Author's Note: You guys! Today, this baby turns two and in honor of that I had to get a chapter out. (Also, DGm Hallow came out, and you know, so many things to celebrate!) Enjoy this chapter, and favorite and review, please :]
Devina was dazed and confused as she stood still, gazing at her door. She came to shortly after, deciding to move on with her day, and she left her room after changing her clothes to find Link and Allen waiting right outside . She greeted Allen and decided to neglect Link completely, moving on to start with her running exercise. She was able to run two floors before she was completely worn out. All the while, Allen and Link followed.
After running, getting down to the cafeteria, she sat down with Lenalee and Miranda while Allen placed their orders. Her brain kept wandering off to Lavi and the complete awkwardness that transpired between them. He was probably just overreacting. He's the one who tickled her in the first place-
"Devina, you haven't touched your food," Lenalee pointed out worriedly.
Devina blinked at the girl, before she nodded, picking up a tuna sandwich.
"Are you okay?" Lenalee asked her, and she was surprised at her concern. She and Lenalee had hit it off really well, but for some reason, she felt that things had deteriorated significantly between them on the trip to Edo.
"I-I'm okay, thanks, Lenalee," she smiled. "Just thinking… but how are you?"
She caught a flash of horror cross Lenalee's eyes before she shook her head. "I'm okay, too,"
"Liar, tell me what's bothering you?" Devina munched on her sandwich, eyeing the younger girl suspiciously.
Lenalee's eyes widened, before she finally smiled. "I-it's Leverrier…" she whispered.
Devina leaned forward, resting her arms against the table. "What's that?"
"He's the Inspector from Central; he's the one who wants you and Allen watched, and he… he was the one who brought me to the Order. You know, when I was little," Lenalee said in a voice that was barely audible.
Devina remembered Lenalee telling her how she was forced to join the Order. This man must be quite a menace to instill fear in Lenalee after all these years. She reached across the table and held Lenalee's hand. "I won't let him hurt you, okay?" she squeezed her hand. "I promise,"
Lenalee smiled weakly, before nodding. "Thank you, Devin-"
"I told you I have nothing to do with the Fourteenth!" Allen yelled at Link from beside Devina, causing her and Lenalee to cut their conversation short.
"Who's the Fourteenth?" Devina and Lenalee asked simultaneously.
"The Fourteenth is the Noah who was exiled by the Earl," Link explained patiently.
Devina jumped forward, leaning into Allen. "Well, if he was exiled from the Noah, doesn't that make him an ally?" she stuck her tongue out at the blonde. "We told you already. We don't know anything about the Fourteenth or the One Hundredth."
Link leaned forward, thrusting a piece of paper forward. "Then how were you able to read this sheet of music to control the Ark, Walker?"
Allen froze beside her, and she reached forward to grab the sheet of music. She studied it carefully but couldn't understand a single thing. "He can read it because he can! Drop it, two-spots,"
"Two-spots? I already asked you not to call me that, Devina!" Link fussed.
"And we already told you we had nothing to do with the Noah! Now, we're even!" she flicked him across the forehead, and Allen chuckled.
"Devina, you need to stop giving him a hard time," Allen chastised, and Devina noticed it lacked conviction.
Later that day, Devina's black golem called her to Hevlaska's, who in turn checked her Innocence. Her sync rate increased to forty-nine, which wasn't great but at least it was better than last time. Hevlaska told her that during the trip to Edo, her sync rate was probably even higher, but because she exhausted it so much, the rate went down.
She found Allen and Link waiting for her again once the elevator stopped on her floor.
"Look, two-spots-"
"Please, don't call me that,"
"Okay, Link," she said harshly, "You've been stalking me for days now, and I told you I knew nothing and I haven't done anything at all during our Edo trip to arouse suspicion, so why don't you back off?"
"Your attitude makes you suspicious, and according to all the reports on the Edo mission, Tyki Mikk has refused to kill you. Isn't that right?" Link asked back.
