The Devil's Symphony
Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man. But I'm happy Hoshino Katsura-san is coming back in April! And that the English -Man will be out then as well. (:
Chapter 6: Beat, Rhythm, Melody.
A/N: Enjoy. (:
The ebony haired girl sighed in the darkness.
This was getting downright irritating.
She tossed and turned under the covers, struggling to find a comfortable position.
It had been a week since the incident in the tunnel.
And Lenalee had been exhausted entirely.
She gazed at the instrument case in the corner.
Each time she played her cello, those akuma things popped up out of no-where.
It was as if they were stalking her.
She wandered briefly if Allen were experiencing the same thing; everyday, after he got back from his part-time job at the café adjacent to the apartment, he seemed tired and worn out, and was so tired he was asleep the moment he landed himself of the sofa. He always missed dinner.
And what's worse, the boy was screaming more every night. And the blood loss always came with it.
Lenalee had had to wake him up several times during the week to get him to calm down, and she had stopped using earplugs every night just in case. She always had a towel ready too.
"I'm so sorry, Lenalee… This is stupid…" he'd said last night, holding the towel him to his bleeding eye sockets.
And she'd heard him mutter something like "worthless, pathetic and weak" under his breath.
She'd advised him to see a doctor about the screaming, bleeding and nightmares, but he'd blatantly refused, saying he had no money for it nor would he borrow any from her.
He had obviously hinted at his lack in finance, and had stressed again his need for the money he earned at the café and she knew he didn't mean to offend her. He just didn't want any debts.
But there was of course his pride to consider, and besides, he couldn't afford to borrow money from anyone at current.
Huh.
Friends were supposed to help each other right?
Why didn't he let her help him with this?
Lenalee could tell Allen was falling sick.
Before anything bad happened, he should go to the doctor.
And he would tomorrow.
He had a day off.
She would drag him to the clinic if the need arose, she decided.
A loud coughing noise erupted from outside. A scream echoed throughout the house.
Lenalee pulled the covers over her face.
She wasn't going to get any sleep tonight either…
But suddenly, as if to counter her thoughts, the screaming stopped abruptly, just as she had pulled the covers off her legs.
Lenalee, shocked, scrambled off her bed and rushed to the living room. She thought she had heard another softer sound, something she couldn't quite place. Allen couldn't have simply stopped for no apparent reason either after all.
-
He tried, but failed to comprehend miserably.
He couldn't see.
Couldn't hear.
Couldn't make a sound.
Couldn't feel.
It was too bright.
What was going on?
There wasn't even pain in the sudden quiet calm.
He remembered his dream.
He had been walking in pitch black darkness before a hideous creature had stood in his path, appearing out of no-where.
It had screamed at him.
Or at least its soul had.
"Help me! Help me!" it shrieked.
The silence had screamed in his ears, and he could feel them bleeding.
His head had felt like it was on the verge of splitting open when the nightmare stopped.
Just like that.
The boy had no idea what had happened.
Suddenly, the sight of red behind his eyelids faded, replaced with a shadow.
He opened his eyes to a world of polished white buildings.
And in the distance, at the capital of what looked like a city, he heard the sound of a piano.
-
"Allen-kun, Allen-kun, are you alright?" Lenalee whispered.
She shook his shoulders lightly, tapping him on the arm.
His face was peaceful and tranquil and he looked like he was among the dead, resting in the depths of heaven somewhere.
This was what worried the ebony-haired girl.
She had heard of people dying in their sleep.
She sincerely prayed, begged, pleaded, that this was not one of those times.
-
"Allen-kun, Allen-kun, are you alright?"
He could hear Lenalee's voice from behind him, feeling a light tap on his arm, and spun around.
But there wasn't anyone there.
He smiled at her worrisome tone nonetheless.
"Yes, I am, just wait for me," he whispered.
He faced round to the direction of the sound, his heart set to find the source of the beautiful music.
-
She could have sworn she'd heard him whisper.
She could have sworn she'd heard him say he was alright. And to wait for him.
She would always trust her friends.
Lenalee grasped Allen's gloved left hand.
She didn't understand why he even wore gloves to sleep.
She pulled off the worn white gloves and held his hand in her own, facing the palm to her cheek.
She could hear his shallow breathing, see his chest rise and fall in a regular rhythm, feel the pulse in his wrist.
The sixteen year-old grasped the boy's hand tighter, praying silently.
