Chapter One
Lavi still couldn't quite get used to the sight of the frail-looking skinny fifteen year old boy sitting opposite him filling his face with more food than Lavi ate in a week. He'd been watching this rather amazing, and disturbing, it had to be said, feat performed for well over a month now, and though he was well-versed in the intricacies of parasitic innocence, it was still a surprise to see such vast quantities of food disappear into that small body. And the boy hadn't changed one iota- not one pound or inch in all the time he'd been in the Order.
He curbed the faint twinge of disgust he felt watching the white-haired exorcist devouring the food mountain, eating his body weight in dango alone, berating himself for even having the feeling. 'Lavi' wouldn't be disgusted, he'd find the sight funny, so he went back to his own meal. He'd learned quickly that if he wanted any form of conversation with the boy he'd have to wait for the gorging to end first.
Finally the boy sat back, looking very satisfied as he patted his stomach and released a small belch. Immediately a small gloved hand flew to his mouth and he excused himself politely, looking rather embarrassed.
Lavi grinned at him over the table. "Better out than in, Moyashi-chan!"
A tiny flicker of annoyance crossed the younger teen's face, but it was gone almost instantly, hidden under a polite bland mask. Lavi had already seen such expressions cross the boy's face once or twice before and wondered about them. He'd already learned that for the past few years he'd been apprenticed to Cross, and apparently they hadn't been the best years of the boy's life, but he'd yet to inquire deeper into his past.
"Must you really call me that too? It's bad enough having Kanda use it without you doing so as well, Lavi! My name is Allen!"
'I know what your name is, Allen Walker, but that's about all I know… yet' Lavi grinned and leaned over the table to ruffle the boy's unusual white hair, something else he had yet to ask about, knowing that the boy wasn't too keen on people invading his personal space, much less actually touching him. He'd have to find out about that too at some point… "But it's such a good nickname for a little bean-sprout like you!" he said, watching Allen try and flatten his now fluffed-up hair.
Allen just scowled… well no, he didn't. The expression had nothing on one of Kanda's, and Lavi was used to being on the receiving end of one of those, so the diminutive teen's little pouting attempt was nothing short of laughable. And laugh Lavi did, allowing tears to come to the corner of his eye.
"What's so funny?" a voice asked behind him, and Lavi knew that it could only be one person. Even if he hadn't recognised the voice, the look of puppyish devotion that appeared on Allen's face gave away the identity of one Lenalee Li.
"The Moyashi is" Lavi explained, wiping the tears from his eye with a grubby ink-stained thumb.
Allen flushed red with embarrassment and attempted to gather his scattered dignity. "I was just trying to get Lavi to use my name!" he protested, not quite understanding just what had been so funny.
Lenalee sat beside the white haired teen and patted his gloved hand where it rested on the table. Lavi nearly started laughing again when Allen flushed and nearly fainted at the contact.
"You don't have any hope now a nickname's stuck" she informed the embarrassed boy in what was obviously supposed to be a comforting way. "And let's face it, if Kanda's had no luck, you've got no chance."
As the two younger exorcists began to talk together, Lavi allowed his mind to wander freely while he kept half an ear on the conversation being held across the table. To the casual observer, he appeared to be in a world of his own, even while he continued to gather information. He contemplated the boy who was chatting to the female exorcist. Allen was obviously a gentleman at heart, since he looked like here was the last place he wanted to be, but made no move to break the conversation with the girl, replying politely and formally and looking like he was honestly interested in what she was saying. Lavi's observant mind, however, could pick up the tension in the youngest teen's body and how his right hand kept clenching and unclenching like he wanted to grasp the opposite limb.
Against his better judgement, he found he actually felt sorry for the little sprout, who was quite obviously chronically shy but too polite to run to the hills like he wanted to. Well, Lavi wanted to get to know him better- no me like the present to start getting friendly.
"Come on Moyashi-chan! I said I was going to show you that book once you'd finished eating."
Allen looked baffled for a moment before smiling apologetically at the girl beside him. "That's right! Sorry Lenalee" he said with a small bow as he got to his feet.
"Oh, ok, see you later then Allen, Lavi."