"Y-yes, but that's his problem, not mine! Go watch him instead," she retorted.
"Unfortunately for you, that's quite impossible," Link replied.
Devina sighed dramatically. "You are really annoying, and I'm having a real shit day,"
"Why are you having a real… bad day?" Allen asked.
Devina bit her lips, before she decided to answer. "Well, I don't know, Lavi was acting weird earlier, and Link is following me everywhere, and I barely managed to run down two flights of stairs before I got tired, and Hevlaska said my sync rate was jammed, and…"
"Hold on, hold on," Allen stopped her. "Can you go slowly? What happened with Lavi?" he asked.
"Well, he was tickling me, and that was really, umm, weird but we were laughing, and he seemed really happy to watch me suffer, but then he asked me this weird thing and I answered accordingly because I was being tickled, but I don't know why he suddenly got up and left…"
"Devina, what did he ask you?" Allen asked worriedly.
Devina faltered, her cheeks flushing. "You know, those silly questions…" she murmured, but continued when Allen fixed her with a mocking glance. "Like how good looking I thought he was, and how much my life would suck without him or something."
Allen's face broke into a smile, "and what did you say?" he asked, amused.
"Th-that he's good looking and that I couldn't live without him?" she said softly, then her voice rose an octave. "I mean, I do sort of agree, but he was tickling me and I wanted him to stop and-" Devina stopped as Allen began to chuckle loudly, "Allen? What are you laughing at?" she asked, feeling really annoyed at the younger male for the very first time.
Allen held his side, as if it hurt him from how much he'd laughed. "Nothing, it's just that he's so desperate,"
Devina was puzzled. "Desperate?"
"And here I thought you were smart, Devina," he leaned in and pecked her cheek, before she realized he and Link had walked her to her room. "Goodnight,"
"A-allen! Wait, what did you mean?" she called after him.
"You'll figure it out, Devina!"
Lavi was officially avoiding her. She rarely saw him around Headquarters, even though she heard Lenalee and Allen mention his name more than once. She was starting to grow extremely uneasy, and she felt burdened by the manuscript he'd forgotten on her bed. She decided that today was the day she'd confront him.
For now, she was in the males' shared bathroom, watching as Allen and Link freshened up as she leaned her back against the wall next to the door.
"This is ridiculous, Link," she complained, "no matter how disturbingly adaptive I am, this is the men's room and I don't want to be here,"
"You can wait for us outside, I never said you had to come in," he spoke after he spit.
Devina seethed, "then why did you let me get in here in the first place?" She turned to the left and was about to exit, when she bumped into someone.
Lavi gripped her arms to keep her in place, but let go as soon as he met her eyes, and continued on silently. She felt extremely numb.
"Lady Devina, it's good to see you walking around," Bookman said, and she realized he came in with Lavi.
"Yo, Bookman, how are you feeling?" she asked kindly.
"A lot better, thank you very much. How about you? I heard you fought bravely; at least better than this idiot here," he said before smacking his successor.
Devina's throat ached, and she turned to look at Allen instead.
"Allen, aren't you growing tired of two-spots questioning you to death?" Lavi asked before he began brushing his teeth.
"Two-spots? You, too?" Link complained before glancing between the redhead and Devina, who seemed to be frozen in place.
"Don't let it get to you, Link. Lavi's just a kid so he likes giving everyone nicknames. If you dislike it, you should come at him stronger than that," Allen interjected.
Lavi chuckled, "oi, Allen, you seem to be forgetting I'm older than you these days," he then turned to Allen. "I thought you'd be a bit more depressed but you're hanging in there,"
Devina was beginning to feel sick, and she struggled to breathe. She couldn't believe he was actually pretending she wasn't even there.
"Yes," Allen answered. "even though I'm seeing things that aren't really there, but it can't be helped, so there's no need to get upset, is there?"
That seemed to distract Devina. Allen's seeing things, too. She wanted to ask him about it, but couldn't with Link sticking to him like a puppy. She made a mental note to ask him about it later, if they were ever alone.
