---Chapter 03: Deceived Bird---

"Inspector Howard Link… I have a mission for you."

…

I have contributed… in the making… of a new kind of human sacrifice.

---

"… You know them, don't you?"

Link looked up.

It was past midnight, but the young Inspector hadn't finished writing his reports yet. He had been hunching over his office desk for hours, filling one paper after another with fine, italic handwriting. His eyes began to hurt, for he had reduced the lamp's light so that it wouldn't bother Allen Walker, who was supposed to be sleeping on the bed behind him. The boy's steady breaths animated the silent darkness around him, and Link let that peaceful sound soothe the insecure feeling that was born, and reborn, every time he flipped to a new page. Even though he was deeply concentrating on the reports, from time to time Link found himself wondering at the lack of Allen's ever so quiet snores or the indecipherable words he usually mumbled in his sleep. Finally Walker decided to speak, and from his tone Link could tell he had not been sleeping at all.

"… You know them, don't you?"

Still holding the pen in his stiff fingers, Link rested one elbow on the back of his chair and turned to meet a pair of gray eyes peeking at him from under layers of blankets. He sighed, "One hour and thirty-five minutes ago, you said you were going to sleep. Why are you still awake now, Walker?"

"I can't fall asleep," replied the boy, and Timcanpy too shifted on the mattress, fluttering his wings in agreement. Allen then repeated his question, "Do you know them, Link?"

"Who?"

"The crimson-cloaked people from Central… You know the big guy's name, right? And they know yours too… Not to mention they even have the same red dots on their foreheads…"

"What if I do know them then? I don't see your point, Walker."

"They must be your comrades… aren't they?"

Without a warning, memories streamed into Link's mind, blinding his vision with blurred images, pieces of jigsaw that he could never fit together. The Inspector turned back to his papers and spoke to the lamp in front of him. "I suppose it is relatively correct to use the word 'comrade' after all."

"What do you mean?"

I meant, Walker, that I never had the chance to experience the comradeship that you live everyday. "I can't talk about it."

"Oh," was all Allen could manage. He fell silent, and for awhile the only sound in the room was the scratching of the tip of Link's fountain pen against paper. Then the white-haired boy tried again. "Link?"

"Yes?" said the Inspector with a vague hint of resignation in his voice.

"What do you think about them? The Third Exorcists, I mean."

It was perfect, frozen silence now. Allen watched as Link hunched his shoulders slightly, as if the pen in his hand had suddenly turned into something that weighed tons and took all his effort just to move.

"I…" Link began slowly, considering his words, "…am glad that the experiment was successful, and that now we have considerable reinforcement for our fight against the Earl and his minions. We witnessed the functioning of their Consuming Machine, and it was quite convincing. I'm sure more of them should be-"

"More? Are you saying that it's fine for you that more people are made into half-Akuma?" Allen emerged from his blankets cocoon and crawled on the bed to get closer. "I don't know how did they manage to do a thing like that, but it sure isn't right!"

"It… is unavoidable. We don't have enough Exorcists, and-"

"I know, I know, we can't afford to lose in this fight against the Earl, right? But it doesn't mean that we have to win at all costs! If we won by doing the same thing as the Earl-"

"We do have to win at all costs, Walker."

"Don't just sit there saying ridiculous things with your back facing me, Link. You know it's not right – I know you don't feel right. You've been quiet all day and you have that gloomy look and all- What do you really think about it?"

Link swallowed. "You are talking nonsense, Walker. I just told you what I really think."

"You're just stubborn." Allen's hand came to rest on his shoulder, "Look at me and say that again, say that it's fine to make human sacrifices."

Allen was sure he could feel Link twitching at his touch, but he just left his hand there. They played a little game of patience, each of them waiting for the other to give up first. Minutes passed without a word; then finally, Link sighed and looked up at Allen's face:

"In a war, there are always sacrifices to be made, Walker."

"You-"

"No, seriously, Walker. If people are to be sacrificed in any way, I shall pay them proper homage for what they have done, but I shall not shed tears and mourn for their death. Pain is to be forgotten, for the living have to keep moving forward no matter what. If it turned out that one of your friends, Lenalee Lee or Kanda Yuu, were to be sacrificed for the final objective, I shall follow Central's orders, capture them and send them wherever they are needed. If you were to be sacrificed," the young Inspector's pale green eyes glittered under the dim light, "I would make sure you ended your life as a sacrifice. If I were to be sacrificed," Link's hand clenched into a fist, "I would do so at once, without hesitation, without a complaint."

His face paled. Allen was unconsciously tightening the grip of his left hand on Link's shoulder, causing the bones to crush together painfully. When he realized what he was doing, he withdrew his hand in haste, staring down at his bare feet on the cold floor.

"Keep moving forward… You're saying the same words, but you got it all wrong… I don't get it. I can't get it, how your mind works. What is it that you fight for…?"

"We fight to destroy the Earl and the Akuma-"

"Oh, quit it already! I'm asking you what you fight for."

"… The Order, of course."

"Wrong!" Allen's head jerked up, "We fight for people. For Akuma. For the souls of the dead and the sake of the living. For the ones we love. Tell me, Link, if we sacrificed everything we have… then… the world that we're fighting for… what would be there? What would be left there?"

"I understand how you feel, but this is war we're talking about-"

"You're always so smart, but you don't understand a thing. I wouldn't blame you, though… Have you ever, ever, said something that you really mean? Have you ever lived for yourself?"

Link replied quietly, "I live and fight for Central, Walker."

"Exactly. That's the problem. You are insane."

"Walker."

"Yes?"

"… Go to bed."

Allen didn't protest, nor did he question Link's sudden change of attitude. Bidding him good night, he crawled into his bed again and pulled the blankets over his head. He breathed, steadily and loudly, and even snored, as if putting up a tag that said 'I'm-sleeping-because-you-told-me-to-so-don't-bother-me', to stop in advance all attempts to revive the discussion. Staring at the lump, Link knew that it was already impossible to correct his previous words. But it wasn't like he wanted to. Sighing once again, Link too crawled into his bed. He just lay there with his eyes wide opened, staring at the shivering light that slowly vanished into thick, liquid darkness.