So I did half of this chappie right after chappie four, but then writer's block hit me hard. And then school came and it kinda became forgotten. But now I've found my interest again, and hopefully, at least for this chapter, I can give you something worth the wait. Then again, this chappie seems to kinda be more of fillerish… ... I'm sorry.
Important Note: I changed my mind again about the post-Book 7 thing. It can't be a good HP crossover without Dumbledore. So this will probably be post-Book 5. It'll follow the very basic storyline of Book 6, but of course, there will be changes. I hope I can be consistent enough…
Without further ado, here we go ~
September 1 – 8:38 PM
They'd been hiking up the dark path for several minutes already and the castle loomed ever so close. They took care to stick to the edge of the path in fear of making contact with the carriages.
Speaking of the carriages, they were quite strange. Each one wasn't pulled by live, normal horses but by creepy skeletons that looked as if they used to be live, normal horses… with wings. They were a bit larger than the average horse, but that wasn't quite as strange as the quietly glowing red eyes coming from where the horse's eyes sockets were supposed to be.
At first, the two were completely freaked out by the strange creatures. The massive skulls swung about, seemingly sensing their presence despite the dark. The two noticed that only some of the students seemed to take notice of the strange horses.
"Ouch! Lavi, you stepped on my toe!" Allen whisper-yelled. Lavi broke away from his musings and turned towards Allen's voice.
"Well, excuse me for not being able to see well. You've stepped on my toes plenty of times already. You shouldn't be talking!" Lavi shot back. He heard Allen sigh.
"Fine. Whatever. Let's just hurry up this stupid pathway. I'm getting really hungry," sighed Allen. Lavi silently complied as they continued on their trek to the castle.
Five minutes later found the two very close to the broad archway that the carriages were unloading near. They crept close to the area, trying to time their entrance sneakily until Allen suddenly drew up his hand.
"Wait. First, we should find a way to blend in," said Allen. Lavi looked hard at Allen.
"You don't mean to-"
"Yeah. We have to."
Lavi's face sprouted a smirk.
This'll be fun.
September 1 – 9:16 AM
Kanda and Tokuda were seated at the table with Ciel at the head. Sebastian was just coming in with the appetizers.
"As Lord of this area, first I would like to hear your plans of investigation," said Ciel as Sebastian put down a platter of greens. A good dose of salad dressing was drizzled onto the salad, along with a few croutons. Kanda shared a glance with Tokuda before replying.
"We would first like to examine the people who have lost their memories," said Kanda. Ciel cocked an eyebrow.
"Examine? Don't you mean interview?" Kanda smirked at the young boy's sharp ears while half-heartedly forking at the lettuce.
I should have brought some chopsticks with me, Kanda lazily thought.
"No. It seems that interviewing would be useless. We're going to aim for the cause of the memory loss," answered Kanda. Ciel gave a smirk of his own as if satisfied with the answer.
"Very well then. I'll have Sebastian organize the meetings," said Ciel. "Now, I want to-"
CRASH
Ciel paused in the middle of his sentence to turn exasperatedly towards the kitchen.
What broke this time? It better not have been my favorite cup. It better not have been. It better not have been.
Sebastian appeared almost magically by Ciel's side. He bent over to Ciel's ear to whisper as to not disturb the guests.
"My Lord, I apologize but it seems that your most favored cup has been destroyed, along with two china tea sets," reported Sebastian. Ciel's expression didn't outwardly waver, but Sebastian wasn't fooled. He could feel the waves of discontent rolling off of him. Kanda and Tokuda merely sipped their drinks in silence, waiting for some sort of announcement.
"Very well. Make sure everything gets cleaned up, Sebastian," Ciel ordered, vein throbbing all the while. "And make sure our dear maid is punished accordingly." Sebastian nodded and immediately whisked himself away. How do you break two tea sets in one go? Shaking his head of those thoughts, Ciel turned back to his guests.
"Where was I? Oh yes. I will arrange for the meetings to be set up for tomorrow. In the meantime, won't you rest until then? I'm sure your travels have made you both weary."
"If it's alright with you," Kanda started, "I would like to investigate the area for more information on this case." Ciel looked at him with a slightly curious look.
