Hime: Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Lavi: I want my sister time!

Hime: Not yet!

Lavi: GAH!

Hime: Drama king...

Amber: *sweatdrop* Hime owns nothing!

"It's going to be 9! I'll go wake up Amber-hime!" Lavi yells excitedly getting up from his chair at the table.

Seeing this, Kanda rolls his eyes, "No, I'll do it. Your stupid hyper attitude will just irk her."

"Oh like your broodiness will give her a good morning!" the redhead retorts.

The two glare at each other and Allen sighs, "I'll go instead okay? We really don't need you two to argue over something like this."

Link nods, continuing to drink his tea stoically, "Besides Bookman Jr, Allen is the real brother of Amber Marian anyway."

Almost immediately, everyone turned to look at the former Crow guard in confusion.

"What?"

Link frowned, "Cross officially adopted you remember? Making you legally Amber's older brother by default".

"Eh? Cross legally adopted me?!"

Lavi sweatdropped, "You didn't know?"

"No!"

Link shook his head in disbelief before speaking again, "Now you know so go and wake her up already."

Allen blinked in confusion at first before nodding numbly and leaving the room quietly, still deep in thought while the others watched him go.

She looked like an angel. Carefully, Allen brushed Amber's bangs from her face. He studied her and marveled at how much she looked like her father, his master.

Personality-wise, they couldn't be anymore different. Amber was sweet, kind and caring while Cross was evil, sadistic and cold. Obviously, Amber must have gotten her personality from her mother but then again did she really?

Allen still couldn't believe that Cross settled with anybody.

Ever since Amber arrived at the Order, he had never heard of any of Cross's usual negligent behavior. Is it because he had to be a good role model for his daughter?

Who was the girl's mother anyway? What was she like? Was she like Amber? Or like Cross? So many questions ran through his head and he really wanted to ask but he knew they have to wait especially when he has to wait for Amber to be in a talkative mood before he could ask any queries.

Beneath his fingertips, Amber started to fidget causing Allen to smile. She looked so cute. The redhead struggled to open her eyes and when she finally did, her copper eyes met Allen's grey ones. As she moved in the bed, he inhaled a familiar yet faint scent of that fragrant soap she had been using since arriving in Japan, making him smile even wider now at the sweet scent of honey and goat's milk.

"Hey..."

The older boy chuckled at her sleepy expression, "Morning Amber."

Amber slowly sat up and rubbed at her eyes cutely as she softly spoke, "What time is it?"

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he answered, "9.15am"

Amber frowned, "What happened to waking me up at 9 like I asked?"

Allen flushed, embarrassed. He spent so much time looking at Amber and thinking about her that he didn't realize so much time had passed, "I'm sorry, I was distracted."

The sleepy redhead merely nodded and waved her hand dismissively, "It's okay a little more rest won't hurt anybody. Thank you for waking me up."

Allen smiled back at her and patted her on the back, "Link made pancakes so hurry up."

Now that made her alert, "Ehhhhhhh can I just brush my teeth and go down to eat first before I shower?"

"Nope"

Amber put on her best pleading face, "Pleeeeease?"

As expected, men were weak against her when it came to this cute facial expression so Allen crumbled and allowed her to go. To his surprise, Amber cheered and hugged him followed by a kiss to the cheek, "Thank you!"

Allen blushed shyly and smiled sheepishly.

Amber was so adorable.

At the breakfast table, Amber Marian wore her pastel blue bathrobe and had tied her long wine red hair into a high bun on the top of her bead with bangs framing her pretty face. She had a good amount of sleep the night before and seemed to be in a cheery mood from what the exorcists could see.

They knew Amber had a long and frustrating talk with her old friends as evidence from a small clip Timmy had shown them last night of his mistress defending her father against Ikuto when Lavi had asked the golem how was the witch faring. The exorcists couldn't say they didn't understand their interest, part of them were curious about Amber too after all, they didn't know her that well to begin with but they weren't keen on upsetting the redhead either.

"Erm...why is everybody staring at me?"

Amber's keen eyes immediately picked up the bashful looks of all her teammates except for Kanda's who scoffed.

"You got syrup on the side of your mouth."

Blushing pink in embarrassment, Amber moved her hand to get her napkin but Kanda was quicker and gripped her chin firmly.

"Keep still"

Blushing even pinker, she pouted cutely at him for being told what to do but the dark haired samurai refused to look at her directly. Besides, her pouting lips was giving him too many ideas with how kissable they looked now. Amber watched as Kanda's eyebrows knitted together in concentration as he focused on cleaning off the syrup at the side of her mouth with his thumb. When he finally finished, he stopped and as he moved away, his fingertips lingered on her tanned skin making the redhead blush even more than she already thought possible until that is, when their eyes met.

