White Demon, Red Scribe, Black Nightmare
A D Gray-Man and Assassin's Creed Revelations crossover

Making it toward Allen with any manner of haste was difficult with the way that item was making Lavi's head pound in tandem and his eyes pulse in his skull, wincing and subconsciously raising a hand to put pressure on the one under his patch, as if that might help. It didn't.

He was aware a second later of a figure he didn't recognize - dark clothes; long, black hair; east-Asian features - rushed in. He silently cursed, not sure whether to trust the guy near Allen or treat him as an enemy at this point. And it was so fucking hard to think around that damn ringing.

Relief washed over him as that maddening sound swept away like a receding tide as soon as the Apple was pried free of Allen's hands, and the stranger held the white-haired man close in a concerned sort of way, more friend than foe, it seemed.

Reinforcements, he could only hope.

His attention shifted as he realized the Apple had clattered some yards away, and suddenly seemed to remember that Apollo was still very much alive, and very quickly recovering.

"Merda!" He leapt for it at the same moment he swore, snatching it up with his spear ready, though he was well aware that he was immediately at a disadvantage with having only one hand free to use, his eye snapping towards Allen and the newly arrived for only a split second, before it was back on Apollo. "I could use a little support over here!"

Apollo raised from the ground, only to wince and stumble backwards, barely catching himself before he fell again.

The black-haired man cursed and carefully laid Allen on the ground, springing up and drawing a long, black, curved blade.

"Didn't expect to see me here, did you?" the man growled, charging at Apollo who spun backwards with only little difficulty, grabbing Lavi's abandoned cloak from the ground and throwing it at the other man.

Lavi watched as the black-haired man didn't simply back him up, but took over the entire fight, slashing and pushing forward with overwhelming tenacity like a one-man juggernaut. In an elegant, lethal sweep, the cloak was disposed of and Apollo was forced to retreat further, barely avoiding the rain of slashes from the man.

"Or... you could just do that..." he muttered. The man didn't seem to need help, so he turned back toward Allen, jogging quickly to his side. He set the Apple down next to him as he sat the man up, checking him over for how much damage he'd taken, and simultaneously keeping his attention on the fight out of his peripheral vision in case he needed to react and defend.

"Jeez... I can't believe you were that stupid," he chastised under his breath, carefully looking over the wounds the white-haired man had sustained. His leg was going to need stitching, and he was concerned for the damage his burned arm had taken as well. He fished a roll of wrappings out of his bag, tying off the wounds tightly so he wouldn't end up bleeding out before they could get back where he could treat them properly. He'd also have to figure out what kind of damage had been done by the Apple to make him start throwing up blood, but he couldn't do that here. "Using a weapon with that kind of recoil... could you possibly be any more reckless? 'can't believe you sometimes."

Apollo fell to the ground a second later but before the blade could land with a final and deciding hit, the fake priest threw a fistful of dust into the black-clad man's eyes and bolted away.

"Run while you can, you fuck!" the Asian called, rubbing his eyes. Instead of following the man, he turned around and walked back to where Allen was.

Lavi glanced up as the black-haired male shouted at Apollo's retreating form, glad to finally have the guy gone, but knowing that it would probably come back to haunt them later. He turned his attention back to Allen, relaxing somewhat.

Worried grumbling aside, he sighed, keeping a steadying arm around Allen's shoulder as he lightly flicked the younger male in the forehead affectionately.

"Seriously, don't do that again, otherwise that Apollo creep is going to be the least of your worries when I'm through."

"Kanda!" Allen croaked weakly.

The man knelt in front of them, picking up his pendant from the floor and carefully taking Allen's injured arm to inspect the wound. "What the hell have you been thinking?! Have you lost your mind? Using the Apple like this!" he scolded, but his stern voice was laced with worry. "And you," he turned to Lavi with a scornful glare. "Back the fuck off!" he growled, hoisting Allen up and standing. "Grab the Apple, and god protect you if you run away," he ordered, heading back to the docks.

Lavi blinked in surprise as he was addressed, backing off slightly as if intimidated, though he was more simply caught off guard by the man was he came to sweep Allen up and start ordering him around as if he had the authority to do so.

It seemed he was trusted enough at least to handle the Apple heading back...