"I don't mind. If you need anything, I shall be here all of the rest of the day. Will your colleague be going as well?" Ciel asked. Kanda glanced at Tokuda before turning back.
"No. I will go alone," Kanda replied. Turning to Tokuda, "You will stay here and prepare all of the equipment. Stand by for any additional Akuma attacks." Tokuda gave Kanda a nod of affirmation.
"If everything is settled, please expect the… examinations to begin promptly at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. The examinees will be directed to the sitting room. Sebastian will show you to that room in the morning. Does this suit?" asked Ciel. Kanda nodded, finding nothing wrong with the arrangement.
"Then I expect to see you both at breakfast tomorrow. Good day." Ciel bid them goodbye before standing from the table. Sebastian was immediately at his side, leading him out of the room.
Kanda and Tokuda spent the next ten minutes finishing their breakfasts before polishing their plates and heading to their respective duties.
September 1 - 8:47 P.M.
"These don't feel bad at all," commented Lavi, straightening the black robe onto his shoulders. The two of them had taken off their heavy Exorcist uniform overcoats, keeping only the under armor that they usually wore underneath. The wizard robes didn't have buttons or zippers in the front, so their under armor was visible. It didn't matter too much because unless one looked closely, they looked like normal street clothes. In all, they would blend in pretty well with the students. Despite this, Allen wasn't as enthusiastic.
"I feel like a bloody cosplayer," he groaned. Lavi glanced over at him while removing his green headband. He figured it would stand out.
"Oh, c'mon. It's not that bad. Everyone there will be dressed like this, so it's not like you're going to stand out. Then again, with that hair… Perhaps we should dye it," Lavi pondered. Allen threw him a harsh glare.
"No more messing with Allen's hair. I've had enough of things happening to my hair. No matter how many times I cut it, it just keeps growing back!" Allen sobbed. Lavi tried to console him.
"Dude, calm down. It doesn't look bad at all. In fact, I think it might have even been an improvement! But let's not worry about that for now. At least you're better off than the poor sucker who owned these clothes," Lavi said. Allen stopped his sob session and looked towards the old-fashioned trunk lying him front of them.
"I suppose so. What do you reckon we do with it now? The carriage it was on is long gone and I don't see any luggage unloading areas down where the students are getting off. In fact, it seems like they don't even take them in. How about we leave it on its side along the carriage route and make it seem like it was bumped off?" suggested Lavi. Allen nodded.
"That sounds like a plan. But first, we should search this trunk a bit. Maybe we can learn a little bit more," said Allen. Lavi brightened at the idea.
"Hehehe. Time for some more fun!" Lavi snickered. Allen could only shake his head at the red-head.
Lavi carefully dug through the luggage, careful not to spill anything. He sifted through clothes, daily necessities, books, and more. There wasn't really anything of interest, but Lavi decided to pull out a book. Taking it out, he could barely make out the title of the book in the weak moonlight available.
Hogwarts: A History
"Hmmm… I think this'll be useful," Lavi thought aloud.
"Look at this one, Lavi," said Allen, holding up another book. "It's called Dancing With Dragons And Other Magical Creatures." Lavi gave a long whistle.
"Dragons? Other magical creatures? Wow, this is starting to become pretty ridiculous," said Lavi. He picked up a few more books and looked them over. "I think we should take these too and learn more about this place. If there's a whole school dedicated to this "magic" business, then who knows what more is out there. Maybe there's even a society out there that we don't know about!" Lavi exclaimed. He and Allen shared a look.
"Nahhh," they both said, picking up the books and shoving them into Lavi's messenger bag. They went back to digging through the trunk's contents.
September 1 - 9:35 A.M.
Kanda walked along the sunny streets, keeping his path on the white sidewalks. A few carriages passed idly by in both directions, and the sidewalks weren't quite as congested as when they were coming.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, he left the rich residential area and came upon the town's shopping district. The streets were slightly more crowded than were the streets of the residential area, but it was just enough people for Kanda to not stand out. He was rounding a corner when the golem in his pocket began to vibrate. He took it out to see what the problem was.
Across the golem's eye screen came a message that said, Incoming Call: Black Order Headquarters, Science Division.
