Mizu: I finally got around to updating this one! I really didn't mean to get so bad at updating my stories. I blame me not being used to managing my time correctly as part of the reason. The other part is all the brainblocks that I've been getting. Just when I want them, all of my plot bunnies disappear. Maybe if I wait long enough, they'll return. Disclaimer: I don't own -Man. If I did, the status of Lavi would be known! I mean, come on! When was the last time we saw him! I want to know if he's alive or dead, though I highly doubt that he would be. This is Lavi we're talking about~!
Innocence's True Form:
Chapter 11 – Fixing Time
"How is he?" Lenalee asked as she, Lavi, and O.K. walked into the room.
Komui smiled, turning to face his sister while holding Allen's charts, "He'll be fine. He lost a lot of blood which was why his body went into shock but his life isn't in danger anymore."
"Thanks goodness," Lenalee sighed.
"He's very lucky," the Heart said from her seat next to Allen and C.C.
"We're all lucky," O.K. added, sitting down on the other side, "That idiot could have really messed up our chances in this war."
"What do you mean, O.K.?" Lavi asked, his eyes locked on Allen's unconscious body, "No offense, but Allen's just one person. Is he really that important to this war?"
Everyone was silent as Lavi walked up to Allen's side, gently brushing his white locks out of his eyes.
"Why does it have to be him?" Lavi whispered, "Why does Allen have to be the only one to go through all of this? Why is he the most important piece in this war?"
"Because he's my accommodator," C.C. whispered.
Lavi stared at the innocence for a moment, "Why then?"
"Lavi," O.K. tried to hush.
"Why did you choose Allen?" Lavi asked.
"…I didn't," C.C. whimpered, placing his head in between his hands, "…We chose each other."
"Lavi," the Heart spoke up, voice kind and gentle, "Please try to understand. We do not just choose our accommodators-"
"Heart-sama!" O.K. exclaimed, shock evident.
"No!" C.C. snapped, eyes wide.
"-we call out to them, choosing for ourselves the piece of innocence best suited for our bodies," Allen's voice sounded, weakly.
All eyes locked back onto Allen's face. With a slight grimace, the white-haired teen opened his silver eyes. A pained smile slowly appeared on his face.
"That's why, isn't it, C.C.?" Allen chuckled weakly, eyes locking with C.C.'s shocked ones, "It isn't something that happens at random."
"Allen," C.C. whimpered, relief rushing through him.
"The reason that you pick those that are already suffering isn't just some luck of the draw," Allen continued, eyes drifting up to the ceiling, "You don't pick those that are suffering because you want to. You seek out those that need you."
"What do you mean?" Komui questioned.
"We, as accommodators, seek out our innocence because we ourselves need it," Allen explained, "The more we need each other, the higher the synchro and our chances of fully linking with each other are. If the need for innocence is small, the person can join with it but can just as easily be separated."
"Suman," Lenalee gasped.
Allen nodded, "But those that greatly depend upon their innocence are the ones that become so strongly linked that they can never be without the other…"
The Heart smiled warmly at Allen before gently ruffling his hair, "Why my brother insists on calling you baka, I honestly have no idea."
Allen just smiled back at that, "It's just…It's just that I didn't believe that if innocence were the first people to be affected by the Earl's evil doings, why would they pick those that were already suffering to be their wielders. You guys don't seem like people that would want to hurt anyone. So I guess everything just sort of clicked in my mind."
"So we need our innocence just as much as they need us?" Lenalee asked.
"Correct," the Heart sighed, running a hand through her hair, "We don't like it but there isn't any other way for us to join with someone. If they don't need us, we can't join. It's a simple as that."
"I see," Komui nodded, thinking back to the experiments with creating exorcists.
"Actually, Hevlaska has known about all of this sine she came to be," C.C. stated, "But she wasn't to tell anyone until the Heart or I told her too."
"I suppose that makes sense," Lavi stated.
