Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray Man in any way, all credit goes to Katsura Hoshino.
Summary: Forced to leave the Order, Allen comes across a secret hidden in the depths of the Ark. Now, hunted by the Noah Clan and considered an enemy by the place he once called home, he has to search for the truth... The truth about Mana, Neah and himself. Where he came from and who he really is. Uncovering a web of illusions and doubts, Allen still moves forward as he promised to do... But what do you do in a war, when you feel like you don't belong to any side?
"Nothing can drive one closer to his own insanity than a haunting memory refusing its own death" – Darnella Ford
Act Twenty-One – Pray for Dreams
She was sitting, the sunlight above hugging her body, imprinting the warmth in her flesh as a pleasant scent filled the air. The wild-looking grass surrounded her as an eternal sea of green. A giggle was heard as a pair of arms embraced her shoulders from behind.
Words were being said, but they were like sounds heard underwater, with no sense to be taken from them. A delicate pressure on her head, something was being placed on it, but she didn't lift her hand to touch or tried to see what it was. Now another voice joined the first, from a figure whose face she couldn't make out.
Then there was someone else, a third person. Sounds became more frequent, making an indiscernible conversation in which she could only know the basic differences between the voices: Cadence and sound.
She stood up with the first person who had been hugging her as a fourth voice overpowered the conversation, which could be a muttering of the wind in the plants and there wouldn't be a difference, not when she couldn't process the words… They turned to the call and to the person who had made it and…
Then she was sitting again, this time in which seemed to be a white windowsill and it wasn't the sun that embraced her, but a melody and a voice. Soon her voice joined the song before she stood up and went to sit on the floor, her back leaning against a white piano.
Who was there with her? The person playing was… Someone that she felt she should know, as if it was obvious. Were there more people in the room?
She looked around, but once more she was in an open space… It didn't look like a field, though. The ground was humid under her feet and a tall person was approaching her. It was darker now, or maybe her sight was… Wounded, somehow. The person placed a strand of her hair behind the ear, talking to her. She couldn't see the face or even know if it was a man or a woman…
Her bare foot touched something smooth… Wet and soft…
And she knew at once she was stepping on blood and flesh.
She looked down.
The silhouette of a body. A mass of meat, blood and muscles useless. The skin that should wrap it might as well been gone for the state of the body, torn apart, flesh exposed. She sensed then, more than saw, movement close by. White things trembling, loose pieces hitting each other in a tlec-tlec-tlec that mocked laughter or screams or…
Darkness was back.
Bones. Somewhere from the amounts of disfigured flesh, bones were moving, joining, in an amount of members that made no sense. Hands and skulls, legs and spines, all combined in a way they were not supposed to be, whipping the air. Each movement gave birth to a cacophony and to voices that whispered.
And once again she was tripping in the dark, trying to run and run, bleeding from where the blade had bitten her flesh, the scent of her own blood mixing with that of the dead around. She was breaking inside, in every sense, and her lungs couldn't find as much air as necessary.
And suddenly there were voices again. They sounded different than those she had heard until now. Almost solid in their clarity, without any point of source.
They were all around. Screaming and whispering, screaming and whispering.
One voice sounded above them all.
"A Noah can never escape from another Noah."
She knew that voice, or at least a part of her brain still carrying real knowledge did. She didn't care. She didn't think. She just ran and ran…
The joined bones were after her, running and rolling and jumping and slithering, everything at the same time.
Another voice, of more power, ripped across dream and mind alike.
"Neah… Raz… It's me… Why are you running?"
Those golden eyes she knew so well gleamed in the dark. Were there others more?
There might be. She felt them there, their stare like a thousand insects on her body.
It was no use.
She was afraid.
A part of her wanted to run towards those people. At the same time, she wanted to get away from them. The girl couldn't understand either of those feelings.
"Oh, don't worry. We would never let something bad happen to our dear, stubborn and lost little siblings."
"It's me…"
She cried out in the darkness, not knowing if she was telling them to leave her alone or to find her, that she missed them so much.
"There is no place for you in this world except with us."
The scent of flowers mixed with blood.
Laughter that turned into screaming.
"It was like this with the Fourteenth of thirty-five years ago as well. You should remember this, Raz."
No! She didn't! She didn't remember! And she didn't want to, she felt something deep in that place, deep in herself and, oh, God, she didn't want to remember any of it, please!
Her flesh collided with the floor. Was the blood on her face hers or from those bodies? She turned, arms raised in defense, expecting the pain she knew would come…
A bite of a skull, the whip of a spine, a blade cutting her open…
But what came to her was a pleasant warmth.
Something rubbing her forehead softly… Though it took just some seconds, for her it felt like long moments until the understanding came that someone was caressing her… She knew and didn't know who, though, but the fear was fading…
That person… She couldn't see, but the touch was kind…
Voices were calling her once more and they didn't cause mixed feelings this time, one becoming higher at each call as the touch faded to the lake of her mind…
"Raz… Are you awake now?"
"Y-Yeah… I'm up…" She groaned sleepily as she sat up. Under her skin, a light shiver still lurked in her flesh, thankfully weak enough to remain hidden.
"You were twisting around…" Allen commented thoughtfully. It had been a while since he saw Raz so agitated in her sleep. The Noah ran her hand through her hair, putting some strands away as she thought about her dream, trying to focus more on the person who had been petting her than the sensation of blood and flesh under her feet.
She knew it hadn't been Allen. That touch (as well as the rest, or at least most of the dream) had been made of fragments of her memories, shattered and whose pieces floated in the red river of her blood.
"Nightmare again…" She confirmed simply as she tried to retain some of the sounds and images, pulling them as she would with a thread, in hopes of getting something tangled on it, some sense on it.