"Please be okay…"
And she kissed the glowing green cross embedded into the back of his hand tenderly.
-
Allen opened door after door in the strange building.
The music had no source, and it felt as though the piano sounds echoed through the walls themselves. It had no origin.
Then a door appeared before him, obstructing his train of thought.
Allen was surprised and astounded. How could a door appear out of thin air?
He shrugged and entered, regardless.
The song had finished as his eyes wandered around the room, staring at the gigantic white piano with its black and white keys.
The colours were inverted.
At the chair sat a man in a long coat, the tails of his spotless white tuxedo touching the floor.
Allen approached the suspicious looking stranger cautiously.
"The old man."
The white-haired boy blinked.
Had this profoundly dressed stranger just addressed him?
"You must see the old man."
The stranger turned to him.
Allen saw that he had no face.
Or at least, it was something you couldn't call a human face.
It was abnormal in an inhuman way, a huge, unrealistic grin spread across his face, and eyes that were hollow.
Someone could get lost in there if they stared for too long.
"The old man will explain," he said, turning to the piano once more as his gloved fingers fluttered over the strange keys, lightly touching them.
"He will teach you."
That said, the stranger vanished with a last glance.
It was two whole seconds before Allen reacted, confusion having stifled his reaction.
"W-Wait! What do you mean? What old man?"
But his questions were not to be answered.
-
Allen's grey eyes opened slowly.
He could see the traces of light orange outside beyond the glass window at the far end of the room.
His hand was warm, and there was a blanket draped over his lower half, past the leg that hung off the arm of the sofa.
He turned slowly to face Lenalee, his neck stiff, the wounds on his shoulders, arms and back stinging.
She was holding his hand tightly in her own, leaning against the couch asleep.
He could smell the shampoo she used on her hair…
He shifted tiredly, his hand still in Lenalee's embrace and came instead to sit down next to her in a more comfortable position.
He stared at the ceiling, leaning his head back against the sofa.
-
"Have a nice day!"
Allen waved as two young ladies sauntered out the door, smiling shyly at him.
Too bad the poor boy was too dense to realise this.
He exhaled, tired.
He'd been playing for five hours straight at least.
He glanced towards the corner where Lenalee and Komui sat, sipping coffee quietly.
They seemed to be deep in conversation.
"Boy, it's time for your break."
Mr Bentley handed Allen a cup of coffee, and Allen sipped it gratefully.
"Thanks."
He set the borrowed violin down on the table carefully and continued to gaze at the siblings talking in the corner.
-
"But Lenalee, you were sleeping with him, my dear, dear Lenalee!" wailed Komui.
Some of the other customers turned in their seats to stare with goggled eyes.
Lenalee squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, embarrassed.
"Nii-san! Keep it down!" she whispered.
She looked down at her steaming cup of coffee.
"And I've told you already. That was because he was screaming again!" she whispered furiously.
She drew her fingers together, staring at them intently.
"Besides, it was on the floor by the couch not on the couch," she mumbled.
And her brother's paranoia was not the only thing fuelling her irritation.
Allen had decided against his day off and insisted he went to work at the café. What's more, he had made Mr Bentley promise to let him work his butt off without days off.
How was she going to drag him to the doctor now?
It was so frustrating, especially since he had seemed so terribly against going to the doctor.
Was he hiding something from her?
She grasped the handle of the mug irritably and raised it to her lips, letting the steam warm her cheeks, calming her.
She had more important things to think about right now.
"Anyway, Nii-san, there are more important things I need to discuss with you."
Her brother raised his own mug, sipping from it slowly.
"I know," he said, his voice sober, "Allen Walker. He bears an uncanny resemblance to that boy from six years ago."
Lenalee nodded anxiously.
"Do you think it's him?"
Komui sipped his coffee leisurely once more.
"It is."
Lenalee was shocked at this statement. Astonishment was clear in her expression.
Her brother sounded so sure.
"How do you know? How can you tell for sure?"
Her brother did not hesitate in his answer and spoke the moment the words were all out of her mouth.
"The violin, the scar, the pentacle. Doesn't it make sense?"
The girl didn't know to be happy, sad, disappointed or angry.
Happy that it was the boy and that he had lived in spite of Cross Marian's perilous treatment.
Sad that the boy had suffered all those years ago.
Disappointed that he didn't recognise her.
