tan man started a most likely insulting stroll until he regained his position as hostage to three brutal blades. "Hmm... And I was really looking forward to seeing Shounen's reaction to your deaths, but oh well I suppose."

Kanda wouldn't have been able to blink in the amount of time the man used to produce a pistol, held coldly with unfeeling fingers, and the door behind him opened in just enough time for whoever came in to watch the bastard open fire on him.

Kanda heard a shriek from above, which he didn't understand until he realized he had fallen to the ground; his body was too busy screeching with the adrenaline that was trying to save him from the damage that had already been done. He didn't even feel any pain really. Maybe it was just too much for his body to perceive or it could be that he had already passed out from the lack of blood; he didn't know, though it didn't really matter anymore. He was down and his pride wouldn't even allow him to hope for Lavi or Link to kill the NOAH that did it to him. The only thing he could really manage to do was fantasize about how exactly he would manage to kill the man more than once in order to satisfy his craving for carnage.

"Yuu!" Lavi called as his friend collapsed to the ground in the midst of Link battling the Noah and Lenalee entering the room at the worst time imaginable. Even with a fucked up mind like his he could barely process everything going on as the enemy playfully flung himself out the, who knew how many story, window with Link following justly after him accompanied by the soundtrack of Lenalee's cries and moans over the swordsman being drained of life. "Is he- Ah! Shit!" Lavi yelped as his body caught up with his mind and a throbbing pain came from a graze wound on his right hand. But that really didn't matter right now.

Lavi didn't bother yelling for help, as Lenalee had payed that matter plenty of attention while she shook at Kanda's side; her trembling hands grazing the motionless face that looked so incredibly lifeless without his trademark glare. The Bookman Jr. kneeled by his friends' sides and ripped Kanda's shirt from his body for two reasons. One, to see the damage that was done. Two, to remind Lenalee of how quickly this bastard could heal. Lavi counted five seeping bullet wounds that had created the red puddle leaking from underneath the toned torso that was generating Lenalee's tears. He could see the blood coagulating in an unnaturally fast manner, even for Kanda, and relaxed only slightly at the thought that Kanda had worked hard to be able regenerate so quickly, and it was all for the boy he had just saved the life of by doing what he did best and pushing the boundaries, seeing Allen when he shouldn't have.

...

'Be prepared,' the light droned softly to Allen. 'You will be returned soon, but something has happened. A disturbance has unsettled your loved ones more than ever. You'll need to be strong. You'll need to be brave for your friends, even if you are the one stirring up the most debris. It may be difficult, but remember to move forward, Allen.'

The light opened up and threatened to swallow Allen whole, giving him enough time to say a last farewell to the small light. 'Thank you, Mana.' He felt a warmth pass over him and a new light entered his perception; an artificial one.

Grey eyes shot open and Allen sat up quickly, ignoring a shooting pain in his chest.

Where was the disturbance? Allen thought timidly as he scanned the calm room he must have been placed in after his operation. No one was here to be disturbed so he didn't understand. He was fine, so that wasn't the problem... then, what? Was it simply his imagination? Was he merely so hopped up on painkillers that he would dream of something so unsettling? He didn't think so.

Where was everybody? Why did it seem like no one cared that he was awake? Not to be vain, but if it was himself, he wouldn't let his superior wake up alone. So where were the doctors?

Quickly deciding that he cared not if it felt like a hot knife was being stabbed into his side and would rather look himself than have the doctors get him, Allen slid roughly out of his hospital bed, landing shamefully onto the side of his legs. The teen huffed out a breath and stood with determination, pulling an IV from his arm. An embarrassing minute was spent trudging to the door and putting enough strength into his fingers to turn the knob. 'Damn it,' he groaned inwardly. Allen had never felt so useless, and it had to be at a time when he needed to be 'strong'.

He pressed his weight into the door and let out a paranoid gasp when the block of wood stopped mid-way. Before he could make a move, slim fingers coiled around the lower edge of the door and Lavi's head poked around the corner. They both stared speechless at each other for a moment and Allen didn't even care that Lavi was surely deciding how bad off he was, because he was doing something similar.

