Requiem of Time: Chapter Two - Lavi


As Lavi and Bookman rode in their little boat up to the main entrance of the Dark Order's headquarters, the apprentice bookman was currently debating whether or not to perform his usual reaction to beautiful women when he first meets Lenalee in this timeline. He was still thinking when their destination came in sight, but the decision was made for him the moment he saw the green haired Exorcist waiting.

"Strike!" he shouted excitedly, a heart appearing in his one eye. He heard Bookman sigh from behind him, causing him to grin. The grin was directed at Lenalee though.

Lenalee blushed upon hearing his comment, and she opened her mouth excitedly to ask him something, but Lavi moved fast.

He was being cautious. From what he understood of Time, it would be best if he stayed as close to the original timeline as possible. Changing the past was thought to have drastic setbacks to make up for what should not change. For example, saving someone in the past who should have died only resulted in her dying the next day from something else. At least, that was how current theories portrayed it in the books he had read.

Besides fear of Time itself, Lavi knew the importance of secrecy. Not just holding off Bookman, but Lavi feared the reaction of others when they discovered the truth - or if they rejected the truth. As it was, the safest thing to do in the present was keep the truth hidden, and he could tell immediately from the way Lenalee opened her mouth that she would ruin all of that.

He bounded out of the boat like a love struck fool and kneeled before her, grabbing her hands. The heart-eye was still going full blast. "Hello there, my name is Lavi, and I'm going to be a new Exorcist here. What's your name?"

Her smile froze before shifting into a frown. "Lavi?"

Lavi's forced himself to smile. "Yeah, that's my name. What's your's?" For now, she had to think that he was the original Lavi, not the one she knew.

Lenalee opened and closed her mouth twice before a pained look entered her eyes and tears appeared to be on the brink of falling. "Lenalee Lee," she whispered finally, not meeting his eyes.

It hurt Lavi to do this, but it was necessary until they could speak in private. Seeing her in pain especially hurt. However, as a bookman apprentice he had been taught how to push himself through emotionally tugging situations.

"That's a wonderful name, Lenalee," he almost froze at the way the name rolled off his tongue, the way he used it during and after he and her had been together. Seeing that she didn't notice, however, he continued, "The panda and I-" He was cut off as Bookman kicked his head into the dirt.

"Watch who you're calling a panda!" Bookman shouted angrily. Huffing at his apprentice, he turned to Lenalee with a kind smile. "We are the bookmen who have come here to be Exorcists. I assume you are here to show us to Supervisor Komui?" Lenalee masked her hurt and nodded.

Lavi breathed out a sigh as he followed Bookman and Lenalee through the now familiar headquarters. Now that he thought about it, it didn't make any sense why Lenalee would be sad. It wasn't like they were together anymore or anything, and he was still alive even if she thought he didn't remember anything, just like everyone else. It wasn't like they couldn't be friends again even if he didn't actually have his memories... He sighed again when he realized he was just trying to sooth his own conscious.

Introductions and receiving his Innocence passed by in a blur, although he was still careful to keep himself covered. He was surprised to find Lenalee hiding the truth as well but glad for it nevertheless. As he and Bookman tested out their respective Innocence in the training room, Lavi let his mind wander back to Japan and the girl he couldn't save.

"Grow!"

Chomesuke had held onto her sanity longer than any other modified Akuma, according to her. That was good. However, obviously that wasn't enough.

"Grow!"

The Millennium Earl trying to command her in the rally with all the other Akuma had been the catalyst leading to her death. However, if he had called out to all the Akuma there was no escaping that save attacking the Earl himself. Only Allen could do that and live.

"Grow!"

Lavi felt that the missing piece was Eliade and the way she restrained herself without being modified, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out how to implement that.

"Grow!"

Damnit, he didn't want to leave her to die again. Chomesuke deserved more than self-destruction for everything she did. It was even her blood that helped Crowley live through his fight against Jasdebi. She deserved life!

"Grow!"

Of course, his passion for her continued existence had nothing to do with any attraction to her, he was sure. It was just because he refused to see a friend die. It goes without saying he was willing to ignore the rule about not changing the past when it involved her.

