Ashes And Rain

DGM

Chapter 8

Insight = Truth

Mana could feel Kanda's angry glare on him. Nonetheless, Mana disregarded it. His main concern was Allen who was defenseless. Kanda was not. Child or not, Kanda was more than capable of doing what he wanted. Mana didn't know him, Mana didn't really like him. Then, he realized just how much Allen used to act like him. Allen got away from that fate because he found Mana and Mana was saved because of this boy. Kanda may or may not have found someone. How would he ever know? It wasn't his business, not his place.

Mana leaned back in his chair as his hand pushed Allen's white locks away from his face. The mark was now clear more than ever, the dye rinsed from his hair because he didn't out it on correctly. Mana knew he should have forced Allen to buy some permanent hair dye if he really wanted to look like he used to, but Mana couldn't force Allen to do such a thing.

Mana Walker did frown down on people dying their hair anyhow.

Even still, with a million thoughts per second, Mana was more concerned about Allen more than ever. He was sleeping silently, but now everyone knows about his arm. They saw it after the nurses had changed Allen into a hospital gown. They said they wanted him to stay here a few days because he did bleed from his eye and fall unconscious. They also heard about the agony Allen had experienced. No way around it. Allen might not agree.

"Mana," Tiedol softly said, knowing very well how upset the man must be, seeing it many times before, "Would you care to explain? There's no doubt that's innocence in your son's arm. I'm sure you already know that, however."

Mana turned his head around. At the sight of Allen's left arm, Tiedol sent Lenalee to get the other exorcists that were now gathered around Allen's room. It was obvious most were only going to stick around long enough to hear this explanation because they had duties to fulfill. Then again, they may surprise him. "Why would you think that?" Mana said, coming off bitter unwillingly, just as a reaction to protect Allen.

"Allen accidentally described his knowledge about the Order. Most. I've been quiet about it until now because I never assumed Allen would be compatible with innocence, it never crossed my mind, but now I know you are aware as well as he is. Being a General for the Order so many years, I should have guessed. . . . . It's a wonder Cross never sent him to the Black Order." Tiedol rambled on.

Mana frowned. Allen was told to keep quiet. No less, he wouldn't scorn Allen this time. If Cross finds out, he'll let him deal with Allen. No doubt, Cross will discover the happenings. Last he knew, Cross was here in town. But where, not even Mana knew. "Allen doesn't really have anything to hide. He just never wanted to be outcasted again." Mana softly said.

Nobody questioned that. The scar, the silver hair, that'd draw attention. A lot of people may not like it or label him a freak. Possibly a delinquent. They couldn't help but wonder just how this happened.

Tiedol wasn't one to be strict nor stern. He didn't like being straightly serious. This time, the matter called for it. "I will ask you to please inform us about what you know. I'm sure by now if you don't, the boy will."

Mana wouldn't tell them everything. What he didn't inform them about, well, he'd leave that to Allen. Going by the circumstances, maybe Cross, too. "Allen is well informed about the Black Order and the exorcist's duty to hunt down akuma. I know Cross has brought up innocence to Allen a couple of times, but I don't believe he has ever told Allen about it. Even after all these years." Mana reluctantly spoke about it.

"Years?" Bookman curiously raise his eyebrow now.

"Yes, yes," Mana belittled this and all but waved the matter away, "Cross Marian is a very good friend of mine. We've been friends for years, longer than you would think. I've known him since I was about Allen's age. The man's a genius, but brutal and irrational."

"I would never have imagined Cross had a male friend." Daisya commented.

"That's to be expected. We're so different from one another, most don't believe it. . . Going on, Marian stumbled upon us again about four or five years ago, not long after I adopted Allen-"

"Whoa, hold on! You adopted Allen!" Lavi suddenly burst out.

Bookman whacked him. Everyone was shocked, but Lavi was the only one that said anything about it. "Pardon him, go on." Bookman grumbled.

Mana nodded. "The day Allen met Cross was a chaotic day. Allen's first friend, Mary, had a bad week. It came to our realization she was torn over the loss of her Father, whom we had known well. Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed. No matter how much I made sure Mary wasn't alone, the Earl found his way to her. . . . . . Allen had un off that night because he had woke up from a nightmare about something bad happening to her. He found his way to her Father's grave and witnessed a terrible event I wished I could have stopped." Mana's voice cut the air dryly. He was struggling to recall this event, but he thought it was best to explain it.

