Devina's eyes fluttered open to the sound of knocks at the door. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was. Her heartbeats escalated and she pushed herself off the bed, untangling herself from the sheets. She looked around her and tried to gather her thoughts. She was recruited by General Klaud and brought to The Black Order. This was her room now.
Two more knocks broke her out of her reverie and she shot up and walked to the door, opening it.
Lavi greeted her with a lazy smile, "good morning, Devina,"
She moaned, "good morning, Lavi." She yawned and covered her mouth. "How can I help you?"
"I came to pick you up and, uhh, head down to the cafeteria for breakfast before we move to the training area?" he questioned.
Devina was taken aback at his friendliness and she couldn't help but doubt whether or not he was being genuine. "Uhm, sure," she cleared her throat, "I'll take a quick shower and meet you down there?"
"Great, I'll see you downstairs," he waved and Devina went back into her room to grab a towel. She recalled not owning one and ran back to the door to ask Lavi where she could get one, but when she opened the door, she found the hallway empty and Lavi gone. She sighed and went back into her room. She checked the armoire and was pleasantly surprised to find one inside.
She showered in the shared bathroom and headed to the cafeteria, which was alarmingly empty except for a mass of shocking red hair and a few other Finders. She made her way to him and saw him munching on some pancakes. She gulped at the sight of the delicious looking dish and tried not to salivate.
Lavi's head turned up at her approach and he stopped mid-chew. He stared at her, eyes unblinking, taking in her new appearance.
Her hair was no longer matted and greasy but wavy and long and alive in wet waves. Her skin glowed; her face, arms and legs unbandaged, the split at the corner of her lips was less noticeable.
She was dressed in a grey tank top and tight black pants Her dark eyes seemed to pierce into anything they looked at, and at the moment, they seemed to be piercing his only visible eye. He felt a wave of something unfamiliar wash over him, and he realized her eyes were not black but a pool of deep dark chocolate.
Get it together, he had to remind himself. He was the Bookman successor and it was his job to watch her, nothing more. I still need to win her trust, though.
He gulped down the bite he'd failed to chew with a sip of coffee, "you clean up nicely."
Devina blinked, stared at him, looked down at herself and then back at him, and bit back a smile. "Thank you," she still didn't understand why the redhead was being so nice all of a sudden. "Why's the cafeteria so empty?" she asked, wondering if she'd slept that long.
"Because it's only 5:30 a.m.," Lavi answered meekly.
"What? Why are we up so early?" She asked.
"To get started and report our progress to Komui by the time he wakes up."
Devina nodded absentmindedly, "I'm gonna get me some breakfast. D'you want anything?" She asked curtly and he shook his head no.
The two ate their breakfast in silence before heading to the training hall. It was a large room with mirrors for walls and floors tiled with several red mats to support those who trained in it.
Silently, the two stood face to face. Devina raised her arms and drew them back, bending her knees, readying to attack at any given moment.
Lavi couldn't help the chuckle that coursed through him. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked.
"Aren't we going to train?" She asked back.
He grinned, "Yes, but not like this." Lavi sat down on the mat and Devina mimicked his gesture, plopping down. "That's a good form, where'd you learn that?"
Devina fought an impending blush, "I… I'm a street kid, remember? I had to take care of myself."
Lavi watched her in silence as she fumbled for her words, before nodding once. "Okay, I need you to tell me about your Innocence first."
"Huh?"
The green-eyed Exorcist sighed, "tell me what it looks like? Komui said you're Parasitic but we haven't gotten any details on which part of your body's the Innocence or what you can do…" he trailed, suggestively.
"It's in my bones," Devina answered quietly, "when I… when it's activated, my bones are sort of liquefied and they seep out then solidify into any shape I desire,"
Lavi's eye nearly popped out of its socket, "really? Wow, that's impressive. Okay, now tell me what happens when it's invoked? How you've felt when it's activated?"
Devina thought for a moment. "Well, it always happened when I tried to protect myself or others, so I would say anger and desperation are what trigger it most?"
"Okay, defense mechanism…" he jumped to his feet. "So, I need to make you feel endangered," Lavi said, but it seemed like he was talking to himself rather than the girl before him. "Man, I don't like fighting girls…" he said, scratching the back of his head.
Devina hissed at his comment, but caught on and tried to get on her feet but she was suddenly sent flying away from Lavi, his bare leg having probably left an imprint on her stomach. She landed ungracefully and stood up quickly. She braced herself and ran at him, ready to pounce. With her teeth clenched and her heart hammering, she threw her fist back and swung at him but he ducked out of range, she tried again and again and again but he was evading her easily.
She couldn't underestimate him; he was a member of The Black Order, an Exorcist and Bookman – she had yet to learn what that meant.