If at least there was more context and things weren't so foggy.
Allen just nodded in understanding, with a strong impression that it could be related to the later events. He wouldn't be shocked if meeting the Earl had triggered something in her organism and mind, but said nothing even with the words itching his throat, deciding to try talking with her about it later.
He had been surprised himself to wake up and realize he had fallen asleep faster than he had thought last night… What had seemed hours still awake had been just a few minutes and after everything (meeting the Earl and being attacked, the vision of that woman whose name he didn't know, learning that Lavi was captured, being found by Apocryphos and seeing what he had done to Suman) he had expected to have nightmares…
But no. He didn't think he had had any dream. Or, if he had, he had forgotten upon waking up.
Thank God for small blessings…
Apparently, Raz hadn't been so lucky.
Raz stretched her shoulders and back as she stood up, the anklet that was never taken off tinkling with the movement. She wanted to be able to remember something about Neah and Mana and tell Allen, but she barely could remember them… Just a little of their faces… She knew the person playing the piano should be Neah, it was easy to conclude so after Allen had told her about the piano room in the Ark.
"Anything about Apocryphos?" She asked instead. "Any sign of him?"
"Nothing. I at least didn't feel him again." He replied with an objective tone, though this was only good. At the moment, he wanted to focus on helping Lavi and Bookman, which would be even harder to do with the threat of that creature breathing down his neck.
Raz nodded. Allen had told her about the Noahs referring to that thing as a "clue" to find the Heart, an Innocence that existed to protect it. If that was what had made her feel that wave of hate or if it had been the knowledge of what it had done, it made no difference.
Though she knew she wouldn't have had any chance against it…
With their backs to each other, they changed clothes as Allen told her Johnny was outside or maybe in the room at the side with the others (staying in the perimeter allowed by the shackles) and he was thinking they could take a walk around town to be sure it was safe.
As they left the room, the boy suddenly asked.
"You know we need to understand what happened… I mean, to Mana and Neah."
It wasn't a subject Raz wanted to deal with right after that nightmare, but still.
"I did think Walker was a name he would use, why would I think that?"
"I know…" She agreed quietly. "The circus, right?"
Allen seemed saddened by this as he sighed. It wasn't as if they had any other option… Well, they had, but that was out of the question.
"Yeah… You know, maybe… Maybe they knew something of Mana, maybe he commented where he came from or another circus he worked in?" It wasn't just that. That circus may also provide some hint, some clue, anything, about Allen himself. Where he had come from, perhaps…
His hand went to his pocket, playing with the button.
But he would go back to that idea after helping Lavi and Bookman.
"It may not end up in anything…" He told her and shrugged. "We can try, though."
They exchanged looks heavy with knowledge.
"It's the safest way." Raz said in her low tone, as if the thought needed to be put into words. "With the other options…" Those were neither tempting nor comforting.
"Yes…" He said as they headed to the other room, but held Raz's wrist for a moment. "Raz… I… You want to know about yourself too. Right?" It sounded like a dumb question, but it was at least a path to what he actually wanted to say.
"But in her case, we really would have to talk to one of the other Noahs… Either the Earl or Road or Neah…"
The girl looked in his eyes, head tilted to the side. Her eyes lowered, a gesture that had become unusual between them over the months.
"I… I don't know anymore…" She muttered so quietly that Allen would have missed it, if not for the proximity and he blinked at that.
Raz said nothing more. After the sensations of yesterday, she honestly wasn't sure anymore that she wanted to remember what she had forgotten.
Her flesh felt cold.
Allen looked at her for a second. He was not blind or deaf to what was going on with her, even if she never expressed that in her posture or words.
"I… I don't know, Raz… Even if you're afraid or if there's something bad in your past, I think you still do want to remember." As gentle as his words were, should he have been anyone else, it would have been an irritating presumption for her and he knew it. Allen was also aware there could be things in her past that ventured beyond the realm of unpleasant. Her nightmares aside, she was a Noah, so this was practically a given.
She looked back at him. Her expression gave nothing, but it made little difference for him. Reaching his hand, he caressed her head a little, unaware of how this made her remember the similar touch she had felt in her dream.
But it did make her feel better.
XxX
To be aware something is necessary doesn't make the act pleasant or easy, a fact Kanda had become intimate with long ago. His "return" had already been huge news in the Order and his promotion to General made the subject all the more interesting. And, as if it couldn't be any different, the conversation (gossip, he would call it) had grown a little. The samurai couldn't care less about what people said regarding him, satisfied that most had enough sense to not try engaging him in conversations to sate their own curiosity (and the few that didn't were either warned by others or by his glare), but it was still irritating to feel he was being observed by the corner of eyes as he passed by and the whisperings that were born.
To return had been worse than he had thought. Most people probably wouldn't even understand how much. Being in the Order, ever since before leaving, felt too much like being in a cage and it had only grown stronger.
His irritation had no end. And the hate that Kanda had been able to tame before increased in intensity in such a way that he sometimes felt his body would melt inside out if he didn't do something to soothe it. There was no pleasure in this and it didn't help with anything, yet Kanda's rationality failed at pushing those sensations to the corner of himself where there were no feelings. He supposed it would get better with time, only that he didn't want to have this time.
As such, any excuse to leave was more than welcomed, no matter if it was for a day or weeks. After his time away from the Order (it hadn't been too much, but taking in accounts the details of his leaving and the how…), he was almost like an animal that had been reminded of the potential of his own claws, the taste of freedom, only to be tossed back in the cage when he no longer could control himself like before.
Or maybe he didn't want to.
Tiedoll had said he hated the Order.
He had been wrong.
"Hate" was a far too weak term, too simple and soft.