Komui, Kanda thought. He looked around, searching for the nearest phone booth. He spotted one on the opposite corner and had to wait a bit before crossing the street. Eventually, Kanda reached the phone booth and got in. He hooked the black golem up to the phone and picked up the receiver.
"Hello?" Kanda said. There was a shuffling noise before that irritating voice came to his ears.
"KANDAAA!"the man on the other end screeched. A vein in Kanda's forehead popped.
"What is it, Supervisor?" demanded Kanda through clenched teeth.
"Well, you see, I was missing my favorite Exorcist, and I don't feel like working, so I thought I'd-" Kanda hung up the phone in irritation. A few seconds later, the phone rang again.
"What?" Kanda demanded again, this time his tone a lot more harsh.
"I-I-I'm sorry, Kanda. I-I was just kidding," Komui whimpered. Kanda gave an exasperated sigh.
"Just tell me the reason why you called," said Kanda. Komui cleared his throat.
"All jokes aside, I have sent off Lavi to go with Allen and investigate the strange people from King's Cross Station. They're currently on an investigative mission together," Komui explained. "I daresay that it'll be a long investigation." Kanda could only sigh.
"Then am I to continue this mission with just Tokuda?" Kanda asked.
"I was actually thinking of sending Lenalee to help you. She's coming back from a mission right now, but I'm thinking of sending a Finder to intercept her and give her fresh supplies so that she can meet up with you right away. If my timing is correct, she'll arrive there by two o'clock today," Komui replied. Kanda gave a grunt of acknowledgement.
"That about sums up the situation here right now. I'll call you again when Allen and Lavi get into contact. I'm not quite sure what they're doing right now, but I'm pretty sure they'll get to me by the end of the day. Is everything on your end going well?" Komui asked.
"More or less. I've been to the Phantomhive residence and the story they've told me seems pretty strange. I'm not quite sure if Innocence is the only cause. Some of the stuff just seems… a bit far-fetched - a different strange from what I've seen before. I'm going to have Tokuda send you the report by fax later, so wait for that. Other than that, the Lord Phantomhive agreed to have an examination of all the related persons scheduled for tomorrow morning. I suppose it would be useful for Lenalee to be here for that," Kanda reported.
"Very well. If that's all you have to report, then I only need to remind you not to touch my dear, sweet sis-" Komui was cut off as Kanda slammed the reciever down once again. He unhooked the golem from the phone booth and stepped out and back on the street, only to be met with a gun to his face.
"Exorcist!" it drawled out. Before it was even able to fully convert to its Akuma form, Kanda sliced it in half and scanned the area for more suspicious people. He found several Akuma in the middle of transforming, so he promptly skewered them all with a strong stroke of his arm. There were several explosions as a result, and the normal bystanders shrieked while fleeing the site. Within five minutes, the area was clear of both people and Akuma, so Kanda returned Mugen to its scabbard.
Tch, thought Kanda. This place is infested with Akuma.
With that, Kanda strode off once again, heading towards the center of town, a place where there was likely to be the most gossip.
September 1 - 8:58 P.M.
Allen and Lavi were once again sneaking near the dark path, both clad in the same attire as the students of Hogwarts. Lavi was lugging his bag, which was crammed full of the loot from the poor student's trunk. They felt bad, but it wasn't like those things couldn't be replaced, right?
After a few minutes of hiking through the trees by the path, the two Exorcists came back to the carriage unloading spot. Only the last few carriages were being unloaded, so Allen and Lavi were able to watch what was happening without having to worry about watching their own backs.
As they watched the students enter the building, they found that a man was checking off the names of each student as they entered the castle. This put a major setback into their plans. Lavi turned to Allen.
"It seems like we'll have to resort to suspicious behavior again," Lavi said. Allen nodded reluctantly.
"This is too much like a spy movie," Allen pouted. "It's kind of ridiculous." Lavi could only sigh.
"Look, I don't like this either, but we definitely have to investigate this place. I mean, look at all this new information we're getting!" Lavi said in reply. Allen gave a sigh of his own.
"I know, I know. But still," Allen said. Lavi gave him a look before turning back around to the few remaining students.