Or more likely the man trusted himself to gut the redhead alive even with carrying Allen that he wasn't worried.

Mute, he picked up the orb again and trailed a pace or two behind, watching keenly and taking note of the man's features and demeanor. The way he held Allen tightly; the brisk, deliberate steps; the no-nonsense glower that his face seemed almost permanently set in. Everything about how he held himself practically radiated don't even TRY to fuck with me and promised regret if someone did anyway.

So then... this person was Kanda.

A few words was all it took to tell Lavi that Kanda either wasn't the type or just wasn't presently in the mood for conversation, so for the most part, he stayed quiet, tagging along from a distance. Their way back passed in silence and tension. Whatever conversation Lavi wanted to strike or thought about striking, Kanda answered with a mute, not very friendly, stare.

Once they were at the den, Kanda didn't hesitate to kick down the door and stride in as if he owned the place, barking out orders on all sides. The den sprang to life as if the devil himself entered, everybody scrambling out of the way to make sure to avoid his wrath. Lavi couldn't help but smirk slightly as he watched the assassins scatter, though perhaps that ought to tell him something. Maybe they were just easily intimidated, though, whereas Lavi wasn't. He normally pretended more than he actually got intimidated. Reactions were always fun.

Tiedoll came sprinting upstairs with hot water and clean linen cloths almost at the same time as Kanda laid Allen on his bed and they both began to tend to his wounds. Lavi was going to offer himself up to tend to the wounds, but it seemed like Teidol and Kanda had it handled, and after the looks the raven-haired man gave him earlier, he decided it better just to stay silent for now. At least until things relaxed a bit.

Since it appeared his help wasn't needed, instead he sat back out of the way where he could still watch and couldn't help but examine the Apple curiously, taking note of every crevice and line, tracing the small glowing channels along its surface with a finger. He wasn't fool enough to try using it, especially not after seeing the effect it had had on Allen, nor after experiencing that searing headache from before. Besides, he had been in touchy waters even before the guy known as Kanda had shown up, and he recalled Emil having said something about needing to be on the guy's good side, so he wasn't about to try making himself suspicious.

After a good hour of cleaning and sewing, Kanda sat on the floor next to the bed and sighed, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Between Teidol and Kanda, they did a relatively good job treating Allen's wounds.

Maybe it was just because Allen was so reckless, though. Practice made perfect, after all.

When it seemed like they were done, he idly hopped to his feet and peered his head in closer, examining the treated wounds from what he deemed a safe enough distance.

"Nice job," he hummed, deliberately trying to sound mildly impressed. They weren't complicated wounds to treat. He certainly wouldn't go so far as to say they were superficial, but they were the type anyone with basic first-aid or battlefield treatment training could pull off with experience. "You really seem to know what you're doing."

At this point he was mostly trying to gauge what sort of person Kanda was and how to act around him.

Kanda answered with a stern face and a haughty, raised eyebrow. He sized Lavi up from head to toes several times, still completely silent and just as he drew breath to comment, Tiedoll stepped in from the side, enveloping the man in a fatherly embrace. The black-haired man sighed, momentarily closing his eyes in exasperation.

"My son!" Tiedoll sobbed into his shoulder, "I am so glad to see you aright!"

Kanda looked as if he was summoning all his powers not to push the man away. With a roll of his eyes he sighed again and spoke.

"Jeez, old man, let me go. You're ruining my coat."

"But Yuu! I was so worried!"

"Yeah, I know. Whatever. You're making a ruckus. Remove yourself." He huffed, visibly having problems with keeping his temper down. "The sprout needs rest, go away," he ordered, finally pushing the old man away.

Lavi didn't waver at all as Kanda sized him up, staring back perfectly calm, but a smile broke across his face as he watched Teidol practically throw himself around Kanda in that fatherly, doting manner in which he functioned. He couldn't help but be amused, thinking that Kanda looked every bit the child-embarrassed-to-be-seen-with-their-parent sort of look, even though, as far as Lavi could tell, Teidol's "parentage" was surrogate.

At the last part of Kanda's statement, he couldn't help but burst out laughing, leaning on the doorway. He could feel unpleasant eyes on him and figured he should explain himself, since Kanda obviously wasn't the humorous type.

"Wow, this is really somethin' else! You figured out the same nickname for him as I did!" he laughed, referring to Allen, of course.