Lavi wore a large eye and his thin lips were parted. His green bandana was worn loosely around his neck and bandages covered his right hand. The redhead's pale skin shined with a rare sheen of sweat and his voice held a slightly quicker pace than normal as he beat Allen to the punch once more and spoke first. "Hey, Allen," he greeted with a small, but genuine smile. "Shouldn't you be back in bed? I'll go sit with you since you're up." Lavi stood so Allen had to tilt his head to connect their gazes, and encased his bandaged hand within his pocket.

Allen straightened himself, much to his stomach's dismay, and talked authoritatively. "Tell me what's going on Lavi. I know something happened and I'll find out eventually, so out with it."

Lavi's calm expression remained and he looked to the side as if someone would be standing there. He spoke quietly with resolve. "Allen, you should really go back to sleep, alright?"

"No."

"Come on now Allen, go back in like a good little patient," Lavi's cheery voice reeked of a stall and his hands gently waving him back into the room made Allen want to kick Lavi in his smiling teeth.

"Lavi, I'm not playing right now. I don't want to be perverse but I am, so I'm ordering you to tell me what happened." Allen squeezed every drop of prestige out of his already wrung out being as Lavi chewed the inside of his cheek in a discreet sign of submission.

"Can you walk, Allen?"

"Of course."

"... I'll tell you on the way."

Allen steeled himself and struggled to match the slow pace Lavi was accommodating him with. The elder strolled casually, hands in pockets, and spoke dully.

"You had a visitor today."

"Oh, yeah?" Allen replied offhandedly.

"Mm." They walked another twenty feet before Allen saw something change in Lavi's features to reveal the comfort in his newly discovered explanation, which was also complete bullshit. "One of our old friends came around and spent some time with you. He chatted with a few people and then Link chased him out."

"Uh-huh, I see," Allen complied, trying to hide his annoyance at Lavi letting loose such a careless, misbehaved lie. "What did he say?"

"Well, you know, I got a moment's greeting and he said a quick hello to Lenalee before arguing a while with Yuu."

Allen's stomach sank, curling into a fetal position at the bottom of his being. "What did he do to Kanda, Lavi?" He asked in honest dread and panic. Bright words sank into his mind once again. 'You'll need to be strong. You'll need to be brave for your friends.'

I know, I know. He argued as Lavi took a breath. "Well... our, uh, friend..." Lavi stumbled with his words until he decided simply not to walk that rough road. "Screw it. I don't feel like lying to you, Allen. Those doctors were pissing me off in there, asking me to lie and stall you like you were stupid enough to be tricked like that. I mean what the fu-"

"Lavi," Allen interrupted as he figured Lavi could be stalling him by telling him he was stalling him "we already know doctors are assholes. Tell me what happened to Kanda."

Lavi glanced to him and the lean body shrunk in a bone-deep sigh. "He forced himself into your room after you were stable but you weren't alone." Lavi explained with a tone that melded in with the air of the hospital. White and sterile but with underlying death and disease. "He found you in Tyki's arms when the creep tried to take you away from us. Yuu tried to beat the shit out of the guy but he was just playing with us. Tyki fired off a few rounds when we wouldn't let him leave. Yuu got the worst of it and I just got grazed. He's in another room until his wounds close up but he should be fine."

Fuck.

'This can't be happening.' Allen's insides screamed. He refused to believe it. Allen was calmly in the darkness only moments ago with no sign of the cold, dreadful feeling that could be sensed within a mile of any NOAH. He couldn't have been in one's grasp. Kanda couldn't have been hurt. It wasn't possible.

But it was. Because Lavi had a wound, and... and no one would dare lie to him about something like that. He finally understood Kanda's want to protect. Because this hurt. This was agonizing pain that he had to hide. If someone knew he was hurting then they would hurt as well. Allen was in pain. He was scared. Not only because of Kanda but also because of himself. For, without a doubt, if Tyki were to show himself in this moment, Allen wouldn't hesitate to kill him. He could destroy a life without a second thought if that life hurt his loved one. And his loved one was hurt. Kanda was hurt.

Oh, shit. Shit. Shit.

Allen's awareness jolted and he realized he had stopped walking. He looked up to Lavi in what he was sure was a terrified expression, but decided he would listen to the light. He would be strong, even in his weakest moment.

"Can I see him?" Allen asked.

'Take me to him now,' Allen thought.

"We're going now."