Angry that he hadn't acknowledged knowing her.
"But still, Nii-san. You can't be sure."
Komui blinked and started rummaging through his coat pockets.
"Where did I put it…?"
"Put what, Nii-san?" Lenalee queried, the worry in her voice evident.
"Ah, here it is."
Komui pulled a rather fat brown envelope from his right front pocket.
Lenalee barely managed the catch the words scrawled on the front.
Komui Lee.
Her brother fished out the weathered piece of parchment from within the large envelope.
"Komui,
I'm sending you my idiot apprentice. He should prove useful.
Tim should be proof enough.
Here's a picture, and a couple of official documents, the boy's passport, birth cert, blah, blah, blah.
But you already know who he is.
Cross."
The ebony-haired girl blinked several times.
"Oh."
Then a sentence in the letter drew her attention.
'But you already know who he is.'
"Nii-san, what does that last sentence mean?"
Her older brother did not intend on being rude.
He simply did not want to hurt her feelings.
Ignoring his sister, Komui continued to pull documents out of the envelope, first the same hand drawn picture used for the debt transference, then other documents such as certificates as evidence of his experience in concerts and competitions.
He left the birth certificate, passport and health booklet inside the envelope.
Lenalee frowned at her brother, upset at his ignorance of her question.
"Nii-san. Tell me what it means."
When her brother turned to her, she caught the serious look in his eyes, the hint of utmost urgency in the tone of his voice.
"Don't ask Allen anything about his past."
Again, Lenalee frowned.
She stared at the wide variety of certificates, varying in both country and type, attempting to distract herself.
Concentrating harder, she made a mental note of what awards Allen had won.
There was a baroque music competition in Italy, a classical music concert in London… The list went on.
And none of the certificates was one for neither bronze nor constellation.
All were Gold and Silver.
The majority of the certificates were gold, and those from the year Allen had been twelve onwards were all gold.
The certificates were signed by the guests of honour, and some of the names were those of famous musicians Lenalee recognized.
"Whoa…"
Komui nodded.
"Yup. Whoa."
Apparently, the tension between brother and sister had vanished.
"How could someone win this many competitions with either first or second place?"
The ebony-haired girl's gaze wandered over the various certificates.
Her eyes scanned each signature, making sure they were all genuine.
And on each and every certificate, there remained a constant factor.
His name.
Allen Walker.
…
Allen Walker.
…
Allen Walker…
The name continued to appear on each and every certificate.
After a while, Komui began packing away the certificates and documents.
"So you knew he was coming?"
"Not exactly…"
Lenalee raised an eyebrow.
"I just found this letter on my table yesterday. Reever said he found it amongst the several unsigned documents in my office."
Lenalee's eyebrow twitched.
"Oh."
"We still need to audition him."
"Mmhmn."
"Bring him round to the faculty tomorrow. The entrance exams this year come in five days."
Suddenly Komui seemed to remember something important.
"That reminds me! How has practice been coming along?"
Lenalee groaned.
She had hoped her brother wouldn't remember.
Now there would be even more practising to do.
-
"Thanks a lot Mr Bentley! I'll be sure to come the day after tomorrow!"
Allen heaved a sigh of relief.
Mr Bentley had agreed to give him a day off.
Besides, he only had one day left to repay Mr Bentley.
The customers had come in fast and business booming.
The profits collected had rocketed to the skies.
Now only one day of this job till he was done with the debt.
He stepped into an alley, a short cut to the riverside.
Maybe they wouldn't seek him out here…
"Allen-kun!"
Lenalee's voice called him out of his thoughts.
He slowed to a slow stroll, waiting for the sixteen year-old girl to catch up.
She ran up to him, out of breath.
"You needn't have run you know, Lenalee."
He smiled at her.
"Yeah, well… I need to tell you something important. And besides, we're heading in the same direction. I don't usually see you or go back to the apartment with you, and you always fall asleep the moment you touch the couch!"
Allen couldn't understand how, between pants, Lenalee had been able to say that mouthful of words in one breath.
Just as he was about to ask what it was she had so urgently needed to tell him, she spoke again, suddenly changing the topic.
"Why are you so tired everyday anyway?"
Allen was about to answer when he remembered the real reason why he was so tired everyday.
He decided he should inform Lenalee. Those things might have been stalking her just the same.
She had been involved in the fight the other time as well, hadn't she?