"Link," she began, "I'm off to train with Kanda," and she waved before she left. She heard him yell after her, but she kept moving forward.
Devina had only managed to disarm Kanda once that day, and it seemed as though her day wasn't getting better as she exited the training hall to find Link, Lavi and Allen. She felt really bad for the young man, having to follow her around along with Link, but she chose to treat Lavi the same way he's been treating her: as if he didn't exist.
The four were walking back to the cafeteria, when they passed by an open restricted area with a sign that read: THIS AREA IS PROHIBITED TO ALL BUT THE SCIENCE DIVISION.
"What's this?" Lavi asked, walking closer to the sign and the barriers.
Reever was standing on the other side when he heard their voices and turned, "Oh, good evening!" he greeted cheerily. "We're about to solve the mystery behind this little baby," he said, tilting his head to the side.
Devina looked in the direction he pointed at, only to find an egg-shaped crystal, held in place by golden wing-shaped frames. It rested on a circular platform and it was connected to several wires.
"The Egg? Did you bring that back from the Ark?" Allen asked.
"Wait, what's the egg?" Devina asked.
Link was the one who answered her. "It's the plant the Earl uses to produce the Akuma,"
"That's quite right," Reever nodded at Link, before he turned back to Allen. "We brought it back here for research,"
"Well, who cares about that? Just fix my Innocence already!" Lavi whined, resting his hands behind his head.
"I would love to do that, but this gets top priority for now," Reever smiled apologetically, "especially since it'll unlock many secrets on the Akuma and it may even help us finally beat the shit out of the Earl,"
Devina hadn't heard Reever speak much, but his speech warranted him her respect and a smile. "That's the spirit, Section Leader," she gave him a thumbs up.
His cheeks turned a few shades darker before he was called. "Well, see you later!"
Devina noticed that Link wasn't standing too close by, and she wondered if now was the time to ask Allen about what he said earlier so she turned to face him, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Johnny.
"Johnny! Long time no see!" she beamed at him, opening her slender arms and taking him by surprise when she wrapped them around him.
"D-devina-san!" he squeaked, and she pulled back. "I-it's been a while," he mumbled shyly.
"How have you been?" she asked as she shifted her weight to her other leg. Kanda was a real pain today.
"I'm o-okay," his head turned downward. "I wanted to thank you, I… heard you helped Allen when he tried to save S-suman…"
Devina's heart stopped. "I- I didn't do anything… I… I was too late… it was all Allen."
"But you fought the Noah and tried to avenge him, I'm… still grateful," Johnny's hand reached behind his glasses and he wiped his tears.
Devina wanted to disappear. She didn't deserve any praise or gratitude. "It was… all Allen…" she repeated automatically.
Johnny noticed her detachment and his hand squeezed hers tightly.
"Were you close?" she asked shortly.
Johnny broke into a heartbreaking smile, a smile that was both happy and sad. "He wasn't really sociable around here, and he was always so glum and sad. I liked him, though, and he was really good at chess,"
"Well, maybe we can play sometime?" she asked.
"You can play?" Johnny's surprise was nearly insulting, but she shrugged it off.
"Nope, never played chess in my life, but you can teach me," she grinned at him, ruffling his hair.
Her smile was contagious, and Johnny caught it before nodding enthusiastically, "it would be my pleasure!"
"Johnny, get your ass over here!" Johnny startled before he bowed and ran back inside.
"Let's go eat," Devina told Allen, who nodded silently, perturbed by the way she refused to take any part in what happened the night they met Tyki Mikk.
Lavi was officially avoiding her. She rarely saw him around Headquarters, even though she heard Lenalee and Allen mention his name more than once, meaning he wasn't on an extremely difficult mission. She was starting to grow extremely uneasy, and she felt burdened by the manuscript he'd forgotten on her bed. She decided that today was the day she'd confront him.
