Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! It didn't even take a year to come out... aren't you proud of me?
ShadowSchwarz - There isn't a schedule, but this is my most frequently updated fic! They did know he was missing, but finding him is an entirely different story. He might not remember any of it, but he lived with Cross for quite a few years. He's picked up a few things.
Codename-SN - I hope this satisfies your love of interactions. I'll go more in depth on the Order later, but here's a glance. (P.S. the Poker Pair is always great, I don't care who's watching/reading)
sousie, Shadow Spears, Cutiepie120048 - thanks for your reviews!
Chap. 7
"Hey, Allen, what are you doing?" Eeez asked. His trainer in the art of Clowning was peering around the corner of a building with a sneer threatening to consume his face. Allen was unresponsive for longer than normal, so Eeez just waited to see what would have his mentor so focused.
An abrupt turn from Allen forced Eeez to stumble. Allen had grabbed him by the arm and hauled him away from the street, face just as sour as it was when he was focused on a problem. Eeez allowed himself to be pulled across crowded streets and shuffle through back passages until they reached the camp.
"Tyki better be getting back today. It's time ta run." Eeez stayed quiet. Tyki had been gone one more day than anticipated, and Eeez feared that Allen would decide to leave the city without him. It's wasn't too far of a fetch, seeing as Allen was a fairly wild soul that didn't care about others half the time. With the way this week was going, it wasn't all that surprising he'd want to get away. First that girl, now whatever it was that pissed him off now.
Leaving would mean Tyki would have to work way harder to figure out where they went. The man could probably do it, but there'd be a fight between the two 'leaders' when he finally caught up, and that's just annoying to deal with. Tyki doesn't tend to give up that easy - contrary to his good-for-nothing appearence - and Allen was far too violent to deal with any crap that Tyki sends his way. Their fight would contain of yelling and a lot of public destruction (all of it caused by Allen).
"Who is it? Are they going to chase you? How do you know them?" Eeez questioned, panicking due to Allen's actions. It was rare for the violent teen to get so off-kilter, and it was making Eeez more talkative than normal. While his natural reflex was normally to fall silent, even he couldn't handle complete quiet around Allen. The teen could be scary as all hell.
"Yeah, I know them. Yeah, they might chase me. No, I don't know exactly who they are. Just that they're from some stupid cult that contained me for a bit before I escaped. Stay away from people in all white, or people in a long black jacket with a cross." He said, still dragging Eeez away. "We're packing and leaving tonight, just after the other two get back from the mines. We'll figure out where to go once we're on a train, got it?"
Eeez nodded and began to walk on his own. Allen's grip on his wrist slowly lessened until it was merely a loose hold. Eeez had no possibility of escaping - if he wanted to, that is - but at least now he had circulation to his fingers.
Allen fit as much of his equipment into his clothing as he could, and only once every space was occupied did he use the white and red sack for the larger objects. A couple things he gave to Eeez to take care of, but it was less important items that could be bought for very little if someone stole it. Allen wouldn't throw it away purposefully, but Eeez wasn't yet experienced enough to keep anything larger and more expensive. It would make for some decent training.
"He's got three hours tops. Crack and Momo should be getting back in one, after that we stalk up on food and grab tickets to get outa here. Ya got everything? Let's grab some cash from a sket."
Allen led them into a crowd. He asked Eeez to pick out a couple of targets, male or female, young or old. Eeez had been learning to pick targets for the last two days and, while his progress was slow for a street rat, it was far better than any sheltered child Allen had ever known. He was protected by Tyki and the others as they travel, so there's a good chance Eeez didn't need to learn how to read people.
It made the learning slower than Allen would have liked, but there was time for improvement. Eeez picked a couple of good targets, and a couple of okay ones. All of them were fairly unguarded, which was a pretty great thing since he'd be able to swipe from them easily. At the same time, a couple of the marks just looked wealthy instead of actually being loaded. Allen would point out that the shiny metal wasn't actual silver or gold, and that the clothes had been worn multiple times. He also pointed out a couple of people who were actually rich while looking the poor-man's part. It was in their stance or gate that showed confidence and a subtle ego.