"Mary had called back her Dad's soul and it entered a. . .metal skeleton. The Earl had ordered him to kill his daughter and wear her body. Having no choice but to do as ordered, he lunged at her. At that moment, Allen jumped in the way." Mana's fingered gently moved over Allen's left eye, giving everybody a hint about what happened. "And he cut Allen's eye."

"Then he should have gone blind in that eye." Lavi stated, figuring how bad the injury should have been.

"It didn't blind his eye luckily." Mana retorted. "Allen was then strangled and thrown against the ground. The soul was about to kill him and probably take Allen's body. Allen knew this man well, so I am positive he was crying out of sadness and fear. . . . Mary is homophobic, thus she faint at the sight of Allen's blood. This means she missed what occurred and forgot about that night, seeing it merely as a bad dream. Allen would never see it like that. He couldn't make himself believe it. Because of this. . .mark."

"Well, Allen's left arm reacted to his feelings or to this situation, invoking his powers. Allen unwillingly destroyed Mary's Father, but against his will. It had moved all on its own. Allen didn't know anything then, so he never wanted to hurt him. This boy can be oblivious at times."

Mana closed his eyes. remaining silent this time. No one urged him to continue, only waited. They believed he would go on when he was ready. It was then they registered Mana's sorrowful expression. "Allen was in a egregious condition after that. We left that city and travelled here, to Liverpool since it was a few towns away. Cross guiding us. Here we found shelter of a woman who had been here longer than me. She tended to Allen's injuries and we waited. I took that unbearable time to talk to Marian about this. Since I have known about this war long before Allen came into my life, I suspected Allen to be an exorcist like my old friend."

Lenalee gazed at Allen, then her eyes fell on his left hand. Mana was gripping it. It was there you could tell how close these two were. Mana knew about this, anticipated it. Lenalee could only imagine how bad it must've been for him, and to top things off, tenfold worse for Allen.

"We came to an agreement. To this day Allen doesn't know the full details, so I ask you be careful when you speak to him when he wakes up." Mana warned.

"That we can concur with." Tiedol assured.

Mana opened his eyes. That day was committed to memory. It wasn't a vague memory. It was as though it happened yesterday when it played through his mind. "I let Cross talk to Allen about his arm and about the Millennium Earl. At first it sounded like Cross had sympathy for him, but it was definitely a false emotion. Allen reacted to it, but he was confused and hurt, extremely effect by it. I don't blame him. . . . . Allen was given a choice."

"Cross agreed to give him a choice?" Tiedol inquired disbelievingly.

"Cross understands Allen well. He knew what the outcome was and at this time, Cross didn't care about his duty in finding new exorcists. He never even trained one before. He just brought them there and handed them off to you and the three other Generals I imagine."

Froi ran his hand through his hair, astonished. Mana certainly knew Cross Marian. "Indeed he did."

". . . Allen was given two choices. To be trained to be an exorcist and hunt akuma, and fight in this war with others. His other choice was that Cross would use a spell on Allen and make him forget that night and all he had learned. Doing this, he would set Allen free, to keep him away from the Black Order."

It was sort of easy to see what the decision was, but everyone didn't jump to a conclusion. "Allen chose to become an exorcist of his own will. To an extent, it surprised me. On the other hand, it didn't." Now it was like Mana was talking to himself about the past. "In turn, Cross was intrigued by him. I thought he would surely have sent Allen to you all, but he did not. Marian let Allen stay with me. He trained Allen himself to be an exorcist." Mana stifled his laughs and choked out a few words. "It was more like a survival test!"

General Tiedol held a firm and grim look. His eyes showed the opposite. Fascination and further disbelief, deep thought, and most of all, bewilderment. "For a good while we traveled with Marian until I decided Allen needed a break from him. We went back to our daily career and struggle to earn money. Cross often left and came back. . . . Cross never granted Allen the right to call him a full-fledge exorcist nor did he send Allen to the place. So, over these few years, Allen has gotten to know that man excellently. Marian understands him thoroughly. Because of this, it's havoc."

Now Froi was interested. "Would you clarify?"