For now, she was in the males' shared bathroom, watching as Allen and Link freshened up as she leaned her back against the wall next to the door.
"This is ridiculous, Link," she complained, "no matter how disturbingly adaptive I am, this is the men's room and I don't want to be here,"
"You can wait for us outside, I never said you had to come in," he spoke after he spit.
Devina seethed, "Then why did you let me get in in the first place?" She turned to the left and was about to exit, when she bumped into someone.
Lavi gripped her arms to keep her in place, but let go as soon as he met her eyes, and continued on silently. She felt extremely numb.
"Lady Devina, it's good to see you moving around," Bookman said, and she realized he came in with Lavi.
"Yo, Bookman, how are you feeling?" she asked kindly.
"A lot better, thank you very much. How about you? I heard you fought bravely, at least better than this idiot here," he said before smacking his successor.
Devina's throat burned, and she turned to look at Allen instead.
"Allen, aren't you growing tired of two-spots questioning you to death?" Lavi asked before he began brushing his teeth.
"Two-spots? You, too?" Link complained before glancing between the redhead and Devina, who seemed to be frozen in place.
"Don't let it get to you, Link. Lavi's just a kid so he likes giving everyone nicknames. If you dislike it, you should come at him stronger than that," Allen interjected.
Lavi chuckled, "Oi, Allen, you seem to be forgetting I'm older than you these days," he then turned to Allen. "I thought you'd be a bit more depressed but you're hanging in there."
Devina was beginning to feel sick, and she struggled to breathe. She couldn't believe he was actually pretending she wasn't even there.
"Yes," Allen answered. "even though I'm seeing things that aren't really there, but it can't be helped, so there's no need to get upset, is there?"
That seemed to distract Devina. Allen's seeing things, too. She wanted to ask him about it, but she couldn't say anything with Link sticking to him like a puppy. She made a mental note to ask him about it later, if they were ever alone.
"Link," she began, "I'm off to train with Kanda," and she waved before she left. She heard him yell after her, but she kept moving forward.
Devina had only managed to disarm Kanda once that day, and it seemed as though her day wasn't getting any better as she exited the training hall to find Link, Lavi and Allen. She felt really bad for the young man, having to follow her around along with Link, but she chose to treat Lavi the same way he's been treating her: as if he didn't exist.
The four were walking back to the cafeteria, when they passed by an open space, wrapped around with yellow tape and a sign that read: THIS AREA IS PROHIBITED TO ALL BUT THE SCIENCE DIVISION.
"What's this?" Lavi asked, walking closer to the sign and the barriers.
Reever was standing on the other side when he heard their voices and turned, "Oh, good evening!" he greeted cheerily. "We're about to solve the mystery behind this little baby," he said, tilting his head to the side.
Devina looked in the direction he pointed at, only to find an egg-shaped crystal, held in place by golden wing-shaped frames. It rested on a circular platform and it was connected to several wires.
"The Egg? Did you bring that back from the Ark?" Allen asked.
"Wait, what's the egg?" Devina asked.
Link was the one who answered her. "It's the plant the Earl uses to produce the Akuma,"
"That's quite right," Reever nodded at Link, before he turned back to Allen. "We brought it back here for research,"
"Well, who cares about that? Just fix my Innocence already!" Lavi whined, resting his hands behind his head.
"I would love to do that, but this gets top priority for now," Reever smiled apologetically. "Especially since it'll unlock many secrets on the Akuma and it may even help us finally beat the shit out of the Earl,"
Devina hadn't heard Reever speak much, but his speech warranted him her respect and a smile. "That's the spirit, Section Leader," she gave him a thumbs up.
His cheeks turned a few shades darker before he was called. "Well, see you later!"
Devina noticed that Link wasn't standing too close by, and she wondered if now was the time to ask Allen about what he said earlier so she turned to face him, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Johnny.
"Johnny! Long time no see!" she beamed at him, opening her slender arms and taking him by surprise when she wrapped them around him.
