It was a soft gray, black cuffs and collar, button up trench coat style. The other was a plain light maroon trench coat.
"This ones yours," Lavi handed the gray coat to Lenalee and the other to Kanda.
"I don't see the point in wearing different coats," Kanda reiterated, sounding very much annoyed by the slight inconvenience. Even so he shed his black exorcist coat. Lenalee made quick work of the larger silver buttons on hers.
"This is a beautiful coat. Miss Denton didn't mind loaning me this?" she asked.
"Actually she sounded rather excited about it," Allen answered. "She said something about never having a sister to share with."
"That still doesn't answer my question," the samurai interjected. Lavi jumped in, already dressed to go.
"It's really simple. Think of it in terms of hide and seek." Lavi blatantly ignored Kanda's death glare. "Central Agency is it, and me and Allen are hiding. Those nice big, shiny crosses kinda give away our hiding places if one of their goons happen to see it." Kanda looked irritated, but submitted.
"You actually have a valid argument for once. I'll wear the stupid coat." He shrugged it on.
Lavi looked proud of himself. "Are we ready to go?"
(Line Break)
The wind made the early morning cold.
"It's kinda cold out here," Lenalee noted. She wasn't complaining.
"Welcome to London," Allen joked. Lavi laughed.
"How did you not freeze growing up here?" he asked, hugging his coat tighter to himself.
"Is that true?" Kanda had asked the question. Allen smiled.
"Between cold nights and warm summers, I guess I just managed. Headquarters isn't really warm either though."
"Can we stop here?" Lenalee had meant the bookstore off to their right.
"We haven't been able to explore the area much, so we would like to go. You game Kanda?" Lavi turned.
"Obviously you want to go in Lavi. But if Lenalee wants to go, I suppose it can't be too bad." Lenalee hugged Kanda, letting him go to drag him one handed into the shop.
"You want to follow them then?" Lavi turned to Allen, still laughing at the thought of the samurai's face as he was lead away. Allen answered.
"I can't refuse Lavi Bookman books, can I?"
After what felt a lifetime to Kanda, five minutes for Lavi, and what seemed like a fair amount of time to Allen and Lenalee, they thanked the shop keeper and left.
"I'll have to come back sometime when I can spend some more time browsing," Lavi noted. Allen heard Lenalee and Kanda comment something, but wasn't paying much attention.
There was...something.
"Hey, you here?" It was Lavi. Allen laughed at himself for zoning out.
"Yeah, sorry. I just thought something seemed off," he admitted. Kanda looked around the empty street.
"It is quiet here," he added. There were four or five people ahead of them up the street. The sun had started to fall. They stopped where they stood.
Lavi gave his two cents. "This is weird right?"
Activating his left eye, the answer was easy.
"Akuma." Why didn't my eye register sooner? Allen's mind raced. The exorcists readied.
'Innocence. Activate.' Dark Boots, Mugen, Crown Clown, and Iron Hammer activated and in hand (in the cases of Lavi and Kanda), four level twos and one level three resembling a human shape more emerged from their human skins.
The exorcists moved on instinct as did the Akuma. Lavi currently was fending off a level 2 when it decided to open its face.
"Why are you protecting the enemy Exorcist?" It seemed genuinely interested.
"Enemy?" Lavi questioned over the noise of everyone's fight. He swung his extended hammer again, pinning the Akuma in between a very close building, but choosing not to destroy it just yet.
"You know who I mean. Your many things Exorcist, but your not anymore stupid than we are. I speak of the 14th," it explained. "We were drawn to you for that reason."
Without any more patience, Lavi activated his fire stamp.
'Four more to go,' he thought. Turning to rejoin the others, the red head counted amiss; Kanda was close to finishing the level three and both Allen and Lenalee had a level 2. One was missing. Already running, his suspicion was right. The cloud of smoke started to clear around Allen's destroyed Akuma.
"Behind you Allen!" He hadn't returned his hammer to normal size and prepared to attack. However it took advantage of the boy's deviated attention, and shot a round of its bullets his way. Lavi and Lenalee were free of both their opponents now and had the same idea. Coming from one side each, Dark Boots and Iron Hammer did the trick.
Lenalee took notice of Allen's labored breathing. The pentacles had started to show.
"Take him somewhere safe to heal the poison, I'll help Kanda finish the level three," she ordered, more or less. She made quick work of rejoining her friend. Lavi turned his attention to what mattered. Hoisting Allen onto his back, making his innocence small, it was back in his belt. The alleyway nearest them would do for now.
"I guess I'm a little out of practice," the boy tried to joke, making light of something far from being light. He was healing the poison, but seemed to be taking a lot longer than usual.
"Deactivate Crown Clown," Lavi suggested.
"If parasite-types require more energy than I'm guessing our meals lately haven't been sufficient for you to be using Crown Clown right now." Allen nodded weakly, his non-verbal equivalent of a 'ok.' Deactivating his innocence did seem to help some, not a whole lot, but every little bit count.
"Sorry." Lavi tried to look less concerned than he felt his face looked and half-smiled.
"What about?"
"I ruined your coat." Lavi turned his head again to get a better look at his friend. He could see the staining red marking his shoulder, the cloth forever a darker shade even with a washing. Even now, Allen tried to stifle a cough that inevitably produced more crimson. They were far enough away now. Lavi lowered Allen against the brick building and sat by him.
"Are you getting any better?" Lavi hesitantly wondered. It was a stupid question in his opinion. With shallow breathing, still better improved than before, he answered.
"Its almost purified, the poison I mean. Just a few more minutes. It's taking longer than usual though." Lavi had wondered about that. Their meals had been cut down to much smaller servings than either were conditioned to. It had to have some kind of effect on Allen's innocence and effectiveness in a fight. He had been right.
Only one other thing bothered him. Either the Earl had figured a way to render Allen's eye useless against his new Akuma or something else was wrong. Some part of him had hoped it was simply the first.
Soon Lenalee and Kanda would be finished with their Akuma and come find them. Lavi let Allen lean into his shoulder, hoping it offered if even a little, some comfort in the midst of everything.