"Well, you see…"
Speak of the devil.
The fifteen year-old boy felt a pulse in his left shoulder and his eye throbbed.
Then it activated, his silver irises changing to the colour of blood and darkness as one.
"Lenalee!
The white haired boy jumped out of the way, pulling Lenalee away by the shoulders.
She gasped at the sudden movement.
"The akuma!" she gasped.
Allen stared at her, as they waited for the dust to clear.
"Have these things been chasing you down everyday too?"
Still staring into the dust cloud, Lenalee nodded determinedly.
"And every single time, my shoes evolve into these strange boots and I can fly, just like the other time. And if I want to escape, I have to destroy all those creatures."
"Yeah, it's the same here."
Now she turned to look at Allen.
"Allen-kun, what's up with your eye? It's bleeding again."
Allen looked at her, astonished.
"O-Oh, it's nothing."
He looked straight ahead.
"It's always like that when this happens. When the akuma appear."
"But-"
Their conversation was cut off.
Another explosion resounded in the darkness of the alley as finally, the dust clouds settled.
Everything was silent.
Lenalee heard Allen whisper her name, and she strained her ears to listen.
"When you hear my signal, jump straight up."
She nodded slowly, careful not to make any small sudden movements.
The silence screamed in his ears, and he looked as if he would just about go insane.
But Lenalee did not hear it. She couldn't.
His eye pulsed, the scar distorted, burning into his skin.
He felt the killing intent tear through his shoulder.
Then he saw it.
"NOW!"
Lenalee leapt up in one swift movement as the large metallic arm tore through his flesh, blood splashing over his face.
In a split second, Lenalee was back down slamming down hard on the large metal monster and it let out another blood curdling scream, nearly capable of splitting Allen's head in two.
But there was no time for pain.
The white-haired boy sensed another movement from behind, just ducking as a torpedo-sized bullet flew through the air right where his head had been.
Lenalee let out a frightened gasp from high up above as Allen felt a second bullet puncturing his shoulder, the third landing in his left shin; he hadn't been fast enough.
He glanced up at Lenalee. This had happened before, many times in the past two weeks.
But she didn't know what would happen next and abandoned her fight, reaching for Allen, just as his skin went ash grey and star pentacles printed themselves on his skin. He stilled.
The akuma seized the opportunity easily, recovering from the girl's first attack, raining bullets in her direction in turn.
"Lenalee! Behind you!"
She let out a frightened gasp as the missile flew in her direction.
She could not react.
Allen was behind her in an instant and there was the sound of metal against metal as the akuma bullets ricocheted off the monstrous silver-plated left arm.
"Thanks," she gasped, out of breath, "Are you alright?"
"No problem, and," he turned to face her, smile carved into his pained expression, "I'm fine."
Then the shadow disappeared.
And Lenalee couldn't help but feel disgusted, upset, with that out-of-place smile.
Such gestures of happiness did not belong on pain-stricken faces.
-
"Ow!" the white haired boy flinched as the cold wet cotton was touched to his skin, "That hurts you know!"
"Just hold still."
She pressed it to his raw flesh again.
"Ow!"
Allen continued his rally of little starts from the immense stinging the antiseptic liquid inflicted on his skin as Lenalee dabbed his several wounds with the little cotton balls.
There were several puncture wounds on his skin, though seemingly, none of his vital organs had been affected.
The whole of his back was covered in burn marks which were not so serious, much to the girl's relief, and there were several spots that had begun scabbing over.
There were even some large scrapes along his shins, but she'd have to go out for more bandages for those later.
Then her gaze wandered over the recent puncture wound from the Akuma attack earlier.
She observed it, the world stilling around her, as Allen continued to start slightly each time she dabbed at it with the antiseptic-soaked cotton ball.
Comparing it to the other wounds, she could tell that they had been badly dressed. If Allen had even bothered to dress his wounds at all.
Lenalee was astonished, and her eyebrows slanted downwards, confused.
"How did you manage to hide all these wounds from me, let alone bear them? Did you even bandage them at all?"
Allen snorted.
"Yes, I did. I shall have you know that I learned some First Aid while I was the ward of my incompetent master."
The ebony-haired girl could not help but laugh at this statement.
There was an unexpected knock on the door and before Lenalee could answer Lavi sauntered into the room, Kanda following suit, a scowl on his face. As usual.