Under this viewpoint, even the Moyashi's suicidal tendency was welcomed if it provided a way/excuse to leave once more. Not that he had been shocked by the white-haired brat's words. He had had a good idea of his nature during their mission on Matel.
Perhaps it would have been more sensible to wait until the heat of the news that he had become died a little, yet Kanda had never been a patient man when there were more important matters at hand. And it went without saying that the faster they took the stupid rabbit out of the Noahs' domain, the better.
Before those bastards got bored enough to get rid of him and the old man.
He had merely told Komui he had particular business to deal with him, and that had been enough. Well, at least he could make use of his new-acquired authority.
"Why don't we leave for a while, General?" Komui suggested in a cheerful tone, having already expressed his joy the last day before the reunion (and only Kanda's threat of slicing him up had made him stop fussing like a child). "I don't know about you, but I think it would also be good to ask Lenalee to bring some coffee later. And she will be so happy to see you!"
Kanda remained in silence. He had expected being led to Komui's office, but seeing no reason to refuse, he followed the Chinese man through the hallways.
"You know I have an… Unit now." Kanda reminded him, not needing to pretend the displeasure in his voice. Komui just nodded happily as they went down the stairs. One of the more common reasons for him to look like that was a new Komurin.
Kanda hoped that, with Levelier now living in the same building, this mania of Komui had been forced to stop… Still, he couldn't help but have his doubts.
"Yes, Noise Marie and Miranda Lotto, I know, I was there, General."
Kanda wondered if it would do much harm to slice Komui's tongue off.
"I never had much contact with Lotto." He said between teeth as if this was of no matter. "I don't know much about her competence."
Komui just went on to comment about Miranda's Innocence, missions she had had and other details. Kanda kept a rolling of eyes to himself, deciding to let the other blabber as he pretended to listen, mumbling at some points of the conversation to give the impression of paying attention.
Those details were not what interested him.
He soon realized Komui wasn't leading him to the cafeteria, despite having commented about a coffee.
This earned Komui a cold glance when the Supervisor left the building, venturing under the sun as he started to walk among the gardens of the Order. The man just looked at him with a purposely innocent expression.
"Perhaps I can at least maim him a little…"
"Komui…" Kanda started, distrust agitating in him. If the idiot tried to ask him anything about the Moyashi, he would only have denial for an answer. Kanda was not completely sure of how much the man could be trusted with that particular subject, yet. He had evaluated Komui's behavior until now, but was also ready to change his mind at the first indication of a misconception. Perhaps one might argue that Komui had always liked Allen, reminded him that Reever had supported Johnny's decision, that this meant Allen still had friends in the Order.
That might be so, but Kanda had never been one to just accept things like that.
He had once trusted the Order. Had once considered many people there his friends.
And look where this had got him.
"I think it is good that Marie and Miranda are in the same unit too, they work well together." When she had arrived, Miranda was almost like a shy kitten, unable to believe herself, expecting mistakes even before making them. While the woman was still shy, there was more firmness to be felt from her lately.
Thinking about it, it seemed she got along well with Reever as well.
"Komui." Kanda cut him with a voice of blade against flesh. He wasn't going to enter a dance of words disguising what was being truly said. "What do you want, exactly?" He had suggested they left the Science Department room, not the building itself.
"I thought it would be quite obvious." The Supervisor replied, turning his face to the sky and studying the weather with a soft expression. "I'm not sure if there aren't any listening devices in my office. If there are and I tamper with them, the Central would know anyway. The gardens seem safer, for now. It's possible that they can't cover the entire area, unless with several devices, which we would end up noticing… Well, you would, most likely, and the rustling of the leaves could interfere with whatever they hear. And it would be harder to not notice someone listening to us, especially you."
Kanda didn't disagree with that point of view (neither that he would spot someone spying on them easier here than in a room full of people or in the hallways), but that wasn't enough for him to just go start talking about the Moyashi, so he remained in silence as he waited for more words he could analyze before making a final decision about the man.
Komui, on another hand, almost laughed. And it was a nice sensation that seemed to wash his insides. There hadn't been many reasons to laugh lately. Oh, things seemed to go back to normal after a while and people "got used" to the new situation, one might say, with the Exorcists leaving for missions, trying to search and get Innocence back, his Department involved in researches and analysis…
Just how things had been for the past years.
But it wasn't what he felt. And he knew the same applied to Lenalee.
Now he saw that Kanda hadn't changed, still someone who didn't allow himself to be distracted when his mind was set in something and who could also be quite distrustful.
"Kanda, you never change…" He said placing his hands on the pockets of his white coat.
"You've met Allen, haven't you?" He whispered, with the hope of someone waiting for news of a friend. Kanda just stared with no obvious change in his expression, yet he couldn't say Komui's words didn't… Have a certain effect. Usually, it was easier for him to ignore whatever people around said when he deemed it nonsense. Before the lack of answers, Komui carried on.
"I doubt you would be back if you didn't have good reasons to. Just being found by Tiedoll?" Komui couldn't help a small chuckle. "It doesn't sound like enough. I think you may have seen him or were in search of him."
The samurai had to control himself to not touch his arm. The strange marks were gone and he wondered once more what had been the true cause. Last night, he had considered that perhaps it was nothing related to the process of a Fallen One and now this possibility returned to his mind. Just the thought agitated his blood a little for reasons he didn't know, but he paid it no mind.
"I've heard a few things that happened. Wasn't he arrested?"
Komui hesitated, unsure of what to say to this.
Kanda just stared at him. He had not been deaf when Johnny had talked about what had happened, despite not being exactly interested. As far as he was concerned, the Central's attitude couldn't be considered surprising… But the rest of what he had heard was another matter. He would be the first to admit he didn't consider the Moyashi a "friend". The boy had a way to get on his nerves that surpassed most people.