Kanda couldn't help himself, as gently as he could, he moved his fingers to her pink lips and wondered once again what it would be like to kiss her and if he did it right now there would be no denying how sweet she'll taste after seeing her eat those hearty mouthful of maple syrup covered pancakes.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

That broke the two Japanese blooded exorcists in the room out of their reverie. The both of them turned to see a very annoyed expression of Lavi's which was rare to see outside of battle.

"Kanda, the syrup is off. You can get your hand off of her face."

The samurai frowned at the fact the one-eyed teen had called him Kanda and not Yuu when he addressed him but did comply to remove his hand because he didn't trust himself that he wouldn't go further than he already has if his hand stayed any longer.

"Amber?"

"Hmm?"

Link waited till the redness in the girl's face sobered before finally speaking, "That broom you conjured last night...what kind of magic was that? You didn't use any words."

"Secret" she answers, smiling in amusement before going back to eating.

I'm surprised he noticed that. As expected of a former Crow…

"Erm Amber, can I ask you something?" Leenalee asks suddenly, surprising everyone and stopping Link from asking anything else.

Christa, Amber's witch chara was in her bearer's lap at the moment, eating madeleines and overheard the question causing her to groan as soon as she finished chewing. What is with people and the constant questions lately?

However, the youngest girl in the room was in a pretty good mood so she complied with her fellow female's request.

"Your father makes Allen pay for all sorts of debts for him but why? When he seems to be able to afford to buy you all sorts of expensive things? I'm sorry if I'm prying, I've been wondering for a while now and I just can't understand why so I had to ask."

Everyone turned to look at Amber for her reply, curious because Leenalee did have a point. If Cross was rich enough to afford his daughter nice things, why can't he pay for the debts he left Allen?

To their surprise, the small girl started giggling! They stared a her till she finished and was able enough to speak but all she gave them was a simple answer, "It's part of his training."

"EHHHH? You're saying making me work and running from the people he owed to was fucking training?!"

"Yup!"

Allen slumped in his chair, clearly confused much to his younger sister's amusement,"You know, my father went through worse with his own father. My grandfather Roderick actually threw my dad into a river of crocodiles in Egypt when he was a kid to teach him how to swim."

Sweatdrops were all around, "Seriously?!"

"Mhm your training is a cakewalk to what my father went through, you should really count your stars."

Allen was conflicted, so Cross had just been teaching him like he was taught? There really was more to his master than he ever realized..

Link turned to look a Amber curiously, "That reminds me...are you aware that your father legally adopted Walker? That makes you two-"

"-siblings I know." she finished, smiling softly. "I knew for a long time. My father talked to me about him all the time."

With a start, Allen remembered the time Amber told him she knew everything and would save him from the 14th Noah. He remembered their warm embrace. The look on her face, so determined and kind.

She had loved him like a brother without even knowing him at first.

"I'm still the better brother" Lavi announces out of nowhere, snapping Allen out of his nostalgia.

"I mean I have more in common with her than any of you! Hell, I even look like at her!"

"Who knows Lavi? Maybe you're secretly Amber's half-brother considering how much you look like her father." comments a giggling Leenalee.

Link snorts at that, "Unlikely. Cross was 18 when Hinamori Ame became pregnant with Amber. They married soon after."

Allen did quick math in his head, realizing that the older male was right; there was no way the two could be blood siblings as the age didn't match right and then he realized something else.

"Cross is 31 years old?"

Amber giggled at his incredulous expression and nodded before taking another bite of her pancakes.

Meanwhile, Kanda was frowning deeply. Something Link said reminded him of something but what was it?

"The couple"

Everyone turned to look at Kanda who was looking at Amber, "You're Hinamori Amu" The girl stopped in mid-chewing, clearly surprised.

H-how?

"That couple from the hospital. The girl that inspired them. That was you."

The witch stared at Kanda, surprised he actually remembered and then swallowed her food.

"What are you guys talking about?" Leenalee asks, prompting Kanda to recount the story of his and Amber's encounter of the Nikaidou couple that happened weeks ago (Chapter 25). Once he finished, they all understood why Amber been acting weird that weekend. She felt guilty.

"Kanda...how?" Amber's voice was soft but she didn't sound mad.

"Hinamori Ame, your mother's name. I remembered the surname when that glasses guy said your name the last time."

She nodded numbly and proceeded to drink her orange juice, finishing it quickly. Christa flew upward to see her bearer's face but she was impassive. The worried chara watched as the redhead stood up, "We're wasting daylight, start moving everyone."

Lavi: Noooo! Allen can't be her brother! I can only be her true brother!

Allen: *sweatdrops*

Hime: *sighs* Please review!