Chapter Five

"Allen, Lenalee. You have a new assignment. Do you think that you're ready for it?" Komui asked, looking at Allen and Lenalee.

"Of course."

"Yes."

"Good. You've been enrolled in a Japanese high school. Allen, if you don't know Japanese, you should brush up on it. Lenalee, I know that you're fluent in it."

"Y-yes…"

"Um… I know a bit of Japanese. But why Japan? Why us?"

"Well, it's rumored that there have been strange occurrences there. We need two high school age kids. Lavi is somewhat too old, Miranda is far too old, and Krory wouldn't fit in at all. We could have sent Kanda, but apparently, he doesn't want this assignment. And you should know that Japan is the epicenter of the Earl's activities. If there are strange occurrences in a high school, you can bet that he already has the Noah Clan on it."

"I-I see. I'm on it."

Allen and Lenalee looked at the school, then at each other, almost immediately looking away. Allen hadn't mentioned her and Kanda at all. He kept convincing himself that it was her business, and that he had no place getting involved.

Meanwhile, Lenalee hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Allen at all since the night that he snapped, and that wasn't really very productive. She was worried that Road already had him in her grasp. She couldn't believe that she was allowing this to go on right under her nose. She had to at least drop a hint to Allen that she knew what was going on.

"H-hey, Allen?" she said meekly, half hoping that he wouldn't hear her.

"Yeah?" Allen asked, looking blankly right past her head, not making eye contact at all.

"Y-you haven't run into any Noahs lately, have you?"

"W-what do y-you mean by 'lately'?" Allen asked, nervous now. Was she on to him and Road? Wait, why was he referring to himself and Road as a pair, now? What was he thinking?

"Well, in the past month or so? Outside battle, of course."

"You know that I don't go out except on missions." Allen said evasively. It was true, at least, that he didn't go out, except when he was on a mission. But that wasn't what she was really asking. However, he wasn't exactly lying, though he was trying to deceive her by the way he worded his answer.

"I-I see." Lenalee said. That didn't really tell her anything, though. She still didn't know if Road had implemented her plan, yet, or if she had still been leaving Allen in peace.

With that, they walked into the school, and toward their respective classrooms. Perhaps it was fortunate that the two were not together, because as Allen walked toward his classroom, he noticed that he was getting a lot of stares, from students and teachers alike. It was probably his white hair, and the fact that he had that pentacle scar on his eye. Another thing that could potentially look rather disturbing was his left hand. He had put a glove on it and wrapped it in bandages for the time being, since it was summer, and they were therefore wearing their short sleeved uniforms, but it still probably looked rather odd for one whole arm to be bandaged and not the other one.

The difference between the students and the teachers was that, unlike the students, the teachers were at least trying to hide that they were staring at him. Either by pretending that they were scanning the hall, or by looking away if they thought that Allen was looking in their direction, they hoped to allay suspicion. Allen had the feeling that before his time was up there, that he was going to run into some kind of trouble. He was right. He usually was. Before he even made it to his classroom, he was stopped in the hall by an authoritative looking student, rather taller than him and wearing glasses that seemed to be sliding off his nose.

"Hold it, newcomer! I am Takao Misaki, student body president, and I grossly object to your hair!"

"My… hair?" Allen asked, pretending that he didn't know what Misaki was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"It's too long, and you bleached it! Do you enjoy causing upset wherever you go? And perhaps you care to explain why you have a pentacle tattooed over your left eye, and why your left arm is so bundled up."

"Oh. Actually, this is my natural hair color, and I can certainly get a haircut if it would suit everyone better to do so."

"But what about your arm!?"

"Oh, my arm. It got badly burned in an accident, and it looks rather disturbing, I'm afraid."

"It couldn't possibly be any more disturbing that that pentacle tattooed above your head. Kamigawa High School is no place for witchcraft!"

"Oh, this isn't a tattoo… It's…"

"It's a birthmark oh great Misaki-sama…" came a sarcastic voice from behind them. Allen spun around quickly to see Road standing there, dressed in her uniform, and smiling brightly. Her usual Noah markings were absent on her forehead, and in her uniform, she almost looked like a normal teenager.

"Ah, of course, Road Kamelot. He's just the sort of vagrant that I'd expect someone like you to associate with."

At this, Road just smiled and walked up slowly to Misaki, continuing to suck on her lollipop and putting a hand on his cheek.

"Tell me, Student Body President Misaki, do you remember when I broke your arm for putting your filthy hands on me?" Misaki nodded numbly, shivering slightly now at the coldness in Road's voice.

"Uh huh. I don't suppose that you'd want to repeat that experience, would you?" she asked, tilting her head to the left and grinning at him. For a moment, Misaki didn't say anything, but then, he gulped and managed to choke out, "J-just get a haircut by tomorrow, newcomer!" before he raced away. Road stuck her tongue out at him and then looked back at Allen, who was stunned into silence.