Kanda squinted then, unsheathing his sword. In a short instance, the blade was menacingly pressed against the redhead's throat. Lavi tensed and pointedly tilted his head back slightly away from the blade, flashing the faintest of nervous smiles.

"Before I forget," the black-clad assassin began, his voice dropping several octaves lower, "who may you be? I don't remember ever seeing your face, nor do I believe I heard anything about you, rabbit!"

"Wow, two nicknames in one go. Is that a natural talent, or...?" He could tell he was quickly wearing out whatever patience this Kanda person had, and decided to jump back to answering the question, before he found himself missing a head. "Name's Bookman, or Lavi. Either one works just fine."

"Let's not do things we could regret later," Tiedol jumped in, carefully taking the blade between his fingers and pointing it away from Lavi. The look with which Kanda returned the statement sent the clear message that the man would not regret a thing. Tiedol tried to pacify the man in his native language it appeared but after a short barky answer, the older man sighed and shrugged.

"Get out. Both of you."

Tiedoll discreetly pushed Lavi out and once they crossed the threshold, the door slammed close.

"Rabbit?" Allen whispered from the bed, smiling feebly.

Kanda sheathed his sword and sat on the floor next to him, leaning his head against the bed. "Shut up, idiot."

"I missed you too," Allen managed to answer before he fell asleep.

Lavi only held his hands up in a placating manner, smiling wryly at Kanda until he was led out.

"Man, the temper on that one!" He chuckled slightly. "Is he always like that?" He glanced to Teidol in question, having no problems following him since it seemed Allen's room just became off-limits.

"Oh, but he's at his best behavior right now," Tiedol piped in, innocently, rubbing his mustache. "I'm just kidding," he added quickly when he saw Lavi's eyebrows shoot up. "He's always like that. But oddly enough, he already branded you with a nickname!" He laughed heartily, "he likes you already!" And with a few short pats on the bookman's shoulder, he stalked downstairs. "You can rest, they won't come out anytime soon - they both might even be passed out already!" He joked, waving his hand. "You can join me for a smoke downstairs if you want."

Lavi smirked. "If that's how he treats people he likes, I don't even want to know how it'd be to be on his bad side," he mused with a little laugh. Teidol's words of reassurance were a little uplifting though. At least he wasn't being regarded as an enemy. Hopefully that would last, since Kanda appeared to be an easy person to piss off.

All the same, the overwhelming temptation to exploit that for kicks was definitely a thought that crossed his mind. Someone that testy was guaranteed to pull some fun reactions.

He thought about dismissing himself back to his own private place, but thought better of it, at least for now. Allen might get too restless with worry not being able to see for himself the bookman was safe so soon after they'd just been confronted by Apollo, and the redhead didn't want the man to end up straining his wounds.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind," he agreed. He really needed to unwind, anyway, still feeling the effects of adrenaline that hadn't quite worn off. He should probably take the time to wash out his wounds, too, subconsciously swiping a thumb over the dried scratch on his cheek. None of them were bad, only shallow scrapes and cuts, but it would be annoying if they were to get infected and sore.

Tiedol sat down in the corner where Allen would usually sit, his back facing the wall so he had a nice view of everything that was going on in the hall. He set up the hookah and connected two pipes to it, handing one to Lavi and keeping the other one.

"You need to forgive him for his brash demeanor." The old man began, taking a slow long drag. "He has always been like that, so, please, don´t take it personally. He is probably going to be a little more... edgy now. As you could have guessed, his mission didn´t go according the plan."

Lavi listened before plastering an easy-going smile on his face, waving off what Teidol had to say.

"You don't need to worry about that. You said you've heard about us bookmen before, right? Then you should know we're not the types to take much of anything personally," he reassured.

He paused a moment for a drag, appreciating it more than he thought he would after the day they'd just had.

"Anyway, his mission didn't go the way he would have liked, but obviously that Apollo person's plans didn't either. I wouldn't say it was a victory, but I don't really think it was a defeat, either. For the moment, that's better than nothing. We all still escaped with our lives today and Apollo still doesn't have this-," he set the Apple on the table between them. "-and I figure that's worth being happy about, if nothing else. Things could have gone a lot worse than they did."