"And we weren't allowed to say anything about it either," O.K. sighed, "Only the Heart has the freedom to speak of it."
"Hence why I was speaking of it," the Heart sighed, "Honestly, you two are too worrisome."
"Why did you come here!" C.C. demanded, "I know for a fact that if you really wanted to that you could return anyone of us without actually being there to do so!"
"Stop reminding me of that!" O.K. cried.
The Heart shrugged, "I was close enough so I figured that I might as well come and check out how you and your wielder were doing."
C.C.'s eye twitched, "And if you knew that that bastard was going to try and hurt Allen, why didn't you get rid of him sooner!"
"Cause I wanted to see if you three could get him to change his way of thinking," the Heart said nonchalantly.
"You just love drama, don't you?" C.C. growled, eye still twitching.
"A tiny bit," the Heart smirked.
"Eat baka!" C.C. ordered as he and his accommodator sat in cafeteria with the others, "Do we really have to go through this every time?"
"Shut up!" Allen snapped, throwing his plate at his innocence.
C.C. smirked as he caught the plate of food, "Don't be so wasteful, baka."
"Stop trying to shove it down my thought and maybe I'd stop trying to throw it at your face!" Allen growled
As the two continued their now normal banter, the Heart just laughed, "These two are just too funny together."
"Yeah," O.K. chuckled, "But don't be surprised if you get hit by a random loaf of bread or so."
"It's starting to get dangerous sitting next to Moyashi-chan," Lavi added.
"Just a little," Lenalee giggled.
"Eat it!" C.C. barked, trying to shove a loaf of bread down his accommodator's throat, "Why aren't you getting used to all of this yet!"
"Hm?" the Heart sounded, "He still isn't used to not feeling hungry?"
"No," C.C. sighed while Allen bitterly ate the bread.
"That's not right unless…" the Heart thought aloud, "C.C., when exactly did you fully link with Allen?"
"Huh?" C.C. blinked, suddenly looking very guilty, "Oh…Um…er."
"Answer the question, brother," the Heart growled, scaring all those at the table.
"W-When he was like…twelve or thirteen…" C.C. whimpered while Allen tried to slowly scoot away from him.
"Before his body had entered puberty or just as he hit it?" the Heart asked, her voice sweet and dangerous sounding.
"J-Just as he hit it," C.C. stuttered, shrinking back a bit.
"I see," the Heart smiled a blood chilling smile.
Before anyone knew what happened, the Heart had slammed her brother's face into the table. Instantly, everyone at the table ducked down, praying not to become a casualty. Allen debated whether or not to come to his innocence's aid. Figuring that he must have done something really stupid, he decided to try and sneak away while he could.
"Don't you go anywhere, sweetheart~!" the Heart beamed, scaring Allen even more.
"Wh-what you do that for, sis?" C.C. groaned, rubbing his nose.
"I told you that if you could, you needed to fully link with him before puberty otherwise it would put too much stress on his developing body!" the Heart snapped, "If you couldn't then you were to wait until he was half way to nearly complete with it so that you wouldn't risk doing some sort of damage to him! But do you listen?"
"Wait…Why would it have mattered if I had had C.C. since I was born?" Allen asked.
"Because it's caused you to never fully enter puberty," the Heart sighed, "Didn't you even notice that you have yet to have your voice break or have any sort of major growth spurt?"
"Well yeah but I just thought that my family were all short," Allen shrugged.
"So wait, you're saying Allen's short cause of C.C.?" Lavi questioned.
The Heart nodded, "True, some of puberty's tell-tale signs probably have happened. In actuality though, he's height and voice have been in sort of a suspended time-line if you will. His body thinks that he's just thirteen right now."
"Why isn't any of that making a lot of sense?" Allen asked, rubbing his head.
"Basically, you're body has been using so much energy trying to support you and my brother, you haven't had any to spare to grow up," the Heart explained, "It's amazing that it hasn't affected your mind too."