She jumped at him again, placing both hands on his shoulders, building momentum, and then raising herself to be on par with him. She pulled up her knee and rammed it into his abdomen and he grunted, bending over. She let him go and backed away, wary of his next attack.
"Okay, okay, I shouldn't underestimate you." He admitted.
Lavi made his way towards her and she raised her arms in a defensive stance, one that he countered by grabbing both of her wrists, and slowly she began to rise from the mat she'd been standing on. Devina tried to control her body mass rather than succumb to him like a limp doll and have her arms dislodged. She continued to rise as he lifted her up to his eye-level; she breathed in and pulled her knees inwards toward her bruised stomach and then faster than anything, she pushed them outwards, swiftly, hitting his chest as hard as she could.
Lavi did not budge.
Devina felt the panic creeping into her blood, the bitterness on her tongue.
"You've got moves," Lavi told her, "but you're made of nothing but skin and bones. You have no muscle power, so it'll take some time and practice before you could push me off." He released her wrists with a gentleness she'd neglected to foresee, with her wrists hurting and beginning to bruise. He noticed her face falling considerably with discouragement, "that did hurt though, because you're very thin – your bones kind of knocked the breath out of me, momentarily, but I still managed not to budge because I've been trained to take it."
Devina didn't appreciate his attempts at consolation and felt herself seething at her apparent loss in this fight, or whatever it was. She didn't like Lavi's stuck-up attitude or how rough he had been with her.
"I noticed how rational you were with the whole Kanda situation, yesterday," he said out of the blue, "had I gone easy on you, you would've thought this was a game, or a sparring match, so I needed to make it seem as believable as possible." Lavi admitted, and the fact that he read Devina so well freaked her out.
"How did you-"
"You look like you really hate my guts right now,"
Devina fought her embarrassment, "I don't. I just don't like your attitude,"
"Fair enough," he shrugged. "Why didn't you attack me, though?"
"Because you could never actually hurt me." She retorted smartly.
"Oh, but I could." Lavi insisted stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest, something Devina thought looked very childish on someone his height.
"I don't think it's in you, but good try; almost believable." Devina smirked, "what now, Lavi? You can fight me until we're both black and blue, I won't buy it."
Lavi sat down on the mat again and thought momentarily. "We can just try and make you concentrate on invoking it; acknowledge your Innocence as a part of you and accept it, try to embrace it, summon it, try to use it to your advantage."
Devina stared at Lavi, reluctance itched on her face yet she had no other choice but to follow his lead. "Alright, how do I go on about summoning my Innocence?"
Lavi propped up one knee and held it against his chest, "okay, first, close your eyes. Now, think of your Innocence, you have this power all stored up inside you and it's just waiting for an outlet," he said. "Don't try and call it for me or Komui or Allen or anyone, do it for you. Do it to show your Innocence that you accept it; that you acknowledge it as part of you and that you're ready," Lavi continued.
"Oh, Lavi, I didn't know you could be so sensitive," Devina mocked.
"Concentrate!" Lavi said, smacking the back of her head.
Several hours later, Devina panted as white goo oozed from the knuckle on her index finger. An involuntary gasp escaped Lavi, and Devina smiled tiredly as she willed the white liquid to solidify; it hardened into a sharp looking blade.
Devina wanted to try and give Lavi a little payback for playing the rough trainer earlier, so she willed the blade to fly at him, and stop inches away from his forehead.
Lavi's jaw was unhinged as he glanced between her and the blade, back and forth. "You can control them without touching them?" he asked, awestruck.
Devina nodded slightly before letting the blade fall to the ground. With that, her knees buckled and gave beneath her. She moaned, feeling irritated with her body. Lavi was suddenly standing before her, smiling. "Come on, I'll give you a piggyback ride,"
Devina stared at him, dumbstruck, "what?"
"You heard me," he squinted down, his back to her, "come on, climb."
"No, I'll walk. Thank you, though." She insisted.
Lavi turned his head to look at her before he deflected, took hold of her hands and wrapped them around his shoulders. He stood up, lifting her along, her chest meeting his back and legs instinctively wrapping around him. He let go of her hands, which clung to him now, to hold tightly on to her thighs.
Devina's protests did not cease. "Lavi, this is absolutely unnecessary," she grumbled, "put me down this instant." She noticed how sweaty she was, how she was sticking to him, and she felt so sorry for the poor guy. She must've smelled horrible and she wanted to drown. This is so embarrassing. "Just put me down."
"Shut up and enjoy the ride," Lavi retorted; laid back and at ease.
Devina didn't say anything back. Fine, if you like having sweat all over you, help yourself.
Author's Note: So here's some Lavi and Devina time to make up for last chapter! Don't forget to Review, Follow and Favorite if you like the story.