But this…
He didn't consider the Moyashi a friend. But he knew that Lotto and Krory and others did.
So how the fuck had they just sat by and done nothing while he was left in the dungeons to rot?
He stared at Komui, but the Supervisor said nothing. Instead of jumping into justifications and explanations, he sustained the other's stare. For a moment, the words had started to gather, had started to make their way, but he silenced them.
Somehow, it seemed enough for Kanda.
"Very well." He said, his tone not changing in the slightest. "And?" He asked impartially.
"How is he? If you found him…" He said in a voice far quieter than his usual cheerful tone. "I mean, he is fine, isn't he? He wasn't caught by the Noah?" Scraps of his anxiety escaped to his voice. He tried to hold on as if only seeing Kanda somehow confirmed that Allen was fine.
The samurai kept a sarcastic scoff.
"He wasn't caught by them, but he is traveling with one. And do you want to know the big part? A detail that would make the Central have fucking kittens? The damn girl didn't even remember her own name when the Moyashi found her. Now they are always together and she seemed ready to cut my head off when she thought we were taking him back, what about this?"
That not to mention the group of Ex-members of the Order.
"What if I told you he became a Noah? That the Fourteenth won?"
Komui's face became paler. For a second, he could only swallow dry as he kept his head held high.
"Allen would fight it. It doesn't matter how the Central sees him, I know him." And there was also the fact how Allen had decided to kill himself should he ever feel that happening just so his friends wouldn't have to be burdened with this. If Allen was alive, it was because he was fine. And for what Komui knew of Kanda, he could bet the man would have done so if Allen had been unable to.
But Kanda seemed calm… Well, "calm" wasn't the proper term, but he was in his usual mood, which could be taken as a positive signal. It had to be.
Kanda weighed what he knew of Komui and what he had heard now, along with the man's reaction. At least he hadn't jumped straight into protesting or trying to justify himself (which would have only served to annoy Kanda further). Komui Lee wasn't known for his love for the Central or Levelier either. In Kanda's opinion, he was one of the most perfect examples of a complete fool, but this was not a synonym of being an idiot (at least not in this case).
And it wouldn't be possible to remain in the game without allies.
"He is still an annoying Moyashi, if this is what you want to know."
Despite the confidence of before, there was relief in Komui's eyes that came from the confirmation and he looked at Kanda in clear expectation of more details, as a traveler in the desert longs for water. But this was more, it was the anxiety of a friend who has no news of another for far too long and knows this friend may be dead or worse.
"The Noahs are after him, but he is on the run. He seems to be fighting to not be taken over by the Fourteenth." It was better to stop there rather than tell everything at once, including about the Noah girl and the Exiled. It wasn't enough for Komui, though.
"What about Johnny? He left the Order with an excuse, but we're sure he went after Allen too…"
"I left him with the Moyashi." Kanda grumbled, already bored with the questioning game. He had no doubts Lenalee and the others would ask the same things later on. Well, in their case at least they could meet the Moyashi themselves and ask him personally, if everything went according to plan.
"And how those months have been to him? How he…"
Ignoring Komui's need for details, he went straight to the point.
"And he wants to go help the stupid rabbit."
To his relief, the man was quiet. A thousand questions still claimed to be solved and there was much he wanted to know about Allen, but it all retreated before what he had just heard.
"Does he know where Lavi is?" He asked in a whisper, looking as if he had been punched. "Is he alive?"
Suddenly the air around had become too quiet. Almost as in that memory Kanda had of his true life, of a field of flowers pointing to the sky, wrapped in silence as his body, already unable to feel anything (even pain), laid still and useless until a bang broke the peace and an akuma's face dominated his view, because of course not even death would be peaceful, they wouldn't allow it…
He cut the thought, focusing on the present. He didn't like that particular memory, it was the sort of things that worked as a chain, tossing him to a deep corner of his mind, where all people had a personal hell made of thoughts and memories.
"He learned, from a Noah's mouth, that they have Lavi and Bookman." Kanda didn't need to look around to know there was no one around, not with his senses. "And he decided to go rescue them, but he doesn't have enough strength to do this alone."
"Typical of him…" Komui thought, unable to hide a smile. "Oh, Allen… I'm so sorry…"
"Therefore, you need a mission with Miranda and Marie to be able to leave." Komui concluded and frowned. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to sent Krory and Lenalee too…" Speaking like this, it sounded simple, but he could begin to imagine how dangerous it would be, even if one didn't take the Noahs into account. His mouth felt dry. Yet, he knew that neither Lenalee nor Krory or Miranda would refuse once they heard about it. "Well, they are of Klaud's unit, but I guess…"
"Can they be trusted?" Kanda didn't need to specify if he referred to Lotto or Marie, the latter could have been with him in Tiedoll's unit for years and they knew each other well, but Kanda needed to know who trusted the Moyashi.
"I believe so, but you can talk to them and take your own conclusions…" As Komui was sure he would. This was not a game and they had to be careful, otherwise, Allen could end up in the dungeons (or worse) again and they would be in serious trouble. "Regarding my sister and Krory… You know them." He held his chin as he started to think. "Hmm… I could try to send them to missions in places not too far from each other, if I can, so you could pick a train and meet later or something…"
Komui was about to ask Kanda how he would get in contact with Allen to know where he was and how to inform him of a place while speaking of Lenalee and Krory made the samurai think about Klaud. She had been the one to suggest keeping those two in her unit and gave him that strange advice regarding Sokaro.
Not that it had been necessary, Kanda did know a few things about the General.
He couldn't stop himself from asking.
"What is the deal with Klaud Nine?"
XxX
The General in question was leaving her room, having taken a bath after an intensive session of training. Lau was on her shoulder as always, the tail wrapped around her neck, his fur soft as silk. Her blonde hair was still humid and it fell over her shoulders.