"But it might be why he has such a huge hero complex," O.K. snickered.
"Probably," the Heart laughed slightly.
"So is there a way to start my body's timeline up again?" Allen asked.
"Of course~! Just come here!" the Heart beamed.
"Don't do it Allen!" C.C. suddenly shouted causing his wielder to freeze.
"What? Why not?" Allen asked.
"She wants to do some painful acupuncture thingy that will keep you stuck in bed for a least a month!" C.C. yelled.
"Oh hush up," the Heart huffed, "You know that he can't stay like that forever or else it really mess up his body."
Everyone watched as Allen seemed to debate between the two options. His face seemed to pale every now and then, most likely whenever he thought about a month stuck in bed. The Heart shook her head. Deciding to choose for the boy, she took a step forward. The second she did though, Allen turned on his heel and sprinted down the hallway.
"No way! I refuse to be put out of duty for such a long time!" Allen cried as he ran down the halls.
"Get back here!" the Heart fumed, stomping her feet, "You'll never be able to get big and tall if you don't!"
"Don't care!" Allen yelled.
"Good choice!" C.C. laughed as he raced to catch up with wielder.
"Curse you Aniki," the Heart pouted as she stomped after them.
"…Should I warn Yuu that we may not be able to get away with calling Allen Moyashi for much longer?" Lavi asked.
"Probably," Lenalee laughed.
"Though it would be funny to watch him try to confront a giant Allen," O.K. smirked.
"Keep running, baka!" C.C. laughed.
"What do you think I'm doing!" Allen snapped.
Innocence and wielder ran down the halls of the Black Order side by side. All of the finders stopped to stare while the scientists kept a look out for a crazed Komui. At first, nobody knew why Allen would be even running around after his severe injuries from a day ago. That is, until they saw the screaming woman chasing after them. After a few blinks or a shake of the head, they all put it down to the woman being one of the many that Allen encountered when he was Cross's pupil.
"I just want to help you!" the Heart yelled.
"I may want to be taller but I don't want to be put on bed rest!" Allen cried, blindly sprinting around a corner.
Before he could register it, the white-haired teen barreled into the Order's nervous duo. Both pieces of innocence stopped as Marie helped the three back to their feet. As soon as they were back up, Miranda started off in her normal hysterics. Sighing, Allen tried his best to calm her down while Krory fought his urge to join in.
"Why were you running down the halls anyways, Allen?" Marie asked.
"Oh yeah," Allen said, mind drifting off somewhere.
"Now then," the Heart smirked as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "I promise I will try to make it as non-painful as possible."
"Shit!" Allen cursed, trying with all his might to break free of the Heart's impressive strength.
"Come now, you can't want to go around the rest of your life known as Moyashi, right?" the Heart asked.
"Well, no but I can't afford to be pushed to the sidelines!" Allen whined, trying his bright puppy eyes.
"Give it up kid," the Heart laughed, "I was the aunt of two boys that loved to try to get whatever they wanted from me before all of this. I know how to deal with puppy dog eyes."
"Um…E-Excuse me," Miranda stuttered.
"Yes?" the Heart smiled.
"M-My innocence has b-been acting weird since yesterday when I used it to take some time away from Allen's injuries while we got him to the infirmary," Miranda stated, holding out her innocence which was faintly glowing blue, "S-See?"
"I see," the Heart smirked, "I'll get right on it right after I finish with my brother's silly accommodator."
"Wait!" Allen yelped, feeling the woman's other hand rest on the small of his back, "Th-This can wait! Help Miranda first!"
"But I already decided to help you first," the Heart giggled.
"You've always had a strange way of showing that you want to help," a deep male's voice sounded from Miranda's innocence.
"Huh?" Miranda blinked.
Allen blinked before a wide smile overcame his face, "Miranda! Activate Time Record!"
"Wh-Why?" Miranda asked, suddenly very nervous.