"Hey," Lavi called to Allen. "It looks like they're about done. We should go look for a window to go through." They quietly made their way towards the castle wall, making sure to keep to the dark, shadowed area. They reached the outside of the castle and examined the area for any accessible windows. They crept closer to the window positioned closest to the ground, which was still nine feet into the air.
"How bout you give me a boost? I'll see if there are any traps or alarms set up if we bust open," said Lavi. Allen leaned down for Lavi to get on his shoulders. He grunted as Lavi found his balance. Lavi took off his eye patch and examined the window. What he discovered interested him very much.
"Hmmm…" Lavi mused. Carefully, he reached for the window, his hand reaching for the edges. As soon as he got within three inches of the window, white mist seemed to form at his fingers as if daring him to go further. He withdrew before coming into contact and jumped from Allen's shoulders.
"What's wrong, Lavi?" asked Allen, rubbing his shoulders where Lavi had stood. Lavi secured his eye patch again and shook his head.
"They've got it completely covered by this mist thing. I'm guessing that it's the physical manifestation of magic. It seems that breaking in from the outside will trigger some sort of alarm. We'll have to find another way in," Lavi explained. Allen sighed as they both leaned against the trees around them to think.
We need to get past this wall… wall… That's it! Allen thought. He turned to Lavi.
"Lavi, do you remember how we got to the train platform with the scarlet train? Maybe we can get through this wall the same way!" Allen explained excitedly. Lavi's eyes widened.
"That might just work. You activate Crown Clown, and I'll keep an eye on the mist stuff. We're gonna have to take this slowly," Lavi said. Allen nodded and activated his Innocence. The sheer, white cloak appeared around Allen's shoulders, perhaps shining a bit too brightly. Lavi averted his eye until the light dimmed down. He then took off his eye patch, making sure to keep his right eye closed before they began.
"Now I want you to approach the wall slowly. I'm going to watch for any signs of the mist reacting," Lavi ordered. Allen gave a nod of understanding and shrouded himself in his cloak before slowly approaching the wall. Lavi opened his right eye and squinted carefully at the wall. Currently, there wasn't anything showing. It was when Allen got three inches close when Lavi saw the mist appear again.
"Stop right there, Allen," Lavi ordered. Allen froze his hand where it was, three inches from the wall. "I want you to move even slower now." Allen made a face at this order, seeing how slowly he'd been approaching before, but tried his best to comply. Lavi came closer to Allen's hand, making sure to stay well out of the way at the same time. As Allen's hand came closer to the wall, Lavi found that the mist reacted only very slightly. It swirled in wavering circles as if not sure of what to do. It was as if the Innocence was confusing the mist.
Curious, Lavi extended his own bare hand at the wall. Three inches from the castle's exterior, the mist found his hand immediately and started to swirl around it. Lavi immediately withdrew his hand. The mist went back to swirling slowly around. He straightened up and backed away from the wall. Allen turned his head towards Lavi.
"Now what?" Allen asked.
"Touch the wall," Lavi ordered. Allen touched the wall gently, and Lavi found the mist to react the way it had been, confused, but not hostile. Pushing ever so slightly, his hand slipped into the thick stones. Allen almost pulled back his arm in surprise, but restrained himself and stopped when his fingers were completely immersed.
"Okay, you can stop now."
Allen dropped his hand and straightened himself up as well. Lavi put his eye patch back on and cleared his throat.
"It seems that the mist I was telling you about before doesn't know how to react to the presence of Innocence. Or rather, perhaps the Innocence is confusing the mist? Either way, it seems that we won't have to break through the windows anyways. If we just do the same thing as before at King's Cross, I think we can get in. If only we knew where we'd end up…" Lavi trailed off.
"Well, if we know how to get in, then it would probably be best to stop for tonight. I'm hungry and tired and I want to continue this tomorrow. We should probably break into the castle tomorrow and camp outside for tonight. I suppose a fire wouldn't be wise either," Allen said while deactivating his Innocence. Lavi nodded in agreement.
"Right. We should camp a bit farther out from the castle. I'll let Komui know what we've gathered so far. You can start our dinner," said Lavi. They made their way into the denser part of the forest and chose a spot to camp for the night. It was far enough from where they had been experimenting to make them look like animals from the view of anyone in the castle, but was close enough that they could find the entrance the students used to the castle again.
