White Demon, Red Scribe, Black Nightmare
A D Gray-Man and Assassin's Creed Revelations Crossover
The physician told him he'll be back on his feet in at least six weeks. Allen was bothering Kanda with training in three.
It was as if he has been reborn. Nothing hurt - except the occasional sting in his ribs - he could breathe freely again and his heart pumped the blood around his body with renewed excitement. It felt incredible.
He wasn't bedridden that long, but taking into account the weakness before, he had much to catch up with. Kanda gave in with the training when the fourth week began and Allen couldn't be happier. He let the swordsman know just how happy he was accordingly during the nights.
Everything was beginning to be like it was before - they argued, trained, ate together and slept together as if nothing happened. Kanda refused to treat Allen as if he was made of glass but even he couldn't help but swallow the bitter taste of worry when he saw Allen stumble from time to time. There was always a threat of the illness returning, but Allen assured him that everything was perfectly alright.
One evening when they lay together, tired and sweaty, Allen finally decided to mention the one thing he was sure would put Kanda to a bitter mood.
"Did you bury him?" he asked quietly, drawing lazy circles on the man's bare chest. He could point out the exact moment when Kanda's mood dropped. He heard a sigh, no answer, but he wasn't dropping the topic. "Did you?"
"I'm not telling you where."
Allen sighed, happily throwing himself on the other man. "Thank you," he whispered against his neck, repeating those words several more times. He knew Kanda was still angry about what he had done, but the boy deserved at least the burial. Allen slept much better that night.
There was one topic, however, they both avoided, and that was Lavi.
Kanda could tell when Allen was thinking about the redhead, just as he could tell how much it hurt. He would regularly find him on the roof of the den, brooding and depressed, but at least he wasn't stupid enough to blame himself. Kanda could tell he was trying to get over it, but it was Allen Walker and he didn't give up on friends that easily - which made a nice little lethal spot for the enemies to poke at.
Kanda himself was just edgy about Lavi. The last conversation they had before he decided to give the bookman the Apple still left him staring into the ceiling at certain nights. He'd saved Allen, but Kanda made a point to check on the artifact every evening anyway. The nagging feeling of something-is-going-to-happen churned in his stomach, but he kept his mouth shut. Allen was doing great, Kanda dared to say better than ever before.
Lavi showed up several times, joined a few missions but otherwise holed himself up in the library when he was around, other times retreating to his own home or disappearing entirely to gods only knew where. The black-haired assassin had half a mind in throwing him out entirely, but the wistful look on Allen's face stopped him.
Damn brat.
The causalities in their ranks also decreased, worryingly even, but even so, neither of the two assassins minded too much after all that happened. They allowed themselves to relax or just train for fun and that didn't happen that often. Allen even started training with his longsword again. His hands didn't shake anymore and the blade stood eerily still when he wielded it. Kanda found himself having some troubles in their fights. Regularly.
But Allen was alive and kicking again and everything seemed alright.
Lavi, for his part, mainly stuck around and involved himself in a few missions and activities here and there to monitor how Allen's health was fairing. He was inwardly glad that Allen was recovering, but he knew that a relapse could spell disaster, and on account that Allen had the tendency to hide his ailments and pretend good health, one had to watch him with a keen eye to catch when he truly wasn't alright.
Most of it he left to Kanda, however. It wasn't merely that he didn't want to appear too close to Allen or as if he cared, but he also had a lot of things on his mind. Too many things, were truth be told.
He was distracted, but at the very least, he had the luxury to be distracted at the moment. Apollo was holding off on making any direct moves - planning and preparing his next ones for later, certainly - but for the moment, he was backing off, save for a handful of infrequent visits when there was no risk of the two being seen together conversing.
Lavi had some decisions to make, and he had to consider them carefully, to weigh his options. The library was an easy enough place to retreat to, and if anyone walked in looking for him, his intense concentration would have been easy enough to mistake for being focused on the open book in front of him, even when he wasn't really reading.
One thing he didn't fail to notice were the occasional glances of both Allen and Kanda. Kanda's especially sometimes hinted at distrust, despite Allen's earlier words that maybe the man would be more at ease around him now. It was probably for the better that Kanda didn't trust him though. It was always a good bet that trusting any bookman to take and keep sides was rather naïve, to put it lightly.
The distance that he put between himself and them gave him proper solitude and time to think anyway, so he wasn't complaining in the least. There were a lot of possibilities to consider. A lot of scenarios, all the ways they could branch out, their likely and unlikely outcomes, and pitfalls to watch out for.
It was taking him a while to sort out, but with Kanda and Allen busy with the White Demon's triumphant rehabilitation, and Apollo's serpent-like patience, he had plenty of opportunity to sift through his thoughts properly.
It was the growl of a hungry gut that drew him out of his thoughts and he glanced up, looking around for Allen, before he realized with a small laugh that it was his own.
"Thinkin' so hard I'm forgetting to eat," he mused, pushing himself up and leaving the library. A glance outside told him that it was almost night, perfect time to have dinner. After fixing something up for himself, he sad down at one of the tables in the main room off in the corner. Even with dinner in front of him, his thoughts were still straying, running over one calculation after another.
His thinking, however, was cut short when he noticed Allen sitting down by him, putting down his own plate full of food in front of him. He could see Kanda from the corner of his eye shaking his head and heading upstairs.
Allen smiled at him with his way-too-bright smile and dug into his food, pretending everything was as it should be.
Lavi smirked faintly and rested his chin on palm. At least some things didn't change, even if some of those things could become annoying at times.