"... Is he really mad?" Allen had brought Kanda here. It was completely his responsibility for anything that happened to him, Lavi, or Lenalee. So, he hoped Kanda would be mad. Allen prayed awkwardly to the god he had lost hope in that Kanda would yell at him or hit him or something. Anything. He had done something unforgivable in letting Kanda be hurt and he wouldn't stand to be left unpunished.

"Yeah, he's pretty pissed at himself right now. He's all depressed because he couldn't protect his Moyashi-chan." Lavi spoke the words casually in careful consideration of Allen, knowing that if he made a big deal of this all then no one's feelings would be spared.

Oh, but his feeling weren't spared. Not in the least.

Protect me? Protect me? Why the bloody hell would that idiot be thinking of me in his situation? If Kanda's conscious, then he won't be when I'm done with him. I'll show him just how much he protected me. Show him just how strong he made me. That dumb baka will feel how much I've been preserved on every inch of his god damn-

"Um Allen, we're here," Lavi alerted timidly, pointing his thumb to a door they had migrated to during his thoughts. Allen took a breath and nodded his head, letting Lavi open the door to reveal the very man he had wanted to impair only moments ago.

Yes, moments ago... and such different moments they were.

Kanda stood in the doorway as a teary Lenalee tugged against his arm in protest to him leaving the room and cobalt eyes returned Allen's stare with a larger one.

Kanda was in front of him. Kanda was safe. Thank god. Thank Buddha. Thank Osiris. Thank the devil. Oh, god. Kanda was okay and as seemingly mad as ever. Oh, geez. It took all of Allen's willpower to not simply attack the man right then and a stronger desire than he had ever felt erupted violently in his stomach when he saw the slightest sign of discomfort in Kanda's stance. This person was his. Kanda was his, and he was Kanda's. Tyki had wounded what was his. Goddamn Tyki had placed a mark on his territory. He could only be asking for war with an action like that.

Kanda finished gaping at him and threw his hands up in alarming defeat. "Fuck it!" he grunted loudly, making grey eyes fully reveal themselves in a display of surprise. "You're such a little shit Moyashi! I mean... mother, fucking... fuck!" Kanda released himself from Lenalee's loose grip and walked back to his bed, plopping down in a heap of anger. "How the hell can you almost die three times in a fucking week and come in here like everything's fucking fine? Be mad or yell or fucking something. You can't be that much of a bleeding heart to just not give a shit about yourself when you've practically been the living dead since I got here."

The room went silent, five eyes staring aghast at the long-haired teen that had just exploded and Allen took a deep breath. So much of him wanted to carry out all the thoughts he had before. Simply say it was okay, give Kanda a kiss and knock him out. If he could get away with that he'd be in nirvana. However, Allen had an important point to make, so he would have to be stubborn a little longer.

Allen walked forward slowly in an attempt to hide his discomfort at the mere thought of moving and squatted gently before Kanda. He propped his head up on steady arms that rested on his knees and gazed up to narrowed eyes. "Can I see?" was the calm question that was received with a rolling pair of dark eyes and the grudging removal of his black, long-sleeved shirt.

Five spots of risen flesh were splattered onto Kanda's skin in the form of churning scars that looked just about alive with the way they contracted and pulsed in their healing process. Even at the impossible rate the wounds were disappearing, Allen wished for that skin to be blemish free as quickly as possible. He didn't like to know that the Noah had marked Kanda after only one day of the man being with him. He didn't even have an excuse, because anything he came up with was cancelled out by the fact that he had pulled the man into this danger.

The short-haired teen blew out a breath with rounded lips and closed his eyes. Allen peered up to Kanda who looked to him unamused as he reached up a hand to place over one of the fluxing scars.

"You're the king of not giving a shit, Kanda. I don't care about myself right now because I need to care about you, who won't give a shit about yourself even after being confronted by a Noah. I wanted you to be mad at me, you know? It was my fault that you got these wounds and I'm sorry." Allen removed his hand and stared at Kanda's chest in interest and refusal to look at the man's face.

Allen lightly jumped when long fingers clamped onto his nose and forcefully shook his head. "I'm fine idiot." Kanda grunted, releasing his face. "He could've shot me ten more times and I'd still be fine. You're the one who was obliviously sleeping in his arms without a damn care in the world. He could've murdered you twenty different times before I even came into the room. So, knowing that, who do you think should be worrying about whom here?"