"Aah, this," Tiedoll sighed unhappily, shaking his head. "The source of all problems. I always tend to wonder how easier life would be without it." He took a drag again and stared into distance in reminiscence. "I remember the day I warned Yuu not to get involved with this kind of stuff," he huffed out a short laugh, "but as you may have noticed, my son is not the type that listens to anyone but himself. I am not a superstitious person but I somehow felt it would only bring us misfortune." Another short laugh. "In the end, I was wrong." The man looked at Lavi, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "Thanks to this artifact, Yuu met Allen - the boy changed him so much. He even smiles from time to time now!" Tiedoll sniveled, giving into his fatherly side again.

Lavi nodded as he listened, remaining silent for a time as he let Teidol talk. He could see why something like that would bring trouble. Even things that didn't exist, which promised some sort of great reward or power most didn't have, led people down dangerous paths against others adamant to obtain it. All the greater danger when one of those fabled items turned out to be real. It always tended to attract the wrong kind of attention.

He smirked at Teidol's mention of Allen and Kanda's relationship, and how sentimental he got over simply talking about it, before his single eye slid over to the other assassins that occupied the den. He wasn't sure he would go so far to say that he was trusted by most of them, but they seemed to be relaxing more to his presence. Less suspicious of him as possibly being some sort of potential enemy.

"But I digress." His tone suddenly changed. He looked around the den slowly, taking in the faces of all the present assassins. "You may be wondering why is it so crowded today and why haven't we sent out men to hunt."

"I have a few guesses," Lavi replied, casually leaning back and stretching slightly. "But I figure I'll just let you tell me, rather than assuming."

Tiedoll smiled under his mustache and scanned the room lazily again. "It's because we have a spy here," he said calmly, as if he was talking about weather.

Just as he finished his sentence a slow, almost doomingly slow sound of footsteps echoed from the staircase.

Lavi merely nodded discreetly with a silent 'ah', resting his cheek on palm and took another drag of the hookah at the same moment he was aware of the air becoming thick with tension. He didn't really have to turn his head to know who it was descending the stairs, even the harsh footsteps alone gave it away, if not the aura that practically radiated off the raven-haired man.

A moment after that, Kanda Yuu's body emerged from the darkness of the stairs, his face a perfect passive mask. Only his eyes seemed to shine with something dangerous. What was more curious was watching everyone else fall still and silent, on alert like hares ready to spring for their warren, but stock still and too worried that the movement of fleeing would bring the predator down upon them. He could almost sense the unified thought process that someone was going to royally get it, and probably not survive many minutes longer, but he didn't dare say anything more than the rest of them.

The whole hall fell silent, everybody pausing to look at the black-clad assassin who suddenly resembled a hungry panther than an actual person. It was incredible how a man's presence could fill the whole room and made everyone pause.

It was deathly silent.

Kanda took his while to drag his eyes across the room, appearing almost bored and disinterested at first sight, but every man with better senses could tell that whoever catches his eye is most probably not leaving the den alive.

Tiedoll made himself comfortable on his cushions, taking yet another long drag from the pipe.

The black-clad assassin took a menacing step forward, followed by another one and another one and he slowly made his way through the room, his eyes scanning every present face, his left hand idly sitting on the scabbard of his sword. When he reached the middle of the room, he seemed to make a double-take, stopping in mid-stride. Suddenly, the dangerous aura around him took a more murderous hue.

His right hand reached for the swords handle and as he drew it, ever so slowly, the air was filled with the metallic hum of the blade. It was as if the katana sang in anticipation for blood.

The tip of the sword ended on the neck of the visibly nervous assassin sitting on Kanda's left side. Moving nothing but his arm, Kanda forced the man to stand up on his wobbly legs and move in front of him, where he squinted at his face.

"Still as sharp as ever," Lavi heard Tiedoll utter under his breath.

"I remember your face," Kanda spoke with an arctic tone. The man in front of him loudly gulped, his eyes widening. "What I don't remember is sending you here from Italy."

"Wait! I can explain!" The man gasped, raising his hands in surrender. "I can-" Kanda, however, was not in the mood to hear excuses. He thrusted his blade forward into the man's neck. It was almost sickening to see how easily the blade cut through his neck - like a knife into butter.