Mana lowered his head, but smiled. "They can't stand one another yet, they share a bond I can't comprehend. I don't know if they just plainly hate the other or that's how they show their love, but it scares me often that one of these days they'll kill each other."

The General threw back his head and laughed. That's a sight he wants to see. It was quite the story. It was vague for the most part, but it was all they needed to know. Surely Allen would bring it up from time to time. "Umm, do you know where we will find the General?" Krory questioned.

SIlence eerily filled the air. Mana sat up straight in his chair and his lip slightly curled up in distaste. He was acting like Allen now. "I haven't a clue. Try looking in a brothel or the bar. Wherever there's lots of women and alcohol, you'll find him there. If anybody has an idea where he might be in a specific location, it'd be my sleeping son here."

"Then wake him the hell up!" Kanda roared.

"Now Yuu, that's rude. I imagine Allen wouldn't want to tell us certain things about his mentor seeing how he was weary about it the other day. . . We'll have to wait and find a way to get it out of him peacefully." General Tiedol lectured.

Kanda grunted with annoyance, whipping his head around. It mattered little to him. He wasn't trying to find the General, but man it pissed him off just knowing they've looked all over for that man. He was tired of hearing it. If the man was this close then just cuff him or beat the crummy shit out of him and mail him to the European branch. "Whatever, I'm leaving." Kanda stormed out, left to his own solitude thoughts.

"I suppose we should be heading out, too." The General stated, walking towards the door with his unusually quiet students.

"You're leaving?" Miranda incredulously asked.

He chuckled at her nervousness. "Don't worry, we'll be sticking around, but we have a job to do. This town is mighty big and with so much innocence in one area, it'll draw akuma if we don't separate every now and then."

"You're right, we have a job to do." Krory stood up, looking out a small window. "We should stop lazing around."

"I believe you have a job to do yourself . If I'm mistaken, you're performing in a few hours yourself." Bookman added.

Mana hated to admit it, but this man was right. With Allen out of the show, they had to fill his part of the show up. He played a major role in the carnival, as did Mana. He wouldn't want to mess up the schedule more than it already has been adjusted. "You're right, I should head back myself." Mana let go of Allen's hand, giving him one last long stare before leaving. He knew that somebody would end up staying with Allen. He just knew somehow.

", will you stay with Allen?" Bookman asked once Mana left.

"S-sure."

That being said, left to hang in their minds, the Tiedol and Cross parties grouped together and split up. Miranda wasn't feeling that bad, or being too nervous. Being there alone with Allen who slept silently, it was alright. As long as she just sat there, she'd be okay. Miranda needn't worry about taking care of Allen or feeding him. She didn't fret over pleasing anyone, messing anything up. All Miranda did was sit there, waiting for Allen to wake up.

Wait!

Who's going to tell him about what happened? What was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to explain! What if she had to go to the bathroom and when she got back he was gone? What if an akuma rages in? Ooooh, what is she going to do or say if a nurse or doctor comes in and ask about his health and history and anything else about him! How was she going to make sure none of this stuff happens? WHat was she going to do?

Miranda's face washed over with panic as more thoughts ran through her. So many questions, so many outcomes! How could she handle this? How would she protect Allen or defend herself? What if Allen got hungry or her? Miranda was intensely confused!

Her hands yanked her hair and she quietly cried with all these ideas. She mumbled words that were undefinable. The room was desperately in need of a change in aura.

When dusk rolled around, Miranda had eased herself. She just occupied her mind with the carnival performance she saw the other day, and earlier when Allen played with the minors. She hadn't yet spoke with Allen, but she knew enough about him and his personality by just watching him. You could tell Allen was a gentle and soft-hearted person, filled with confidence and generosity. Mana appeared to be the same. The worst thing about them was that they looked sloppy and messy, not groomed.

Miranda tightly gripped her pant leg and a faint smile broadened. Allen was good natured. She was glad to meet him. In truth, she wished she could be more like him. Everybody loves him. She could even tell the other exorcists already liked him. Miranda had to confess she did, too.

Lenalee walked in the room to a soundless room. It kinda scared her. MIranda was normally panicking by now after being alone so long because she lets bad thoughts in all the time. To her great surprise, Miranda was perfectly serene. The room laid in subtle quietness that felt welcoming.