Anyone who would look around and check their surroundings habitually would make a bad mark for the kid, so that's what Allen taught him first. Saving Eeez from a mistake like that would be better than letting nature teach him. Learning the hard way could break him in more ways than one, and Allen didn't want to risk it.
Allen left the thefts to Eeez, making sure to stay on standby in case something went wrong and the boy needed to be bailed out. All was well for a while, until the boy picked the wrong target.
He looked rich, with the short coat lined with silver and the fancy scarf around his neck. He was clearly a traveler, far different in appearance than anyone else in the crowd. With that red hair sticking out it would be hard to mistake him for anyone else than who he was.
Allen quickly snatched a coat that was passing by, paying very little attention to whether or not the person noticed. Probably not, seeing as the day was so warm and there was a reason the person wasn't wearing it. It was a male's dirty overcoat, far too large for Allen.
It was perfect.
Allen lowered his voice an octave just in case the fucktard remembered what he sounded like.
"Eeez," he grumbled. "Get over here. I need ya to do somethin." Allen's growl felt uncomfortable in his throat, but there was no way he'd let the arse come after him. Eeez blinked uncomfortably before he noticed that, while the jacket the man was wearing was shorter than those that Allen had pointed out previously, it still had the same general patterns and symbols on it.
"Sorry Almir…" Eeez murmured, embarrassed. Allen was thankful the kid remembered what their fake names were for in case someone dangerous was around.
"Not a problem, kid." Allen wanted to limit how many times the redhead heard Eeez's name as much as he possibly could. Using a fake name now would only draw suspicion. "Let's ge' back to the group, then ya can help meh with mah tools." Eeez fell into the familiar motion of trailing behind the teen. He didn't risk glancing back at the red-haired man in case it made him more recognizable.
"Let's get back." Allen whispered once they were out of hearing range from the redhead. "Momo and Crack should arrive soon, and I gotta tell them the plan."
Lavi watched the retreating backs. Something about that pair was odd. They looked the part of a homeless person perfectly, but there had to be something more. A certain amount of caution when dealing with Lavi was clear, almost like they knew who he was.
Even though people know about exorcists very few common people knew what the coats look like. The two weren't akuma or else they would have attacked him, but that didn't make them any less of a threat.
There was also the body proportions of the older boy (because that's what he is, a boy. The deep voice and old man clothing couldn't fool a bookman's eye) which seemed oddly familiar, no matter how skewed they were. Something about the boy's bone structure and weight distribution was disturbingly similar to someone Lavi had seen before.
Lavi added the teen's gate to his memory, comparing it to all of the other hundreds of people that he had memorized. It wasn't necessarily that of a fighter, but a mixture of fighter and acrobat. Light steps and grace that few people could replicate. His walk was…
Lavi blinked as realization struck him. It was the boy who had been missing for just over a month: Allen Walker. Lavi thought about the teen's voice, removing the unnatural growl and waiting for the tones to flow past his brain. Lavi picked apart each and every syllable to assure what he already knew.
The voices were the same with a 2.3% error since even Lavi's brain wasn't perfect (no matter how much he pretended it was).
Now Lavi had 2 options. One, tell the other exorcist that Allen was in the city and then capture him and bring him back. After that they could work on getting his memories back. Option two, ignore any and all exorcist protocol and follow Allen to see what he does with whatever group he is now apart of. There is also option three, of course, but ignoring his presence is just no fun and therefore not a legitimate option.
"Hey, Almir," Lavi shouted with a cheshire grin growing on his features, "Let me talk to you for a bit. If you do I won't tell the others anything!" Allen stopped at the unspoken threat. He motioned for Lavi to follow after a moment's deliberation and a concerned look from the masked child (Eeez?).