"Don't worry about him. He's just an asshole who happens to have a father who got him that position at school. But seriously, your hair has gotten rather long. I always cut my own hair, maybe at lunch, I could do yours…"

"Y-you don't seem surprised to see me here… W-what's up?" Allen asked, shocked to see Road. He hadn't expected to be going to the same school as she was. Of course, he was relatively safe from her, there. After all, while they were there, they were both just fellow students.

"Well, I was surprised when I heard that a boy and a girl of your and Lenalee-chan's descriptions were seen coming into the school. But then I realized that you must be on a mission. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Here, have some chocolate. It's good for your soul."

"Do you even have a soul, Road?" Allen asked, slightly amused at what she had said. Road puffed out her cheeks and scowled playfully.

"Of course I have a soul. I am human, after all! So, your arm got caught in a fire, huh? I'll have to remember that one. What class do you have first hour?"

"Um… Mathematics…"

"Really!? Me too! Let's go, before we're late!"

Math class was a rather boring affair. The teacher seemed to talk in a monotonous drone that Allen had trouble paying attention to, when it was such a nice day outside. It wasn't like school was important for him, anyhow. He was just there as a cover for what he was really doing, which was scoping out the Innocence that was supposedly in the area. For some reason, he believed Road when she said that some strange things were happening. Of course, he wasn't sure what Road's definition of "strange" was. He only knew that if there were unusual happenings, then the only thing that could be causing it was the innocence. Before Allen knew it, though, he had fallen asleep in class and was snoring softly into his arms. Unfortunately, a few minutes later, he was awoken by a yardstick slamming down on his desk, less than a centimeter away from his head. This teacher had to be insane!

"Mr. Walker!" She said loudly so that the entire class could hear. "Were you having any good dreams in my class?" she snapped, glaring down at Allen, who looked at her, confused.

"But, REM sleep doesn't usually start until almost an hour after the person falls asleep…" he said innocently, causing the rest of the class to snicker under their breath. He hadn't really meant to talk back to the teacher. He was just still a little bit dazed from being woken up so forcefully.

"I think perhaps a detention after school will set you straight, Mr. Walker. Until then, please try to stay awake."

"Y-yes, ma'am…"

With that, Allen went back to idly half listening to the teacher while staring at the back of Road's head, punctuating his gaze with the occasional sigh. He wasn't quite sure what it was that was causing him to act so strangely. It couldn't be good, though. He needed to try to stay away from Road Kamelot. However, that was getting harder and harder to do, both physically, and emotionally. He found himself actually wanting to spend more time with Road. He would have talked to Lenalee about it, but he wasn't sure if it was really appropriate to do so, now that she had rejected him and asked Kanda out. In truth, Allen was sure that he shouldn't even have been aware that Lenalee and Kanda were going out. They were being quite discreet about it, and he hadn't heard that they were going out from anyone else, unless other people knew, and just weren't telling him because they knew that he had liked Lenalee as well. Perhaps it was just as well that nobody was telling him. Now he didn't have to be reminded of that awful fact every time the rumor reached a new set of ears.

Almost alarmingly soon, lunch came, and Allen headed toward the lunchroom, planning to eat in there, but then, he remembered that Road had offered to give him a haircut on the roof. He wasn't quite sure where the roof was, but he was sure that he could find it if he looked hard enough. He could ask someone, anyhow. Fortunately, he came across that someone mere moments later when a group of four girls stopped him in the hall.

"Hi. You're Allen Walker, right?"

"Um… Yes. H-have we met?" Allen asked, secretly examining them with his Akuma finding eye, but seeing that they were only human girls.

"Not yet, but I have some friends who'd like to meet you. Why don't you come have lunch with us?" the one girl asked, smiling brightly.

"Actually, I'm looking for the stairs to the roof. Do you know where they might be?" Allen asked politely, smiling innocuously. The girls looked at each other and started giggling.

"What? Did I say something strange?"

"Not really. You're new here, so you wouldn't know that nobody eats on the roof anymore."

"Really? Why not?"

"Ever since that Road Kamelot girl came to this school, and started eating up there, nobody wants to eat with her. Rumor has it that somebody tried eating with her once, and he was never heard from again. Plus, she's constantly leaving school early on 'business', but she never says what's so important. Ironically, though, she's near the top of her class. Everyone suspects that the school is in her family's pocket or something."

"I see… Well, nonetheless, I've known Road for a while now, and I can tell you that she's not up to anything unseemly. She just has an unusual family situation. And actually she's extremely smart, so I'm not surprised that she's doing so well. Thanks for the warning, though."

"You're still going to go up to the roof!? Road is a freak! She's a total nutcase! She's…"

Suddenly, Allen turned around and grinned at them, though it wasn't the usual good natured smile that he gave people. The malice in it was nearly palpable, and the girls gulped hard and started to back away.

"I don't generally take well to people who talk behind my friends' backs. Now, if you could please tell me where the stairs to the roof are, I'd be most grateful."

"Um… G-go down the hall five doors on the right, and turn left."

Allen nodded and then walked away, leaving the girls to sigh in relief when he was out of sight.