"Just do it!" Allen accidentally snapped as more pressure was added onto his shoulder.
Miranda let out one of her pathetic cries before doing as she was told. As soon as she did, she was enveloped in a bright, warm sky blue light. Everyone there had to shield their eyes until it slowly faded away. Once it faded away, it revealed a man with long, wavy, dark brown hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and a confident smirk on his face. The man had warm chocolate eyes and a well-defined body. He was at least six-foot tall as well. And he was wearing an exact copy of the dress that Miranda was wearing at the moment.
There was silence for a good minute as they all stared at the man then…
"Hahahahahaha!" both C.C. and the Heart fell to the ground in laughter.
"H-Holy crap! I totally forgot that we appear in our wielder's apparel!" C.C. laughed loudly.
"I-I was going to h-have J-Johnny make him some clothes but f-forgot to ask for them!" the Heart added, laughing just as if not harder than her brother.
"Sh-Shut up!" the man snapped, face flushed, "I-I can't help what I appear in!"
"So your…" Marie started.
"You're T.R.~!" Allen beamed.
"Yes I am," T.R. smirked, bowing to Allen for some reason, "And it is indeed an honor to finally officially meet you."
"This is so amazing, right Miranda?" Krory beamed, patting the woman on the shoulder.
The woman just fell backwards as she fainted.
"Ah! Miranda! What's wrong? Are you alright!" Krory cried, shaking the poor woman by her shoulders.
"Krory! Stop it!" Marie exclaimed, trying to take the woman from him.
T.R. just laughed loudly, "I have to admit that Miranda's nervous tendencies are some of my greatest joys."
"That's a little mean, don't you think?" Marie asked.
"A little," T.R. shrugged, "But I owe this woman my life. If she hadn't found me when she had, my clock form was doomed to either collect dust or be destroyed. Granted, I wouldn't have been destroyed but I would have had to wait an even longer time before I found any sort of accommodator. So image my surprise when the woman who just happened to stop by the store not only was able to activate me but also had the possibility to be a true accommodator of mine?
"And you, Mister Allen Walker," T.R. smiled warmly, "I also owe my life to you. If you and Miss Lenalee hadn't come to that German town, Road Camelot would have found me and destroyed me. Then not only did you save Miranda and I, you gave her a purpose which allowed us to finally fully link. For that, I truly thank you."
T.R. by then had gotten down on one knee to bow to the white-haired teen. Feeling uncomfortable, Allen just laughed nervously. Behind the newly awoken innocence, Krory was fanning Miranda wildly in hopes to rouse her. Marie's slight chuckle could be heard occasionally as the whole scene played out.
"Now, allow me to repay some of my debt to you," T.R. beamed as he pointed his open palm at the teen.
Freezing, Allen's eyes widened, "Wh-What are you talking about?"
"You're body's timeline is a little out of whack," T.R. stated.
"H-How can you tell?" Allen stuttered.
"It's my specialty," T.R. laughed, "And I've always known. I've known about it ever since you helped Miranda fully activate me. While I was healing your injuries, there was something about your inner time that seemed off. Then when I healed you again, I noticed it. Your body actually thinks that it's thirteen."
"I told you so!" the Heart smirked.
T.R. sighed, "I know that you could have fixed it for him, but did you really have to scare the poor boy so badly?"
"It was all just an act," the Heart pouted.
"Huh?" Allen gaped.
"Yeah, we both knew that T.R. was going to be able to show his true form soon but we needed a way to lure him into doing it sooner," C.C. stated, "You see, T.R. is very conscious of Miranda and didn't want to appear cause he knew it would give her a heart attack."
"So you used me to trick him?" Allen growled.
"Pretty much," C.C. chuckled as Allen charged at him.
"I was so freaked out, you jerk!" Allen snapped, trying valiantly trying to land a punch, "Dammit! Hold still so I can hit you!"