"Lavi? Kanda? What are you doing here?" Lenalee asked, puzzled.
Allen's face, too, was a picture of surprise.
Lavi cocked his head to the side, arms folded behind his head.
"Komui told us to gather here. And what are you doing here?"
He nodded towards Allen, who was still seated unmoving on the green couch in the corner.
But before the white-haired boy could answer, Lenalee spoke on his behalf.
"He happens to live here at the moment."
"Then what is he doing without his shirt on? What's more," he raised an eyebrow, "what are you doing with him without his shirt on? What will Komui think?"
Lenalee flushed a dark scarlet.
Allen continued to stare in bewilderment at the situation unfolding before him.
Kanda's scowl grew fierce.
He hated people who stated the obvious.
Or tried to make fun of the truth.
Maybe they weren't even sensible enough to know the truth.
"Idiot rabbit, can't you see she's dressing his wounds? Che. You really are an idiot," he spat.
"Aww, Yuu's so mean. I was just trying to point out that Komui might get the wrong idea!" the redhead whined, feigning hurt, "And what do you care anyway Yuu? Defending him, eh? Ohoho."
"Don't call me by my first name dammit! Or I'll slice you to ribbons!"
He held up his katana, Mugen, to the redhead's throat menacingly.
Lavi put his hands up in front of him nervously.
"And I wasn't defending him! I'm not gay. I'm damn fucking straight mind you. I just hate people who state the obvious. Idiots like you."
"Aw, Yui-bear's upset."
"What the fuck did you just call me?!"
Lenalee sighed.
"Those two still bicker like an old couple…"
She turned to the white-haired boy.
"Allen-kun, just wait a sec. I'll go make us some tea and come back to finish bandaging your wounds. Air them a bit. I'm already done with applying the antiseptic. So just wait a bit okay?"
He smiled and the 16-year-old's heart skipped a beat.
"Okay."
-
Allen stared at the 29-year-old man in front of them, sipping coffee from the previously repaired pink bunny mug.
He was wearing bunny slippers as well.
And then there was the tired-looking man in a lab coat who sat beside him, furiously scribbling notes as Komui began to speak.
"Well, from what I have gathered from my sweet Lenalee's daily report, she has encountered the creatures unconsciously proclaimed by Allen," he nodded to said fifteen-year-old, "to be 'akuma', daily since the train incident."
The man pushed his half-moon glasses further up the bridge of his nose.
"I have gathered you all here today because you were all involved in the train incident with my Lenalee."
The four teenagers nodded.
"So, my first question to you all: Have you encountered any of these 'akuma' anytime during the time between after the train incident and today?"
Komui stared them down, looking just over the top of his rimless glasses.
"Allen?"
"I have."
"How often?"
Allen bit his lip.
"Everyday. After work."
"How many at once?"
"At least four or five."
He saw Lenalee's eyes widen and turn to look at him in disbelief from his peripherals.
Komui nodded, acknowledging his newly acquired information.
"Lavi?"
"Similar to the bean sprout; everyday at around sunset when I go out to buy dinner for me and gramps. Around three at once, mostly."
"Kanda?"
The samurai's deep blue eyes flashed.
"The same as the stupid rabbit."
"Lenalee?"
"Three to four a day, everyday."
The raven haired man nodded.
"So the average is about three or four a day."
He turned to face the brown haired man sitting next to him.
"Did you jot all of that down, Section Chief Reever?"
The Australian nodded.
"Thank you."
Komui sipped his coffee once more.
"Alright. You may leave. If you see anything similar to these akuma, do inform my Lenalee. It's very important."
Lavi and Kanda nodded, stood up.
"Bye Lena-chan, Moyashi."
"My name is Allen," the boy muttered.
The redhead only smiled and made for the door.
"Oh wait, one last thing."
They turned around to face the schizophrenic supervisor.
"The music faculty entrance exams are next week. Make sure you work hard. The judges will be tough this year."
Lavi's eyes goggled. However, the samurai simply scowled.
"And, there will be good competition this year."
He eyed Allen from the corner of his eyes.
"Either way, I'll call you again when I've done the analysis and need you to come over."
A/N: Hello. I'm surprised you've made it this far, but yeah. (:
Sorry for the really late update. I kinda went on holiday for a week. so here's the update for last week. I'll get the next chapter out in a couple of days. (: thanks for waiting, if you did. ahhaha.