Ugh.

Allen hated how right Kanda could be when he wanted to. Yes, he had been defenseless in front of his enemy, and yes, Tyki would be able to kill him with his toe in the amount of time they were probably alone. But... it's not like that was his fault! He hadn't asked to undergo surgery right when the Noah decided to snatch him. He couldn't help that. However, Kanda could help being a moron and rushing into a fight with an enemy he had no background on just to be the hero. But, then again... it's not like he wouldn't have done the same. They were both idiots, but they truthfully were each other's idiots. Kanda was his most obtuse and menacing around himself and the same could be said for Allen. They were idiots, but when compared to the other's foolishness they each reigned in their own ways.

But still... "Kanda, you can't just risk your life like that because you think you'll be able to save yourself. Even if you end up fine every time, think about the people who have to watch you be injured, or the ones that have to help you recover afterwards. No one here wants to see you hurt, especially the girl you brought along." Allen whispered his last words and glanced back to Lenalee who was still being handed tissues by Lavi as she sniveled in a chair by the wall.

Allen looked back to Kanda and still got the feeling that he didn't care... at all. So he sighed, stood, and took it upon himself to try and apologize to the girl. Even with him being the worst person to do so, with so little knowledge about the crying teen.

"Um," he started stupidly as he sat with a grunt in front of Lenalee's chair; he didn't think his body would agree with him standing. She looked to him with fazed red eyes and Allen couldn't bring himself to smile at the girl he'd grieved. "I'm sorry," he stated plainly. "I'm sorry you had to see something like that. It was my fault completely and I apologize. I never wanted for any of you to get involved, especially you. So, I'm sorry for letting you witness something so scary." Allen went to stand again when a soft hand touched his cheek.

"It's not your fault," the young girl said softly, leaning toward him tranquilly. "You aren't at fault for what another person did to him. It was also my choice to come here with them, knowing full well I wasn't fully welcome. So... it's not your fault." Her small hand fell to the side and Allen gazed at her unbelievingly until she gave him a smile and he returned it.

"Thank you, Lenalee." Allen said in a slight daze and shifted slightly to look at Lavi. "You're hurt too?" he asked.

Lavi raised his right hand and smiled. "Yep, but only a little. Just a teensy~ nick, so I'm fine."

"What about inside?" Allen questioned with the thought of Lavi seeing Tyki after so long.

"I'm fine~ Moyashi-Chan. It's you who should be freaked out, with you being in Tyki's arms and what not." Lavi said with teasing words.

When they said he was in Tyki's arms, Allen was too busy thinking about Kanda to care. But now that he thought about it... wasn't that kind of bad? He wasn't only sleeping in Tyki's arms, but he was sleeping in Tyki's arms in front of Kanda, Lavi, and Link. He would probably get some kind of punishment for such an action and Lavi would never let him forget it. Then Kanda... well Kanda would just try to kill the guy next time he saw him.

Allen felt his face flush towards the embarrassment at being so incredibly weak in front of his old friends and laid his face in outstretched arms resting on his knees, listening to Lavi's chuckles. He was supposed to the brave one, the strong one, but every person in this room had rid him of his flaring emotions to replace them with trivial ones like embarrassment and bliss. They were all much stronger than he was right now and part of him felt guilty for underestimating them so. Kanda and Lavi had always been his support; without them he wouldn't have been able to come this far. So, he had been foolish in giving them so little credit and even more so for belittling their friend. It should've been obvious that any person that could handle the two together would have to be strong-willed and have some pretty tough skin. They were all much stronger than he thought.

That meant... that he had some thinking to do.


I really have no excuse for how long it's been. I tried to give you something good as an apology. But we'll see.

I can't thank you all enough for staying with me this long though. This story has been a hugehugehuge learning experience that I desperately needed so that I wouldn't write with all the emotional feeling and wit of a four year old. I am totally positive that I'm at least at a twelve year old's level or so now, so I've made some progress. Thank you for all of the alerts and favorites, they keep me going. And a huge thanks to Wezl, Allena Moyashi Walker, Chibi-Dears XD, mychemicalbitchbot, stormypeach1396, and Torinator for your wonderful reviews.

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