"I think it's big enough, Lavi," a wry voice broke Lavi out of his musings, and his blush made him feel a fool. His hammer was already brushing the ceiling and he had nothing to use it on.

With a nervous chuckle he let it return to its normal size. "I just wanted to see how big I could make it."

Bookman stared at him for a moment before going back to his own exercises with his Heaven Compass. Lavi let out a hidden sigh of relief before going over his hammer again. He didn't notice Bookman staring at him through the corner of his eyes.

Eventually they were given their rooms and Lavi bid Bookman goodnight. They both went to their separate rooms, right next to each other, but Lavi didn't bother undressing for bed yet. He set down his bag and immediately turned for the door. He opened it and left without trying to be quiet - that would only appear suspicious and have Bookman tailing after him.

Once he got to the next level of rooms, Lavi considerably quieted down. He climbed several more floors before he finally reached his destination. He opened the door without knocking and locked it behind him. He couldn't keep the grin off his face at what he saw inside.

Lenalee was in the middle of changing into her shift for sleeping, and Lavi walked in just in time to see the cloth pulled over her pale backside. He crossed his arms and leaned against the door before making a sound of approval.

Lenalee spun in a heartbeat, cheeks aflame and a yell on her lips. When she saw who it was, however, she calmed down only to remember and instantly become guarded again. Lavi watched the emotions pass across her beautiful face as he had learned how to all those years ago.

"Don't blush; it isn't anything I haven't seen before," he said with a grin as he righted himself and began to walk towards her.

Lenalee was still for a second as what she was hearing warred with the world as she knew it - that Lavi didn't remember anything - and when she finally reached her conclusion she was more than willing to respond to Lavi's breathtaking kiss as he swept her into a tight embrace. There was love behind the kiss, from both of them, but it was different than the fiery passionate ones they shared in the past.

The kiss didn't last long, but Lavi refused to let her go afterwards. Not that Lenalee minded. She herself felt such relieve that she was afraid to let go of him.

Lavi's one eye was glaring down at her, but the hint of a smile barely restrained that Lenalee noticed took the edge off. "You are a fool, preparing to just shout greetings at me when we've never even met before."

Lenalee's grin was sheepish, and it brought out the smile from him. "Well, I needed someone to talk to, and I was just a little excited."

Lavi's look told her he didn't believe her. "Just a little excited? You were practically ready to jump into the water just to reach me sooner. I know I'm good looking, but I thought you had more control than that."

Lavi realized his mistake as soon as Lenalee turned mischievous. The girl suddenly pushed him back, and he fell onto her bed. "I'll show you who has more control…"

When Lenalee reached for her shift, Lavi gaped. "You want to do that here? Now?" She pulled it over her head.

Still with her sly smile, Lenalee began to undo Lavi's coat. "You can be my first twice now." With a resigned chuckle, Lavi helped with the last of the buttons.

****

Two hours later, Lavi and Lenalee were snuggling comfortably, and their breathing had regained its normal quality. Silence followed, yet neither were planning on going to sleep yet. Lavi, for one, could not afford being found in her room, and Bookman would surely notice him not returning. Lenalee was merely deep in thought, trying to wrap her mind around what had happened and what it would mean for them in the future.

Finally, the green haired woman in a girl's body sighed. "Allen comes here tomorrow."

"Tomorrow night, I know," Lavi muttered back thoughtfully, "and I'll be gone by tomorrow morning. We won't meet again until after you and Allen almost die fighting Rhode with Miranda, four weeks from now."

Lenalee nodded against his chest, but her grip tightened on him possessively. Not for the last time she wondered what things would have been like if they had stayed together. "Allen's nightmares will return."

This time it was Lavi's turn to nod. The things the boy (Lavi still thought of him that way) had seen and done - either from his curse or past, Fourteenth Noah or Rhode, even Akuma or Millennium Earl himself - had scarred his mind pitifully, and still Allen moved forward with a smile and a touch of politeness. "You shouldn't sleep with him when he comes. Not that I'm jealous or anything - I know that you only sleep - but…" Lavi drifted off with a frown.