Lavi jumped into action and followed the pair through the winding streets. He would catch up with the two and attempt a conversation with Allen and then the kid in turn. There was no progress with either, and his attempt at the kid was cut short by a hard knock to the head.
He laughed it off but made sure not to bug the kid, at least until Allen was less weary of him.
"So, Almir, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a while, Almir. How long was it… a month? More? Man, Almir, you really disappear quick. We've still got people looking for you. Did you know that, Almir?" Allen twitched every time his alias was mentioned and once in awhile would send a hateful glare Lavi's way. He truly was entertaining, but there was some information that Lavi actually wanted to know that Allen hopefully had some insight on.
"Hey, Almir, where's Tim? I haven't seen him around Headquarters since before you went missing. Do you have any clue where he might of went?" Lavi asked. He had been wondering about this for quite a while, even though he only noticed Tim's absence after Allen disappeared.
"I ain't know any Tim, you bastard. Don't be an arse." Lavi sighed. It was just one more unsolved mystery that he was bound to obsess with.
"Well, how have you been? What have you been doing? Come on, man, I need to know all of this! Ever heard the curiosity killed the cat, and satisfaction brought him back? I'm dying, so bring me back!"
"Then die and leave me alone already." Allen grumbled. He waved at two thugs standing in an alley and walked towards them.
"Cornelo, Manelo, we got company." Allen said. "This asshole captured me a few months back and I escaped just before meeting you all. This Johnny-no-stars doesn't care to tell the rest of that cult that I'm here, so we might be fine for a bit. This arse is the reason I wanted to get out so fast."
"Ya know," Lavi started, "I know that those are fake names. Sorry, Allen. You gotta do better than that to trick me." Lavi grinned. He wasn't entirely sure if Allen had changed his name before joining this group, but seeing as the other two had fake names as well (judging by the way they responded slowly it showed they weren't used to being called something else) there was a good chance that Allen was still going by Allen. Most people weren't able to throw names away as easily as Lavi did.
"Ya think I give a bloody fuck? We're stickin with this till ya get yer pomp arse outta my sight." Allen went about collecting what was left of their belongings, shoving some stuff into Cornelo and Manelo's arms. They automatically stuffed whatever could fit underneath their clothing and the rest went into a bag that wrapped around their arm and waist.
"Let's get moving. It's been three hours, so we're gone." The two fake-names looked at each other. It seemed they had pieced together that Allen was running away for Lavi and his group, but they still didn't know the plan. Allen either didn't notice their hesitation or didn't care, knowing that they'd follow him if he got very far ahead.
Little boy Eeez went over beside the longer-haired one and pulled at his sleeve. Cornelo crouched down and listened to the boy, nodding his head in understanding every time Eeez stopped talking. He then relayed it to the Manelo guy. The two were still hesitant but complied with Allen's orders. They probably wanted to wait for the last member of their group.
The group made their way to the train station. People parted their way for Allen, mildly dread caused by Allen. Animal instincts are always a good thing, especially with the aura Allen was putting out.
Allen was buying tickets with money Lavi didn't think he'd have while his friends were standing off to the side by a pole. Lavi debated following Allen to make sure he didn't escape or staying with the friends and learning more about what had happened after Allen disappeared. He doubted the guys would talk, though. They seemed pretty tight lipped for a pair of thug-types. Neither had blabbed a word on the entire trip over, and that kid might as well have been mute with the amount of responses he'd given.
He might be able to charm something out of them, though. So there was that.
Lavi switched into his 32nd personality that he had to use when getting into wealthy events. Christopher was the love interest of a princess in Thailand who started out rejected by all of the girl's family and subjects before working his way in deeper to their minds than they thought possible. His death was such a sad moment for the country.
Moving on from that unbearably boring time, he just had to charm his way into the minds of Allen's ragtag group and find all of the information he needed before deciding what to do and what to report to the old panda. Allen seemed to be a very important piece in the future of history and had to be watched, so panda had to get a bookman on him to record.