"You sure appear to be in a bright mood," he noted idly, pausing in his own eating momentarily while Allen stuffed his face.
"And you look more gloomy than ever," Allen returned immediately, his smile not faltering, "something bothering you?"
"Gloomy?" Lavi raised a brow, before shaking it off. "No, not particularly. Just thinking about a lot of things. Anyway, any idea how you're going to confront Apollo? Now that you appear to be feeling better an' all."
After mentioning the man, the whitehead's smile shrunk slightly.
"Well, he hasn't been as active as before, but we're trying to lure him out. He's been very careful lately," he sighed. "Do you have any ideas? What thoughts made you forget your hunger?" he asked, pointedly looking at the redhead's gut.
Lavi sighed silently.
"I just have the feeling that this is the calm before the storm, that's all," Lavi said, knowing he wasn't being entirely honest about it being just a feeling, but he refrained from saying as much. "My feelings on such things aren't normally wrong, if past experiences have told me anything. If you're going to come out victorious, you'll need a good plan. A straightforward conflict won't work against him, and he's clever enough not to be fooled easily."
Allen flexed his fists momentarily, looking thoughtful.
"Maybe a straightforward fight is what would really solve it this time. It has been a game until now. Maybe we used too many strategies." He looked up, taking a deep breath. "You... will be fighting with us, right?"
"I'll definitely be there," Lavi said, cracking a small smile. "This could be the fight that decides everything, after all. Anyway, even when we've tried to lure him out, Apollo has never really shown himself off of his own terms. A straightforward fight is going to be difficult to pull off because of that," he pointed out, pausing and looking thoughtful once more. "I'm not saying its impossible, but it will be difficult, and he could simply escape again like before."
Allen looked quite relieved at that point and returned to his food. After a while he looked up, continuing on a lighter note but the tension in his shoulders was still present.
"So, is Bookman still in the city?" he looked around, as if he was searching for him.
"Gramps? I highly doubt it. I imagine he's got better things to do," Lavi mused. At least he hoped as much. He hadn't felt as if he was under watch like before.
"Oh, right," the assassin cleared his throat awkwardly, staring at his plate," I-"
"Hey, sprout!" Kanda's call cut shot whatever he wanted to say. Allen excused himself with a sight and walked over to the older man who whispered something in his ear. Allen turned to wave at Lavi with a small smile and then followed Kanda upstairs.
Lavi merely offered somewhat of a wave back, returning to his food and his thoughts, letting his gaze wander the room for on reason other than what was probably a vain hope that he would be struck by inspiration or revelation.
Turned out it wasn't quite such a vain hope as his single eye lingered over a desk in the corner of the room, holding a variety of items on the small shelves built into the rear half of it.
Maybe...?
He paused that thought to quickly finish his food, choking it down before he hopped to his feet and sauntered over. There were all sorts of things stored in it, from gunpowder to lamb's blood to common flour, as well as empty porcelain jars and half-circle shells, which he idly picked up and examined in his palm, before setting it down and drumming a finger as he played with a couple of scenarios in his head.
If he played his cards just right...
"Yeah... that could just work..." he murmured under his breath. First he was going to need some preparation though. As well as the key piece in all of this.
Sauntering up the steps, he paused outside Allen and Kanda's shared room, rapping his knuckles on the door and waiting.
There was a brief moment of shuffling and an exasperated sigh that was unmistakably Kanda's before the lock licked and the door swung open, revealing a screen of thick smoke and Allen in his undergarments. He awkwardly shifted on his feet and smiled when Kanda growled ´get out´ from the bed.
"Yeah?" the whitehead chuckled nervously.
Lavi hesitated only long enough to fan smoke away from his face. "Sorry to bug ya, but I need to see the Apple for a moment," he said.
Kanda sat up on the bed straighter as Allen's brow furrowed. He briefly glanced back at the swordsman.
"Um, why exactly?"
"I'm playing around with an idea on how we can use it to gain an advantage next time you face Apollo, an' I think it just might be the edge you'll need to finally get 'im."
Allen's brow still didn't relax. He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but just when it looked as if he is going to voice whatever was on his mind, he turned around and marched to the bed, reaching towards the far corner.
"Moyashi," Kanda warned in his native tongue, his black eyes moving from the whitehead to Lavi, watching him with a frown that clearly said how much he liked the idea.
Allen ignored him and returned to the door with the golden object in his left hand. He hesitated before offering it to the bookman and when he dropped it into his hand, Allen looked up staring at him with his rare silver eyes.
"I hope it's a good plan," he said in the end, and the redhead knew that was really not what he meant.
Lavi nodded, tousling Allen's hair affectionately before bouncing off down the hall.
"Since when do I ever come up with a plan that ain't good?" he tossed over his shoulder, bounding down the steps to get to work with a bit more energy than was common at such an hour.
Allen slowly closed the door, taking a second to stand by it, staring at the knob. Kanda was silent and the whitehead didn't have to look at him to see that the man was displeased with his actions. His words, however, surprised Allen. In a pleasant kind of way.
"So much for the mood."
Allen almost laughed. But seeing that Kanda was - for the first time, he mentally noted - not in the mood for arguments, the whitehead joined him in the bed, lying down. Kanda raised his brow in question and did the same, sighing as he scratched his chest.
"I am going to take all the responsibility," Allen said quietly.
"As usual," the swordsman scoffed. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Allen stayed silent, but he couldn't agree more. It wasn't that he didn't trust Lavi - okay, maybe his trust wavered a little bit after their last argument - but still...
The words Demir said so long ago unpleasantly echoed in his ears and he couldn't help himself but to cringe.