Chronoa

D. Gray-Man

Chapter Twelve

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As they pulled to a stop in the driveway, Christine realized that there were no other cars in the driveway. So where was Allen's foster father? Asking him, she was shocked when he burst out in laughter.

"He was here for all of ten minutes this morning before taking off. God knows where he is now," he told her, grinning. She just blinked at him. Lavi laughed at her expression from the passenger seat.

"He never stays long at all. It's not unusual," he told her, his visible eye twinkling.

"Che. The bastard knows he'd be dead if he did," Kanda said, giving his input. Christine just gave the trio a strange look. She doubted she would ever understand the relationship between Cross and the residents of his house. And she wasn't quite sure she wanted to…

"Umm…okay," she murmured as she got out of the vehicle. She was still reeling from the encounter with the strange man. As the four of them shuffled inside, exhausted from a trying day at school, Christine wondered briefly if they were just going to write off her earlier confrontation. It's definitely something that someone like Allen would do. Of course, it'd only be to not worry her, but that in turn would just make her worry even more.

"So, about earlier…" Lavi started off as soon as the front door was closed. The blonde girl didn't miss the fact that he also locked and slid the chain across it.

"Yeah…um, w-what was all of that about? Who the hell was that man?" she asked, taking a seat on the plush couch. Allen sat next to her, while Lavi took the recliner to the right and Kanda had opted to stay standing.

"His name is Tyki Mikk," Allen said as he crossed one leg over the other. His hands lay folded on his knee, and Christine couldn't help but notice how good he looked sitting like that. So elegant, like someone who belonged in the 19th century. "He's…not a very good person."

"That's putting it lightly," Kanda scoffed. He sighed, leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed. "The bastard is part of a gang called the Noah. They think that they're the distant offspring of the biblical Noah. Y'know, the one with the ark?"

"Yeah, and let's just say that you need to stay away from him, okay? Far, far away," Lavi put in his two cents.

"But…why? I mean, he was fuckin' creepy, but he seemed all right enough…" Christine stated, leaning back against the couch and bringing her knees up, hugging them to her chest.

"Just…trust us, yeah? It's not exactly a safe topic of conversation," Allen told her with one of his gentle smiles that managed to melt her heart every time. "We don't want to drag you into our personal problems until it's absolutely necessary."

Christine nodded, unsure. What exactly did they mean? Was she going to be in danger from these mysterious strangers? Then again, it wouldn't exactly be the first time her life would be threatened.

"Great! Now that that's taken care of, how about we have some food? I'm starving,"Lavi, as always, managed to lighten the mood quickly, although his eye stayed dark. The blonde girl took this as her cue to retire to the kitchen, hurriedly making a bunch of sandwiches for the two – Kanda always insisted he didn't need her to make him anything. She just thought he was being 'manly' or whatever they liked to call it. She made a few extra for him anyway.

When she walked back into the living room about fifteen minutes later, the three of them were huddled around the coffee table, deep in conversation. Even though she knew that she shouldn't, Christine hesitated by the doorway, hoping to catch a few words.

"What are we going to do?" Allen's soft British voice asked. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing his hood back.

"Allen, that's the fourth time you've asked that. For the love of god, shut up!" Lavi told him. The silver headed boy sighed in response.

"Yeah, I know. But…I mean what if Tyki tries to do something to Christy? I wouldn't put it past him; that bastard is fucking crazy." Christine suppressed a gasp at the language that Allen used. It wasn't like him to curse so freely; he must have been worried about her.

Which just made her wonder – who exactly were the Noah? She had been told that they were a gang, but what kind of gang? What past did Tyki and Allen share? Was it as bad as the three boys were making it out to be?

"We just have to make sure that they don't get their hands on her; the last thing we need is more experiments," Kanda muttered, barely loud enough for Christine to hear.

Thinking it about time that she made her presence known, she cleared her throat briefly as she entered. She had a plate of sandwiches balanced between her hands, and she quickly set it down on the coffee table.

"Umm…do you need anything else?" she asked quietly. Their heads shot up, eyes wide. Well, it's safe to say that they didn't see me eavesdropping…she thought wryly.

"No, no, we're good. Thanks so much, Christine," Allen said, grinning brightly up at her with a sandwich in each hand, making her stomach clench with the butterflies that were currently causing havoc in it. Lavi shook his head, already stuffing his face with a sandwich. Kanda scoffed, reluctantly picking one up for himself.

"Okay then. Umm…I'm going to go do my homework," she dismissed herself, hurrying out of the room and up the stairs. Once safely in the confines of her room – she still wasn't used to calling it that – she carefully stripped. Her body was still tender with the many injuries her mother inflicted on her. Bruises still mottled her stomach and thighs, while her back was still healing with scabs over the wounds. Grimacing at her reflection, she quickly changed into a loose t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts.

"Well…this has been an interesting day," she murmured as she opened her math book.

A/N: I'm so terribly sorry it's taken me so long to get this out! I've started college, so that has taken up the majority of my time. Please review!