Allen looked a little guilty about the lie as they left the dining hall together, so Lavi slung an arm over the boy's shoulder, grinning inwardly at the flinch such an innocuous gesture earned him. "You looked like you needed saving back there."
"Thank you" his captive replied, and the grateful expression made Lavi feel the tiniest bit guilty himself.
After he had dropped Allen off at his room, Lavi headed to library, knowing full well that Bookman was going to be in there and would likely scold his apprentice as soon as he walked through the doors for shirking his duties. There were a number of books that he had been assigned to read that he hadn't touched, so perhaps the old man's annoyance wasn't completely unfounded, but that didn't make the prospect of a potentially long winded and boring lecture any easier to bare.
Lavi paused to contemplate his unusual attitude. True, the persona he was acting was supposed to be relaxed, laid back to the point of being horizontal, but never before had he carried on those character traits into his own thoughts… perhaps he had spent too long as 'Lavi'- these last few years were the longest he'd spent on one mission- the longest he's spent as one person in as long as he could remember, and he considered the possibility that the lines between the Bookman apprentice he should be and the exorcist that he was pretending to be had begun to blur.
He paused near the door to the library, looking out of the window at the sky, dotted with white wispy clouds as he thought back to the first time he'd laid eye on Allen, in the aftermath of the mission the white haired boy and Lenalee had been on in the rewinding town. Back to when Bookman had given him his own mission to complete.
Bookman closed the door to Lenalee's room behind him silently. He'd done all he could for the girl at the moment, easing the discomfort in her nerves left by Rhode's attack. He decided to leave the girl alone in the company of her older brother for a while.
"How is she?" a voice asked from the other end of the hallway. The old man turned to his apprentice, bushy eyebrows raised disapprovingly. They were alone- there was no need to show concern. "She'll be fine, in time" he replied blandly, though his censure was still made evident even in that innocent sentence.
Lavi nodded once, seeming to realise his mistake. Bookman also remained silent, walking further along the corridor to the next door. Lavi came up behind him, trying to see into the room as Bookman pushed the door open.
The figure on the bed wasn't immediately discernable- short, slight and pale, wrapped in bandages, Allen Walker was still unconscious, apparently worn out by the mission.
"Doesn't look like much, does he?" Lavi commented. "Kinda like one good hit would finish him off."
Bookman entered the room quietly, leaning over the sleeping exorcist and checking his various injuries. Lastly he pulled the pad from Allen's left eye, studying the wound thoughtfully. "His eye is already healing, though it may take several days for it to be completely back to normal."
Lavi looked over the old man's shoulder. "What's with his face?" he asked. It was a childish face- he'd been told the boy was fifteen, but if that was true, he was obviously a late developer. It looked like Allen Walker and puberty were barely even passing acquaintances. The only thing that spoilt the image was the scarlet mark that twisted down the left side of his face from the star shaped outline above his eyebrow and down his cheek.
Bookman didn't answer straight away, but continued to prod the injured eye with rough fingers, a frown twisting his brow. "A curse" he said at length, brushing aside the fringe of white hair to reveal more of the pentacle outlined in red on the boy's forehead. "Apparently the eye enables him to see the souls of Akuma." The old man pursed his lips in thought. "I must know the circumstances by which he came to carry this curse," and he looked meaningfully at Lavi when he said this, and the redhead nodded and grinned. "No problem gramps."
The pale figure on the bed made a small noise of distress, his forehead pinching into a frown before it smoothed away as Allen sighed and relaxed, his head turning to the side as he settled back down, the second sigh sounding like a name.
"Hevlaska has prophesised this boy as the 'Destroyer of Time'." Bookman said, turning to face his apprentice. "We must keep a close eye on him."
Lavi stared down at the boy, focusing on the short spiky ponytail just visible at the back of his head as he thought. There was something… different, unique, about Allen Walker- he could see that already and he'd not even met the guy properly yet. In his short life, Lavi had met, and been many people, but never had he come across anybody quite like the person sleeping on the bed in front of him. For the first time since arriving at the Order, he realised that he was looking forward to discovering all about Allen Walker.
I'm a happy bunny at the moment cos I just took my 13 year old little sisters fanfiction virginity- now I have someone to share my squealing fangirlyness with someone at last! YAY!