Lenalee picked up on his thought. "Destroyer of Time?" At Lavi's grunt of approval, she sighed. "I won't say anything, but I think he'll change enough just by what he cannot change. He is, after all, the youngest Marshal in history even if he was never acknowledged, and it is mandatory for new Exorcists to be checked upon arrival." Lavi was silent. Of them, only Allen had ever exceeded the Critical Point, although Lavi was close with his ninety-six, as seen today. That had raised a few eyes.

"That's true, but perhaps this is what it meant. Allen is a child of prophesy, both an Exorcist and a Noah, cursed, with the power to rival the Millennium Earl, and - as he would say - "with a hand for humanity and a hand for the souls of Akuma." Every step he takes sends ripples through history, leaving his influence even indirectly. Bookman and I are here to accurately record the war between Akuma and Exorcist, but I was assigned the task of recording the one who is destined to destroy Time. Against something that big, all I can do is watch the ruins he leaves in his wake."

"I hate when you get this way," Lenalee groaned good-naturedly, causing Lavi to break from his haze and smile. After a moment of silence though, Lenalee sighed. "It's hard thinking of Allen that way. To me, I just see the little white haired boy who walks through our doors tomorrow."

"It's hard to see that 'white haired boy' when he's fighting a Level Five," Lavi muttered dryly. Lenalee flinched, but she knew it was true. Allen had scared her then, and it wasn't because his skin had turned ashen or the fifth level of his cursed eye or even the raw power he was swinging around in that fight. No, Allen had scared because of something else. She shuddered.

Eyes closed, Allen calmly muttered his prayer for the dead with a small smile, "May your pitiful soul find rest in the next life."

And the world went white.

Forcing that memory back, Lenalee untangled herself from Lavi. "You should be getting back now." The one-eyed man eyed her for a moment, seeing her holding the sheets to cover her bared chest and her purple eyes not meeting his gaze. Sensing the mood, he nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Lenalee." The name flowed off his tongue with its affectionate familiarity. He stood, shameless of his nudity, before slipping on his headband. Lenalee's only response was a single nod, and he finished dressing in silence. Finally, he slipped out the door, Lenalee not looking at him once as he went.

Lavi opened and closed his door more quietly, conscious of people sleeping yet still not the suspiciously inaudible method he could have. He threw his dirty clothes into a pile and took a shower before going to bed. His thoughts resolved around Allen, Kro-chan, Miranda, and even a bit of Yu. The blue haired, Japanese Exorcist had died not too long ago, in the middle of the push for the Millennium Earl's head yet before they actually met the Earl.

It was a shame really. Kanda's ability had grown exponentially over the years. The damn Dark Order's experiments had been the cause of death as surely as the Level Five had been. For the life of him, Lavi hoped that five was the limit to how much an Akuma could level up. That thing was a monster - a monster among monsters - and even one was too much to see in one life. From what he had heard from Allen about how a Level Four's trapped soul became grossly corrupted, he didn't dare imagine what happened to a Level Five's.

Allen's case was a pitiful one, and still he went on smiling.

Lavi growled into his pillow and flipped over. Sleep came hard that night.

****

The next day, Lavi waved goodbye to Lenalee with a wide grin as he shouldered his hammer. Bookman was already waiting for him in the boat, and without further adieu hopped in and began rowing. He didn't need to look to know Lenalee was smiling at his back, nor that Bookman was studying him intently.

His grin was a mask, but a small part of him felt like he was facing a more positive future. The grin didn't feel as forced. As the duo cleared the canals, Lavi felt like giving out a shout of exhilaration. This time Allen would kill the Millennium Earl. This time not near as many would die. This time… This time Chomesuke would live.

Second chances were a beautiful thing.


AN: Alright, either something is wrong with FF . net or people just don't like me. No reviews for a chapter is a bit harsh, but it's nothing I wasn't prepared for, I suppose. Then again, even after 2-3 days my profile still lists this story as one chapter even though I updated. Well, with this chapter I hope for the best.