Though she kept her usual posture, her mind went over each thought with the objectivity of someone analyzing the possible movements in a chess game, which perhaps wasn't quite a bad comparison.
Last night, she had informed Timothy about the changes in units and how he would be under Tiedoll's care now, though she would still be his "teacher" when time allowed and help with his studies. The boy had been bothered by it, accepting it in the end. As for Tiedoll, he had been very joyful with the perspective and she had no doubt that he could be talking to Timothy right now in some activity that he would call "Establishing Bonds between a Master and a Pupil".
"If he ends up calling Tim "son", I think he will become more like Kanda in the question of mood." The idea was almost funny.
Speaking of which…
Well, she didn't have that many doubts that Kanda probably remained loyal to Walker, not after all the case of Alma Karma, which wasn't a secret to anyone (and just an idiot with suicidal or insane tendencies would try to speak of this with samurai, she might add), but the other questions hadn't left her mind either.
She didn't know who else was.
In her other missions, Lau had used his sense of smell to try finding out if Walker was (or had been) around. Though his senses were above those of a normal monkey, tracking humans was not his specialty. Not that Klaud had expected much different since meeting with Walker back then had been by sheer chance, yet there was some disappointment all the same.
"Chance, and the fact he really seems to be unable of avoiding going to destroy akumas when he feels their presence…" No matter if it would have been safer for him to ignore it once he had realized the akuma in question had been fighting her. Not to mention with the company he had been keeping.
Klaud thought about his eye. And for a moment, she wondered how was the world that Allen saw…
"But that's not just it. All goes back to the same point, the Fourteenth. The Order was created ages ago, there must be records of battles from thirty-five years ago…" There wouldn't be much info of the Noahs on personal levels that would explain all this, but perhaps there was something useful there.
"Not that the Central hasn't thought of this yet. Those reports must be well kept and most probably have been revised several times already."
Still, she would have liked to take a look at them all the same, even if just to take it off her mind.
The question would be how to get to this without being found out. To ask for those reports would be possible due to her position, yet this would cause some questions and if she had managed to go all this time without being placed under watch (formally or not), the woman would rather keep it that way. With the way the Central was now, even simply asking for those files could call unnecessary attention.
"And that's not the only question, is it?" She wondered looking through a window. From the glass, her pale reflection stared at her, the scar in her face all the more evident. "There is also the matter of what I'll do… If at least I could…"
"General Klaud?" A known voice called her.
At the end of the hallway, there was Alistar Krory.
Klaud tilted her head to the side, recalling the last time they had exchanged words.
"Alistar Krory…" She greeted him, a part of her wondering with some amusement if she should call him "pupil" just to check his reaction. A curious idea. She was not deprived of humor, but such jests were not quite her nature.
The vampire approached. By his eyes and straight hair, his Innocence was not activated. Klaud studied him with interest, imagining what he meant to say.
"I've been informed that I'm now part of your unit with Lenalee." He said in a polite way as to start a conversation, his speech soft. The blonde remained quiet, once more thinking if Allen Walker could count on Krory's loyalty. Lately, the thought seemed to pull an automatic positive sensation.
What was left to ask was if he still would be loyal once he learned Walker was in the company of a Noah. This detail could break trust easily and she didn't know Krory enough to affirm this wouldn't be the case for sure.
And considering how some people had reacted upon knowing from Chaozii that Walker had wanted to save the life of a Noah back in the Ark… It wasn't hard to imagine what would happen if this detail ever came to light.
"But he didn't get bothered by this." Yes, but to save an enemy and to be traveling with one weren't quite different things? She wouldn't be the one at greater risk if she spoke to the wrong person, it would be Walker.
"Indeed. With Kanda's return, there was a complete readjust in the units." A simple response was better.
"But I've heard the general idea came from you." It wasn't an accusation, rather a comment that sounded almost innocent. Krory studied the woman in front of him, wondering what had led her to do this. It wasn't as if they were friends and she could have kept Timothy and Lenalee in her unit instead of that whole change, as he had concluded after Komui had informed him that Sokaro would no longer be his General.
Klaud just looked at him, not denouncing a thought. The scar, as ramified as a cruel star, crossed her face, the skin there a little lighter, appearing to be slightly sunk somehow. Whatever had happened, it was a miracle that she hadn't lost her eyes.
"I judged that, since something like this would be necessary anyway, it would be best if the groups were formed by people who work well together…"
"A professional justification." Krory nodded in that almost shy way that she noticed to be his more natural state when his Innocence was not activated. "But… I do wonder if it is just that. I mean," He added. "The others also work with Lenalee, Timothy included."
In all this, there was just one question: Why had she seemed to want to keep Krory and Lenalee together just like Miranda and Marie? Timothy would stay with Tiedoll and Chaozii, but the boy didn't know Allen as well as the others. Her justification had been well accepted by the Central as they hadn't seen things under this angle.
Well, this wouldn't have made much difference, maybe, since Levelier had already interrogated them.
"Yes, but you have known each other for longer. And Kanda is not known for his ability in groups, but Marie was from his unit." She insisted on the same approach. Krory leaned a little to her and though this was nothing like the time they had spoken when she was in Allen's previous room, something in his dark eyes seemed to touch her veins. Perhaps it was a natural reaction to being close to a vampire, no matter if he posed no threat.
"Or it is because we've known Allen for longer?"
Klaud tilted her head to the side, with an expression almost of amusement.
"Are you questioning the decisions of your General, Alistar Krory?" The moment this left her mouth, she was a little taken back. Where had this come from?! Another quick joke that was not common from her and there hadn't been seriousness enough in her voice to disguise this as a threat. Krory stood straight as he blinked to her, apparently too caught off guard to realize it.