"Oho, who's this with you all? Not replacing me, I hope." A crazy and clearly homeless man said, walking towards the group. Lavi almost thought he might be talking to someone else until Eeez ran up to him and latched onto his leg.
"Taavi, this man knows Allen from his past," Manelo said. "He's been following us since seeing Allen during his practice." The man's eyes lit up in understanding. Obviously this was another fake name created by the group to keep their identities a secret. The good side was that there was another person to get information out of.
"Hello, Taavi, I'm Lavi. I guess it'll get a bit confusing about who's who for a while, huh? Well, that's fine. I just came to see how Allen was doing. When he went missing I was pretty worried, you see. His mind isn't always the calmest, and he might accidentally cause trouble to people around him, if you know what I mean." Lavi grinned in a charmingly crooked way. He'd managed to get girls to swoon over him with that attitude, and even a few males softened up. None of them swooned, though, which was disappointing. That needed personality number 23's skills.
"Ah, yes. He does enjoy his fighting, doesn't he? If I wasn't here to keep him in line all the time I swear he would end up destroying an alleyway, maybe even killing someone! You never know, do ya?" The man's manner of speaking was far different from what Lavi was expecting. He was surprisingly formal for someone who lived on the streets, even charming.
Lavi didn't fail to notice the looks from Taavi's group. Some were amused, some less so.
"Oh, no. What'd that brat do this time, huh? Don't tell me actually offed someone." Tyki groaned. Momo pointed to his bruised jaw and grinned, then Crack pulled up his sleeves and showed all of the still healing cuts covering his arms. "That damn brat. I swear. An eight-year-old in a teen's body. Did he manage to kill the poor bastard?"
Crack shook his head 'no'. "The kid got away after putting up a hell of a fight. I bet she's was just messin' around with 'im. Eeez's age, ya know?" Lavi could have sworn this Taavi guy knew what little girl they were talking about but didn't voice anything.
"That so. Guess she's from the circe too, huh? No normal brat or even grown person would be able ta go against 'im. Remember that one time when he got all pissy at me for trying to-"
"Ya piece of shit, what're you doing here? I was 'bout ta leave ya fer good." The white headed child shouted out.
"Ah, damn. He's pissed. Well, ya getta see what happened last time, I guess." Taavi said with a forced grin. He waved at the teen and carefully situated himself behind Eeez. "Hey, buddy, you'll protect me, right? I mean, Allen wouldn't hurt you. Well, you could always just let us fight like last time, but I thought you didn't like-"
Eeez held up a hand to stop Allen from advancing on the portuguese. Allen growled and continued walking forward, yanking Taavi down to his level. "The next time," he started, "You say that you're gonna be gone fer a week, keep it at a bloody week. I ain't got time ta deal with yer shit with these fuckin' cult members walkin' around. Ya got me?" When Taavi didn't answer right away, Allen jerked him down once more.
"Ah, ah, whatever you say, boy. I'll make sure to finish my jobs early! Don't worry, don't worry!" Allen continued to glare, but he let Taavi go for the time being.
The train rolled into the station at that precise moment, saving Taavi from any more bodily harm. Allen released him and Lavi debated telling the boy a fairly important fact that he'd probably want to know.
It just so happened that the train Allen's group was planning to board was the exact same one that the exorcists were gonna hop onto. While Allen was still distracted with Taavi, the exorcists had gotten to where the train would board and were waiting patiently for it to come to a full stop. Allen was still distracted by the focus he was putting on Taavi that he didn't notice, nor did he notice Lavi silently slip away. The one who seemed to be the most perceptive of the group, Eeez, was paying more attention to the possibility of Allen and Taavi arguing.
So the exorcists got on without anyone being the wiser, and Lavi left Allen's group to join the exorcist. He had an idea that the panda just might be interested in.