What upset Lenalee was that Allen was still sleeping, but Miranda was looking down at him happily, also in a trance. She must've been daydreaming about something good. "Miranda?" Lenalee approached the woman cautiously.

Startled, Miranda yelped and jumped out of her chair, but seeing it was only Lenalee-who by the way was apologizing for startling her-Miranda relaxed, sitting back down in her chair. "Len-Lenalee, wha-what are you d-doing here?" Miranda asked, still jumpy.

"I came by to check on you. I wanted to see if Allen had woken up yet and make sure you were doing fine yourself." Lenalee replied.

"I'm fine."

"That's good. I'll be staying here with you and Allen for awhile, just to be on the safe side. Unless you want to go back to the circus. Actually, I think Lavi, Bookman, and Krory have rented out a hotel room for tonight." Lenalee suggested, seeing how tired Miranda was.

"No, thank you. I'll stay here, if you don't mind of course!"

Lenalee was a bit surprised, but she didn't mind. Why would she? She wondered about Miranda's sudden change today. Perhaps Allen effected her? "I would like if you stayed with me, Miranda."

Road licked her delicious lollipop. Pink and white swirled on the massive candy on a stick. Her lips would end up sticky later once the sugar dried. She kicked her feet back and forth as she watched the show happily. Her favorite uncle, Tyki, sat beside her, playing with a card out of boredom. His hair was pulled back in a tie and it shined when light was put on it. It just goes to show how clean he was. "Why so bored?" Road asked.

"These tricks are just the same as they were in the last few carnivals I've gotten dragged to." Dragged meaning manipulated or threatened by her niece. "It's so uninteresting.

Road shrugged. She thought differently. There were a few, no, many differences. However, she saw fret on a lot of faces and none of them seemed to be at their best heights tonight. It was like something threw them off balance. "Oh well, the real fun will begin soon."

"Hopefully." Tyki muttered uncaringly. He stared at his card, wondering about the 'supposedly interesting day' they were going to have. He just wished something real interesting popped up. He also wondered why and how he got dragged into this.

"Tyki, you'll be going with Road to make sure she doesn't spoil anything too serious." Lord Millennium ordered more than stated, wearing that everlasting and nerve creeping grin.

"What exactly are we doing?" Tyki, bored, asked.

"Why, having fun, of course. Why else would I bring you in this?" Road sickened-sweetly claimed with a crooked smile.

"Playing with some nasty friends. Make sure you don't carried away. I only want certain ones to be killed at the moment." Millennium Earl remarked.

In other words, only the Generals. "Is there a reason for this?" Tyki didn't really care, but he didn't like being called up to do something without a proper reason or unless it excited him. Where'd be the pleasure in that after all?

"It seems we've managed to locate a special somebody. A General. I've assigned that General to Jasdevi, but well, they've been troubled so to speak."

Now Tyki was curious. "Cross?"

"Ding!" Road chimed.

"You want us to kill him?"

"Try, but if he becomes too much of a hassle, then leave at once. That man is irksome and dangerously cunning." Earl semi-angrily cursed.

Tyki smirked, almost sneering, "Like you?"

The Millennium Earl laughed at this, rocking back and forth in his chair, knitting a sweater or a blanket, Tyki nor Road knew. By now both would have gone away, but there was this glint in his eyes. Not the one that warned them to be afraid and get on their guards. One of amazing interest. "There's something else I'd like you to look into. . . More like someone."

"Please go on." Tyki all butt begged.

Road loosened her grasp on the Earl, studying the Lord. Evidently, she hadn't been aware of this part of the orders. "Eh?"

The Earl's wicked grin got seemingly bigger miraculously. "It seems as though Cross has taken a student under his wing named Allen Walker. This fact alone amazes me as you can envisage. I'm eager to know more about this child he's taken under his wing." He commented on, but said nothing after this, leaving the two Noah to wonder what else he was thinking, but knowing exactly what he wanted.

This led to their present scenery and to their investigation

Okay, it's up. I really like this one. Can you guess what'll happen next? Stay tuned! This one I'm a little shaky about, so let me know if I should change something-like add more details or something along those lines.

Please review! Thanks for reading!

~ ~ ~Anon Novelist~ ~ ~