"No, by any means." He said a little fast and hesitated before being clear. "But I would like to know what you truly have in mind." It wasn't a lie and neither a morbid curiosity as others could interpret it, but while Klaud Nine was among the (very few) people who kept quiet about whatever opinion she had regarding Allen, there was something about the woman that had picked up his "suspicion" (to use the better term).
Last time, he had been in a more edgy state and later wondered if he would be reprimanded for the behavior that could have aroused suspicions, almost expecting a return to Levelier's room, but nothing had happened. Not that her behavior had been any less curious or that her words hadn't differed much in nature…
Klaud hesitated, something not very common. She also recalled the same occasion and how Krory had insisted on knowing what she had been doing in Walker's room, almost acting as someone waiting for the occupant's return. They had had a few brief talks later as well, but this one stood out in their minds.
"You trust Walker, don't you?"
The question had a new softness and made the whisper honey slipping down the trunk of some exotic tree, almost like vanilla.
Krory kept his head held high to that. In the state things were, while a confirmation could not be enough for a new interrogatory, it sure could be the seed for rumors and comments…
"Now and forever." He replied in an iron voice, though not without the usual gentleness.
"Not even a hesitation, he didn't even blink." Klaud evaluated, not without admiration and nodded, a light sensation finding birth in her.
"I can only say I believe…" She muttered passing by him, feeling the warmth of his body when their arms brushed. "That you have good reasons for this."
XxX
The others watched in silence while the white-haired man kept his eyes closed. He could be asleep if the muscles of his face weren't slightly hardened under the skin in an expression of deep concentration, some strands of hair falling over his face.
Finally, he opened his eyes.
Sheryl was at once standing and Wisely lifted his hand in a signal for the other Noah to stop where he was.
"She is fine." He said slowly as to calm the other. "Her recovering is demanding too much, but she should be back to us soon. Maybe in a week or less." Due to his mental abilities, Wisely was the only one able to establish a communication link with Road while she was in her dream.
"Don't be like that, Sheryl." Tyki said upon seeing the disappointment in his brother's eyes. He knew very well that, in those four months and some days, he had missed Road terribly. Not that the others didn't or not as much, they just weren't as expressive about it as the Noah of Desire. "You heard it, she is getting better."
"But it's taking too long!" The other moaned in what could be either indignation or nervousness. Tyki had no words for this. Sheryl's worry for Road was genuine, but he would have liked if his half-brother was at least a bit less intense with his emotional displays. There were moments he wondered what the papers would say if they ever saw this side of the Prime Minister. "Is she fine? Is she truly fine?"
"Yes, Sheryl." Wisely replied without exasperation, shrugging. They were all used to the other's behavior. "I told you, the healing rate is within normal, she is doing well, no permanent damage. Give it some more days and she will be back."
The Noah of Desire didn't look more satisfied, but took his seat once more, a corner of his mouth with a nervous tic-like move while he crossed his legs, one of them with still-fresh wounds caused by Apocryphos.
"I don't like this at all." He grumbled, crossing his arms, the fingers looking more like long claws than anything else. Well, the situation truly wasn't what the Clan would consider positive. The plan of using Allen Walker as bait had worked to the point of luring Apocryphos out and forcing him to leave the human disguise enough so they could localize him.
Then nothing had followed the plan anymore.
"That damn thing even escaped." Maashima said with a groan that wasn't usual of him. "So did Walker and Raziah…" It was hard to say what bothered him more, the first or the second matter. He was usually an easy-going man, but all beings had their limits and, apparently, he had reached his.
None of them could claim to be quite pleased with the results either.
"He didn't stay to fight for long, he was far more interested in getting the Fourteenth." Sheryl said with something close to scorn, but this time for the creature rather than the rogue Noah. It had been unexpected behavior, to say the least, considering Apocryphos' hatred for them. He had never, ever, ignored the opportunity of killing a Noah or at least wounding them as much as he could, this they all knew.
And Sheryl's dislike for the Fourteenth and Allen Walker alike paled when Apocryphos was involved. It was, in a way, part of the instinct that the nature of Noah brought, along with a caring for the other family members that was as natural as breathing… Even with the Fourteenth things were more complex than they first appeared.
Tyki could feel this familiar sensation mixed with bitter hatred for him, the one who had committed the worst of sins: To raise his blade against the family and their leader. It was the only thing regarding the Fourteenth that they had as a "memory".
"Guess Walker is a far top priority that what we thought." That was a mild way of wording it, if someone asked Maashima, who couldn't consider that anything but an obsession. "You saw how ballistic he went when he concluded we would be trying to get the boy." Another possibility would be that he was weaker than they all had considered and hadn't wanted to risk a fight when he felt himself to be in disadvantage, but Maashima didn't think this was true.
Even more after checking their wounds.
"What that thing has is a hell of a fucking focus when it wants something."
"This we know." Sheryl went on with a sigh, controlling his own anxiety to go back to the subject of his (adoptive) daughter's recovering and turning to Wisely. "He hasn't been seen for more than 7.000 years, right?"
"Give it or take it. Since the Three Days of Darkness." The other confirmed. That had happened so long ago that even his own memories were foggy, as if coming from the first days of childhood. "Well, I suppose the Earl is done using Walker as bait after this…" He suggested in a soft tone, a smile coming to his eyes.
There was almost a certainty to this. He and Tyki had arrived in time to realize their leader had completely lost control upon seeing Walker, after feeling the agitation of the Noah genes and seeing Raziah in person for the first time since feeling her presence once more. This was far from a normal occurrence and it had left the Noah of Wisdom and Pleasure almost without reaction.