Allen cleared a spot where he could lie out whatever provisions they could spare for that night. He picked out the foods that wouldn't be too bad eaten cold and put away the rest. He split up a portion that would be enough for Lavi to be satisfied with and gave the rest for himself. Lavi glanced at Allen's preparations while programming his golem and blanched.
That pig, Lavi thought. But he didn't protest. Beneath his indignant thoughts, Lavi knew that Allen needed as much food as he could get. He finally finished setting up his golem and waited for the Science department to pick up. He then realized how late it was and hoped that he wasn't disturbing their precious hours of sleep.
Too late, Lavi thought as the golem indicated that the other end picked up. Soon enough, Reever's face popped up in a holographic display coming from the golem's mouth. He could see faint bags under the Section Chief's eyes. Those same eyes brightened up as he saw who was calling.
"Lavi! It's good to see you're still safe," Reever said. Lavi couldn't help but to feel warm at the man's concern.
"Yeah, Allen's here too," Lavi said, moving away for a second to show Allen behind him. He moved back to face Reever. "So is Komui there?" Lavi asked.
"Of course! He's coming here right now," Reever replied. "Here he is. You two play it safe, all right?" said Reever, giving them a tired smile before coming off the screen. Komui's face replaced Reever's.
"Lavi! Reporting back so soon?" came Komui's voice. Lavi had almost forgotten how annoying it was. "So what's new?"
"We've found out how to infiltrate the castle. We've also gotten ourselves something like a disguise for the time being. We kinda had to take some kid's stuff, but we've also gotten ourselves a few books about these people, especially this book about the school's history. We plan to break into the castle tomorrow," Lavi explained. Komui nodded his head, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Also, it seems that this magic that these people use doesn't react to Innocence," Lavi added. He explained the experiment he'd performed at the castle wall. Komui prodded him for more information, his interest perked. "My theory is that this magic isn't related to Innocence. These people seem to really have magical capibilities. To what extent, I don't know, but based on my experiment, it seems that this whole castle was built with magic. There are magical alarm triggers, magical carriages pulled by magical creatures, and magical train platforms. Given the fact that there is a whole school dedicated to this magic business, I'm betting there to be a whole society based around magic," said Lavi.
"Considering the uniqueness of Branch Leader Bak's abilities, perhaps these powers are related in some way," said Komui. "I want you two to continue investigating. However, if it ever becomes dangerous, withdraw immediately. If you're cornered, I want Allen to use the Ark. The higher ups might not like that, but this is currently an investigation only mission that only you Exorcists seem to be able to handle. I don't want you two to risk yourselves for something silly. And one last thing, try to make sure what side these people are on. I'm not quite sure if they have anything to do with our war with the Millennium Earl, but we can't be too careful." Komui said. Lavi nodded his head in understanding.
"Good," said Komui, satisfied. "Now is there anything else to report or ask?" he asked. Lavi shook his head. "Then make sure to keep me updated. Be careful." And with that, they ended the connection and the hologram disappeared. Lavi sighed before turning to his cold, late dinner.
"Cold chicken, cold potato wedges, cold water, and cold vegetables. Yum," said Lavi glumly. Allen looked at him.
"Would you prefer giving our location away with a fire? I think not. Tomorrow we can find the kitchens and snag ourselves some food," Allen replied gruffly. They both sighed.
"I know, I know. It just doesn't make this meal any warmer," Lavi sighed. "You heard my conversation with Komui, right?" Allen nodded. "I guess I'll take the first watch and start reading these books. I'll wake you up at around two in the morning. We'll head back to the castle at around five," said Lavi.
"Sounds good," Allen said, licking off the last of his dinner. He stood up and made his way towards the roots of a tree. He gathered some foliage and lied down, using his Exorcist coat as a blanket. He soon fell fast also settled into the nook of a tree and opened up the first book. He took off his eye patch and began a furious session of rapid reading, making sure to keep himself alert at the same time for approaching danger.
The night grew longer.
And there's the new chapter! I'm finally finished this chapter! Ahhhhh things will start moving faster now I think. Maybe. I hope my audience is still out there~ Review please~!