"Like I'm going to do that, baka," C.C. laughed, dodging some quick kicks, "Though kicks might be a little harder to do."
"Well, at least he can still fight with one arm," T.R. stated as the Heart came up to him.
"Yeah, he's just not used to it," the Heart nodded before giving the piece of innocence a sad look, "I am sorry for everything, T.R."
"Don't worry about it," T.R. said, waving his hand slightly, "I may not like it, but I know why you did it."
"Still…I really am sorry," the Heart repeated, "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. It's just that if I hadn't done anything then-"
"Look, I said I understand. It was the only thing that you could do. We all thought that we were ready when we weren't," T.R. sighed, pointing his open palm at Allen once more.
"…thank you," the Heart said, bowing slightly to the other piece, "For everything before and this."
"No problem," T.R. smiled, "It's our job after all."
T.R. returned all of his attention back to the cursed teen. The boy was still trying actively to land a hit on his innocence. It was no longer out of irritation with him. It was more of a playful spar. All eyes were transfixed on the wide smile and happy glint that filled the young exorcist's silver eyes. T.R. felt compelled to smile along with him as C.C. caught him in a headlock.
"Do it," the Heart ordered, a sad note in her voice.
"Right," T.R. sighed, hand glowing a light green.
Suddenly, Allen found himself surrounded by circles that seemed to look like clocks. He looked down to see another clock that appeared to be placed on fast forward. He raised an eyebrow, looking up at T.R. then C.C.. Both seemed to have such sad looks on their faces. Not understanding, Allen tried taking a step toward his innocence. When he did though, the clock that was in front of his chest suddenly stopped with both hands on the twelve. It began to gong, filling the entire Order with its low, solemn ringing sound.
Everything was suddenly blurry to Allen. His eyes couldn't focus on anything. His mind had gone blank and he fought not to just fall forward. Looking around again, Allen tried desperately tried to figure out what was going on. Opening his mind up to C.C, he felt a wave of depression and worry flood his senses.
'Come here, Allen,' C.C. said through their link, 'You need to rest up now.'
Finding that even his vocal chords had joined the sudden rebellion, Allen settled for just shaking his head.
'Tell me what's going on,' Allen questioned, 'Tell me why you all look so sad. I want to know.'
'I'll tell you later,' C.C. said.
'No! Tell me now!' Allen snapped, this looking funny because his facial muscles didn't want to quite react right, 'I'm tired of all these secrets! I deserve to know is something's wrong especially if has anything to do with me!'
'I promise that when you wake up there will be no more secrets,' C.C. tried.
'Why do I not believe you then?' Allen asked.
'Cause you don't ever believe anyone, baka,' C.C. scoffed, 'Now come here.'
Allen stood there for a moment before staggering forward, 'You better not be lying…'
C.C. managed to catch the boy just as he fell forward. Holding him tight in his arms, C.C. let his own eyes drift over the other two pieces. They both held the same sad yet guilty faces. Sighing, C.C. picked the boy up and began the trek back to their room.
'I'm not lying, baka,' C.C. thought.
'…Good.' Allen said, startling C.C., "Cause if you are, I'm going to beat your ass.'
C.C. just laughed, "I'd like to see you try, baka."
Mizu: I could have gone on but then this chapter would have been at least twice the size and none of the previous chapters were like that so I decided to split it.
Allen: You're beating around the bush again…Would you just get to the point of them being sad already?
Mizu: All will be revealed soon, my dear Allen…hopefully.
Mugen: Just a question. Where did I disappear to? You keep forgetting about Kanda and I.
Mizu: I haven't forgot you. I'm just saving you two up for something.
Allen: Sure you are…
Mizu: Anyway, remember that I love all reviews and suggestions. I'm going pretty good on this one so maybe this story can be finished before its two year anniversary. I really didn't mean not to update this one so rarely so I really hope I can start to do better on that aspect. Ciao for now~!