Having news that Apocryphos had lost the others, hurting them in his escape, hadn't done anything to improve anyone's mood. The Earl had given orders to retreat and, after making sure the wounds of the others weren't serious, he had isolated himself in his room, promising they would talk later.
Wisely had heard him whimpering and knew he was crying.
While the failure of getting something useful out of Apocryphos was infuriating, the escape of Allen Walker and Raziah, plus the sudden remembrance of things that had happened so many years ago, had been a poison that made everything more painful. Even Wisely, who carried the actual memories of previous incarnations had to admit there were things better off forgotten and buried…
Ironically, those were the memories that sometimes you couldn't forget. Mental scars that tended to open from time to time…
Maashima chuckled to himself, the usual smile of relaxation coming back to his strong features, albeit his muscles were still tense.
"Suppose? I still can't believe those two got away!" His tone could easily make one think he considered this cause for amusement more than annoyance. "I just hope now we can be serious about it and not just let them keep going around like this."
Wisely had a cruel smile, perhaps remembering Raz's reaction of when he had teased them with his telepathy.
"Oh, indeed" He nodded in mockery. "After all, it's so dangerous for them to be wandering, lost and clueless…"
Sheryl made a sound that was not enough of a snort to hide a laugh. Tyki agreed with Maashima. There was no need to insist on a plan that didn't give results and the fact Apocryphos was this determined to get the boy was a new cause for serious worry. He didn't think Walker himself fully understood the danger he was in. Wisely himself had quietly muttered to Tyki that he took back what he had said about seeing that creature's reaction to finding out Walker was with Raziah, unless it was when the both of them were already in their grasp.
As for Tyki, the Earl's unspoken decision of no longer try to use them to attract Apocryphos was all very good. Until now, he had felt more like watching a game than taking part in it, since all they had had permission to do was to watch over those two in the event of finding them, like him and Sheryl had done back in Liverpool. And considering they had their own missions, with their "younger siblings" per say constantly traveling and how the boy could feel akumas from a great distance, this idea of watching them wasn't as easy as this could sound.
It wasn't that fun, either.
"But you're doing well, boy. No doubt, you're more interesting now than in the night you got out of the Order!" And when he had met him again in the Forest of Lights, Tyki had been satisfied to see that, in spite of everything, Allen Walker hadn't let the events break him completely. He hadn't been kidding when, in the Battles of the White Ark, he had said he would rather keep liking the boy like he did.
And Tyki still would prefer if he would just stop that nonsense and accept his Noah genes, joining them as "Allen Walker" rather than being taken over by Neah.
Well, either way, the boy was truly showing an interesting "black and white" as Tyki had hoped for.
Raz wasn't bad herself if he thought about it. Back when they had met the first time, she seemed more like a doe trying to act tough. Cute, but it hadn't taken much effort to hold her down... Which, despite being somewhat amusing for one occasion, would have gotten boring soon. He always preferred a challenge.
Now he almost regretted not being present when the Earl had tried to hold them by force, just to see how she had fared. In the end, she was showing an interesting "black and white" of her own and not solely due to her situation (which he hadn't thought much of) or refusal to come back (which was painful due to the natural feelings of family and infuriating if someone asked him personally).
It was curious, if you compared the situations of those two and how they insisted on being (to use Wisely's term) stubborn.
"For how long more will we be able to play until you both get a clue and come to us? You're both lucky you're not tied up in here right now!" Despite their own anxiety to get them, Tyki still considered this to be a dull way to end the game (even more because he hadn't had the opportunity to actively play yet).
Wisely gave him a look of someone sharing a secret.
"It would be so, no doubt. Even more since perhaps now we can enjoy chasing them a little more… Plus, it would be better if they came to their senses." He clapped and made a sweet smile as he declared in a falsely sad voice. "You were right, we do belong here with our family, we're sorry we took so long to realize it…"
As enjoyable as that would be, Tyki doubted any of them, be Allen or Raz, would ever say anything of this sort and hissed.
"Didn't I tell you to stop reading my mind?" He ignored when the Noah of Wisdom lifted his brow in saying he had no idea of what Tyki was talking about.
"Didn't you inform Walker about the red-haired and the old geezer?" Maashima recalled while Sheryl assumed an uncaring façade. "Maybe he will decide to surrender in exchange for letting them go. For what you've said, it sounds something he would do…"
That had been indeed Wisely's intention when telling him, besides teasing. Tyki wasn't so sure. This could sound like the only way, but he doubted Walker would just go for it without trying anything else. Take the case of Alma Karma as an example, even if he had been so close to giving in. Oh well, you couldn't deny he was a fighter.
"That may be so, but there are also those other Accommodators that are with him." Sheryl almost spitted the word as if it was a swearing one. And the very idea of those two being friends with anyone compatible with Innocence… "They could try to stop him."
"And did you talk to Road about Raz? Or the boy?" Tyki asked suddenly. After all, Road had known Raz as much as the Millennium Earl and they had no way of knowing if she had felt the girl's reappearance, even if it had been right after she had been hit by Apocryphos.
He didn't know if he wanted to imagine her reaction, he knew well his "niece" and how she could be.
"It isn't easy to keep the communication with her in this state, it is too deep in her "Dream". I thought it would be better to ask how she was and let her rest. Speaking of Walker would already make her agitated and I don't even imagine how it would be if I spoke of Raziah…" He said with genuine care, not teasing or lying, as he remembered very how the relationship between the two girls had been.
Road was almost healed, but this means of communication still demanded energy. It wasn't unlike a sick person; she needed rest and Wisely would rather not bother her so much.
The Noah of Wisdom stood up, raising his arms over his head as if stretching.