"D-devina-san!" he squeaked, and she pulled back. "I-it's been a while," he mumbled shyly.
"How have you been?" she asked as she shifted her weight to her other leg. Kanda was a real pain today.
"I'm okay," his head turned downward. "I wanted to thank you, I… heard you helped Allen when he tried to save S-suman…"
Devina's heart stopped. "I- I didn't do anything… I was too late… it was all Allen."
"But you fought the Noah and tried to avenge him, I'm… still grateful," Johnny's hand reached behind his glasses and he wiped his tears.
Devina wanted to disappear. She didn't deserve praise nor gratitude. "It was… all Allen…" she repeated automatically.
Johnny noticed her detachment and his hand squeezed hers tightly.
"Were you close?" she asked shortly.
Johnny broke into a heartbreaking smile, a smile that was both happy and sad. "He wasn't really sociable around here, and he was always so glum and sad. I liked him, though, and he was really good at chess,"
"Well, maybe we can play some time?" she asked.
"You can play?" Johnny's surprise was nearly insulting, but she shrugged it off.
"Nope, never played chess in my life, but you can teach me," she grinned at him, ruffling his hair.
Her smile was contagious, and Johnny caught it before nodding enthusiastically, "It would be my pleasure!"
"Johnny, get your ass over here!" Johnny startled before he bowed and ran back inside.
"Let's go eat," Devina told Allen, who nodded silently, perturbed by the way she refused to take any part in what happened the night they met Tyki Mikk.
Down at the cafeteria, Devina bossed Link around and made him go place her order along with Allen's. As soon as the blonde was out of earshot, she turned to the white-haired male.
"Allen, you said earlier… that you see things?" she cut straight to the point.
"Hmm? When did I say that?" he asked with an unreadable expression.
Lavi sat opposite from them but his ears were perked and his attention gained.
Devina sighed. "Earlier today, in the restroom," she pointed out.
"Oh…" Allen paused. "Yes, I do,"
Devina leaned closer, wondering if he was being discreet because she was asking or because Lavi was there. "What do you see?" she asked.
Allen seemed dubious and upset, before he finally answered in a whisper, and she was sure she was the only one who could hear him. "I see the Fourteenth,"
Devina bit her lip. She wasn't surprised, really. "What does he look like?" she asked, just as quietly.
"I never see his face… It's shapeless… and always so dark. I have no idea what he looks like, but I hear his voice very clearly." His eyes narrowed, "Why do you ask?"
She sighed, realizing why he'd struggled to say anything earlier. It was so hard to let go of secrets, and if you did let them go, they were prone to come back to bite you when you least expected. "Because I see the Earl, Allen, and Joyd," she admitted, finally. There was no taking it back now.
Allen's eyes widened. "Wh-who's Joyd?"
Devina thought for a moment. "She said she was the Noah of Pleasure… but isn't Tyki the Noah of Pleasure?"
Allen seemed just as confused. "He is…"
"I don't know what it means…" Devina groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "She's just as annoying as Tyki, as well. She keeps asking me to remember things, and…"
Allen was staring at her intently. "The Fourteenth showed me the music sheet… but I was able to read it because Mana taught me these symbols…" Allen confessed.
"Mana? Is that your foster father?"
Allen nodded. "I can't help wondering… if it were all just lies… if Mana and I were really just an orphan and a clown…"
Devina hadn't realized how much this was affecting Allen. She'd been too concerned with her dreams and her issues and Lavi, stupid Lavi. She reached for Allen's hand. "Allen, Mana taught you to keep moving forward, isn't that true?" she asked, and he nodded meekly. "If you were merely a tool… or whatever it is you think you are, he wouldn't have cared how you led your life, your existence. It wouldn't have mattered to him, but it did… I think that has more truth to it than any theory you come up with at this point."
Allen smiled slightly, squeezing her hand back. "Y-you're right. I can't give up now."
"What are you two doing?" Link asked, standing behind them, and they both jumped, releasing the other's hand.