Lavi didn't react when he saw Kanda slice the man's throat, but there was one word that came to mind after watching it:

Merciless.

But then, he was among the Assassins. Mercy wasn't a common theme, and especially not when there was a war raging, however small and contained it may be.

The man fell on the ground, gurgling and choking on his own blood. Kanda calmly lowered the sword, taking another look around.

His eyes momentarily stopped on Lavi. It looked like he was considering a thought. Or warning the bookman, daring him to make a mistake. Lavi didn't let himself be afraid. He would admit, Kanda was a person with presence and capability, that much was certain, but it would take more than a nasty look to send the red-haired man scurrying for cover. Kanda's best weapon may have been his sword, but Lavi's was his composure in any situation.

Kanda's eyes flickered to Tiedoll then and with a barely concealed exasperation, he sighed and sheathed his weapon.

"Make sure the hunter doesn't leave the city," Kanda ordered and immediately after that, a good two dozen men raised and hurriedly left the hall.

"A job well done," Tiedoll commented loudly enough for Kanda to hear.

"Whatever. I'm going back to bed," the man snapped back, massaging his neck. That earned him a few, a little bit too-nervous chuckles.

"It makes sense," Lavi hummed after Kanda had retreated, idly yawning with head still rested on his cheek. The events of the day were starting to catch up with him now that the adrenaline was wearing off. "Why Apollo was able to find out where we were when we went to talk to that man. I was wondering which of our sides had the leak, but I had the feeling it wasn't on Demir's end. Now it makes perfect sense."

Tiedoll hummed, nodding slightly. "Good to see you've passed the test." He commented, grinning. "You've got some nerves, I give you that!"

Lavi laughed lightly.

"You're talkin' to someone that's speared Great White's on the open waters and chases war for a living! It'll take more than that guy's sour face to get to me!" he jibed in return, grinning. "Skilled or not, even if he tried it, I highly doubt he'd succeed at killing me. He may be a skilled swordsman but no one can dodge like I can!"

He almost snorted and thumbed over his shoulder at what few assassins were still lingering after Kanda's orders to make sure Apollo couldn't leave, lowering his voice.

"These guys already tried and failed." He saw the brief look that crossed Teidol's face and went on to explain himself, before the man might get the wrong idea. "Allen and I sort of got into a prank war and, if you didn't already know, Allen's a dirty cheater. I still don't even know what he told them but they really had it out for me, for all of a day, at least."

"Glad to hear that you are not that easily discouraged then," Tiedol laughed heartily. "And so I've heard. They may or may not have asked me to keep an eye on you around him." His face then sobered somewhat. "Be a little bit more cautious around Yuu, though. He tends to be a little bit protective at times. I have no doubt he's going to hear about your little prank war from his men and it surely isn't going to sound playful from their point of view."

He rubbed his mustache in thought and patted the redhead's shoulder.

"Anyway, I think you're gonna be just fine! I dare to hope that you'll be good friends in time!" He laughed again, standing up, sighing as he looked at the body slowly bleeding on the floor. "I guess I should get someone to help me with that. You go take a rest - I can see that you need it."

With a wave of his hand he headed towards a small group of assassins, most probably asking them for help with the body.

"Oh and one more thing!" the old man called, briskly walking back to Lavi and lowering his voice to a whisper. "I'd advise you to," he pause, visibly looking for the right words, "knock and wait for the answer before you enter Allen's room." He nodded thoughtfully for himself and patted Lavi's shoulder again, as if not sure how to explain better. "You know. If you... well, just knock."

Lavi stared at the man for a moment silently, it taking him a moment, before his mind wound back to what Teidol was saying. Maybe he was just tired. He certainly felt it, so it only stood to reason he was a little slower than usual. He nodded understanding and stretched as he stood, deciding it probably better not to linger on the topic.

Considering a few other details he'd picked up on during his time there, he didn't have to think hard to guess what the man meant.

"I'll be sure to do that. Anyway, the 'sprout and his temperamental friend aren't the only ones needing sleep," he chuckled softly, before turning for the library, since he'd decided to hunker down in the den instead of his own place for the night. "Anyway, thanks for the smoke," he added, before retreating.

Finding a pillow not already in use by someone else, he made himself comfortable on the floor, too drained to bother with reading, and soon enough he was sleeping soundly.