"I do think she will lament not seeing that performance of theirs, though." He said. Tyki held a chuckle of agreement. Never, not in a million years, he had thought he would see the boy dressed like that and even singing, no matter if his past as a street performer had not been a secret ever since Road had heard him commenting about it with Lenalee Lee in the Rewinding Town.
"To know and to see it are very different things." He reflected as he thought about that little show he and Wisely had watched from afar, from the jugglery to the dance of acrobatic moves, the white-silver clothes reflecting the sun and making the black details of makeup and clothing to stand out.
He had to say, they were pretty good.
"What on Earth are you two talking about?" Maashima looked from one to another without understanding. The Noah of white hair once more displayed his little smile which, like Sheryl's, could be either mocking, cruel, or genuine all the same time.
"Oh, such a pity you missed that. Some days before Apocryphos attacked, we ended up seeing Allen Walker and Raziah performing as pierrots. Dancing, juggling, this sort of thing. Why, Walker even sang a little." He tapped his chin in thought. "Actually… It was a companion piece to that song Sheryl and Tyki heard Raziah singing once. About the erica flowers?"
This got their attention.
"You didn't say anything at the time."
"Must have slipped my mind." The other replied with a dismissing gesture, not being believed by any of the presents. "She probably remembered it somehow and taught it to him, you said he also heard her that night. Anyway." He went on before anyone could ask anything about it. "The whole thing was kind of adorable, right?"
Sheryl hid his face on one hand as he shook his head in what could be exasperation.
Tyki, on another hand, still had his thoughts in the white and black dance as if the memory refused to leave. Walker jumping on a ball as he juggled, Raz dancing around it with her hair following the movements, falling on her back and how afterward she had moved slowly with the melody she took from the flute…
It had been pleasant to watch, no doubt.
He didn't know about the others, but from what he knew of Road, yes, maybe she would really lament missing that.
XxX
Only after turning his office upside down to be sure there were no listening devices of any sort, using a golem to try to identify any material that could be used as such, was that Komui called Reever, Noise Marie, Miranda Lotto, Lenalee Lee, and Alistar Krory.
"Did something happen, Komui?" Miranda asked, hoping it wasn't bad news. While she was seated on the couch, Reever stood behind her, the firm hand resting on her shoulder. At her side, Marie noticed the gesture but didn't say anything, his attention more focused on what Komui had to say.
Lenalee, as well as Marie, had an idea that this could be something related to Kanda's return as the samurai stood near her brother's table in silence, his eyes going over each of them, in that particular way of Kanda that could give the sensation that he was tearing their skins off.
"Kanda?" She asked in a soft tone. Despite how he had returned just yesterday, Lenalee hadn't had time to talk to him, as she had barely seen him around.
The samurai's expression didn't change at all and his voice was a whip in the air.
"Cards on the table. Does anyone here still believe in Allen Walker?"
Ana: So, it seems we will have a little reunion soon...
Sheryl: About time!
Ana: ... Uh... I was talking about Allen and the guys of the Order.
Sheryl: ... I should break your neck.
Kanda: Get in the line, I was here first!
Ana: The way you guys love me is so touching -sarcastic -Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with this.
Lavi: At least it's confirmed we'll appear soon.
Road: Yes, get out of the "dusty corner" here. It is boring.
Allen: What were you guys doing until now, anyway?
Lavi: Playing cards. Not much to do.
Alison: I know I've never met Road, but I'm not sure I want to. Did she really pierce Allen's eye with a candle?
Ana: In their next meeting, she kissed him.
Alison: Nice, as if there aren't enough psychos in that clan. I don't know if Raz will be safer with Road liking or hating her.
Ana: Well, I've never openly stated if they were friends of if they hated each other, did I?
So, one more chapter. Allen will finally reunite with his friends, and they will meet Raz and the other Exiled... Not to mention work on a plan to save Lavi (if he is still alive). People, remember it takes far more time to write this than you take to read. Feedback is really important and I would like to know your opinion, as well as what you think/hope will happen or any theory. It is always fun!
NitramRSA: Wow! Thanks so much! As an aspiring writer, this means a lot to me! -blush- I hope you'll like what I have planned for the story, then!
Guest: Well, like I said several times by now, I ONLY "followed" the manga until the point where Allen meets the Earl in that alley. So, this fic and the manga will follow complete different routes (such as the Mana and the Earl being the same person, it ISN'T like that here).
What I mean is, I can't say Kanda will die in this story or not. And while a reader did comment about him being with Raz, I never said anything about it either. Maybe it will happen, maybe it will not.
jy24: Klaud is, in my vision, someone who is quite prudent. She may believe Kanda met Allen, but she prefers to study the situation before confronting him about it. Right now, she may believe in Krory rather than in Kanda.
Neah: When he is sleep it gets easier. Plus, he was exhausted.
Elana: If you ever do this again...
Neah: You will do what? Kill me?
Elana: ... I never met you in the story, but already hate you.
Ana: Crown Clown can't try destroying Neah for now. Both are trying to keep a balance most of the time, otherwise the clash of their energies would probably destroy Allen's body from inside out. Like you've seen in Suman Dark's case, the Innocence can be quite protective. While Neah now can see through his eyes all the time, but he can't control him completely. So, yeah, they are forced to coexist for now...
Neah: Not a pleasant situation. Like I've said, this thing has no sense of humor!
Elana: You're trying to take over the Accomodator, what did you expect it to do?
Neah: It doesn't need to be all touchy just because of that!
Elana: Just because of that? Did you even hear yourself?
Ana: Well, they are going to be at it for quite a time. Allen may have an idea of what to do, but I would say that even infiltration in the Black Ark isn't the hardest part. The hardest part will be ACTUALLY getting Lavi and getting out of there...
Alison: ... We're going to die.
Thanks everyone for reading! See you next time!