Thank you to guest(?) for reviewing. Very short. Next chapter will be Lavi as promised, with more Allen background, also as promised. For right now I'm focusing more on Before War and school so…

Chapter 11:

That night, Allen was unable to reach the mansion until eight. Having heard from one of the kids that dinner was promptly at seven, he was hoping to sneak into the kitchen. This mission was successful, however he got hopelessly lost in the process.

"At least I don't have to die hungry he sighed, grabbing an entire loaf of bread and curling up in the pantry. More likely than not, it was past ten by then and he would be able to avoid Chaoji and return to his 'room', but he couldn't be bothered to move. Instead he sat, back resting against his backpack, in the storage room slowly, due to lack of energy, dining on everything within arm's reach. When the amount of food to be consumed had dwindled away, he fell asleep.

He woke, reluctantly, due to the persistent poking of his face by one of the children.

"Hey, get up" she whispered. Allen started slightly, nodded his thanks and turned to flee. He abruptly halted while doing so, spun on his heel, grabbed another loaf of bread and a half eaten jar of jam and continued his retreat. The girl giggled, following suit. He rounded a corner.

"Hehe, wrong way" she whispered, circling him before back tracking slightly and leading the way down the hall. Despite the fact that her voice was low in volume, it had a certain echo to it. The two were jogging slightly, silently down a hallway. One side lined with windows the other portraits. The girl seemed to be glowing, not as a result of the moonlight, but the same color as what little light was produced by the moon. Allen glanced at the girl's bare feet, distinctly lacking in a nearby shadow, or an shadow at all. She flashed him a grin, sending a mass of curly locks flying around her head, yet somehow keeping her face partially obscured. She took a sharp turn with Allen in hot pursuit only to find a familiar, yet empty, space before him. This was the hall to his 'room'. There weren't any doors but the two? But then you need to go through a door to get here? Now that he thought of it, the moon was still out, what was she doing up so late? Or was it early? Allen shivered and darted into his 'room'.

There was no clock, so he figured it was best to simply hurry. He carefully removed the large uniform, before hastily undoing his bandages to shower. When that was finished, he re-used what bandages he could, leaving the rest of his wounds exposed. With a sigh he brushed his teeth and carefully put the uniform back on. He heard a thump from across the hall, stuffed his stole food into his bag and darted out the door and down the hall. He scampered down the main hall to the main entrance. Unwilling to risk waking anyone else, however, he proceeded to exit the mansion out the main window. He then grappled the main wall, landing in and on the main shrubs. The horizon was lighting slightly as he began the hike to school.

He walked slowly, partially because he was still sore but mainly to waste time. It took an hour to reach the school, half that to devour the bread, occasionally dipping it in the jam until both were gone. The sun had just begun to rise when he reached the gate, only to find that they were locked. He sighed, loud and fighting back the swarm of curses running through his head.

"Well what did you expect, it's a school not a welcome center." Allen spun, only to come face to face with the redhead from yesterday. Lavi, having successfully surprised him, smiled.

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Allen's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I don't really feel like going today, want to hang out?" Allen's gaze remained fairly blank and suspicious, however he was actually rather curious about the near stranger before him.

"I didn't mark you as the type to ditch."

"I'm not but you look like you need the day off. Also, I wanted my uniform back." Allen jumped slightly when Lavi threw his arm over his shoulder, guiding him away from the building and further into the city.

"Got any preferences on food Beansprout?"

"My name is Al- Wait… Food?"

"Well ya, it's the crack of dawn, literally. Besides, breakfast if the most important meal of the day!"

"I don't have any money…"

"That's not a problem."

"But-"

"Just trust me. Hm… fast food places aren't the best but that means we can get more." Allen shrugged, continuing to let Lavi drag him along and eventually into one of the fast food restaurants suggested previously by Lavi. Allen ordered twice the amount that Lavi did: eight burgers, two large drinks and two orders of fries. A full meal last night, food this morning, not being hungry all the time is great.

"So, I was actually wondering a couple of things..." There it was. The catch. Of coarse Lavi wanted something in return, but information. Allen almost would have preferred a fight to the exchanging of information. That got too messy too quick, in a fight one right move and you're done. He tightened his hand into a fist, but forced himself into a faint smile.

"What is it?" Lavi opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the world shattered around them. Curses are plenty really, I guess jinxes and karma aren't out of the question either…

They were here.