WARNING! This story contains SPOILERS and YAOI! Also a few minor OCs, so don't kill me.
Gah... *stumbles out covered in lots of mushed spoiled food and with bruises everywhere* ...you guys are so brutal~ D: Oh well, I supposed I deserved it from a cliffy like I left you with last time. ^_^;;
Ok. So I know most of you don't like Lenalee too much, and neither do I to be honest. But the girl isn't TOTALLY useless anymore so I felt I had to give her a chance to prove herself. So bear with me! Don't worry, we'll return the focus to Allen and Kanda soon enough!
For all of my new readers and reviewers, you guys are awesome! Thank you so much for sticking with me, even though I can't update as frequently as I would like to.
Oh! On another note, I decided to make a trailer for this fic! If you want to check it out, it's on youtube. I have the same account name there as here. Just type "watch?v=G7foX4TUV3E" into the url bar after the ".com" or search for it in youtube under "Fallen D Gray Man Fanfiction Trailer". It'll be the first video.
Lastly, I just want to make it known that this fic is entirely dedicated and devoted to my lovely beansprout, Ulqy-chan. To see how far we've come from when we first met to where we are today is amazing. I love you, baka Moyashi. ^_^
Rated: T [for violence and language] Bold: Used only in dreams or flashbacks to indicate the main character's lines. Italics: Used to indicate dreams, flashbacks, and thoughts.
Chapter Fifteen: The Power of Crystal
Lenalee winced as the second whirlwind sent shooting pain through her broken ankle, but she hardened her amethyst eyes and refused to let it bother her.
Allen-kun and Kanda-kun need me. I can't back down. I won't let myself be useless!
The berserk Tyki managed to save himself from another hard hit and wove his vines into a shield-like barrier, shoving it to the side and redirecting the burst of wind away from him. He was not, however, able to escape getting cut all up and down the vines. Releasing a beastly hiss of pain like a snake, Tyki shot four vines at the female exorcist. Lenalee's hair swished as she leapt out of the way, but the vines snaked back around like heat-seeking missiles after her. The small red wings on her Dark Boots fluttered and emitted a burst of light as she disappeared at the speed of sound.
The Noah let out a confused growl and his helmeted head whipped side to side, trying to find her, until suddenly he lurched forward. His body was thrown a good thirty feet or so, vines flailing, to hit a jagged outcrop of metal from the wreckage, piercing his side and causing him to snarl in pain.
Lenalee huffed, hovering directly behind where Tyki had been standing previously, her arms crossed and her face reflecting an indignant expression. She was cleverly masking the pain from the throbbing ankle, each repeated whirlwind attack aggravating it further. Purple eyes narrowed as Tyki turned to face her again with a hiss, bleeding from the side.
"Do you even have a heart? Or are you just a mindless toy of the Earl?"
The exorcist asked the Noah, miffed that the man seemed to have no idea what he was doing, allowing himself to be turned into this hideous beast before her.
"You know, I actually feel bad for you, Tyki."
The Noah of Pleasure snarled and pointed at her, shooting a rapid succession of purple rings in her direction, all of which exploded as soon as they made it to her. Lenalee gracefully turned and twisted in the air, dodging nearly all of them until one caught her in the arm and she let out a cry of pain. It exploded, throwing her back against a wall with a thud. Before she could regain her senses, four vines shot at her and wrapped around her wrists and ankles, yanking her off the ground and into the air. Tyki smirked and laughed eerily as the vines tightened, wrenching another sharp cry from the girl's throat.
"Foolish exorcist."
::
"Lenalee!"
Allen's eyes widened as Tyki caught the Chinese in his grasp and he lurched forward with Kanda's body still in his arms, until he was stopped by a massive pain in his head. The boy doubled over, gritting his teeth and fingers tightening around Kanda, willing the headache to go away.
Lenalee...she's fighting for us. Alone. I have to help her!!
He attempted to activate his innocence but a painful spark burnt his left arm and he had a bear of a time holding back from crying out.
"Stupid boy, what are you trying to do, kill yourself?!"
But...I have to..!
"No. You don't. And you can't. Your innocence can't handle it."
I don't care, I have to!!
Allen tried again and this time received a large jolt through his body, innocence protesting violently, and he couldn't hold back the cry.
"AAHHH!!"
"See? I told you."
F*ck you.
::
At the sound of Allen's scream, Lenalee's eyes flew wide open.
Allen-kun!
Unable to see whether or not it was Tyki who was hurting the exorcist, she assumed it was and fought against the vines holding her captive. The Noah grinned and raised a finger to her face. Lenalee stared in horror at the beginnings of a purple light forming and she suddenly jerked her body, twisting around so her heels were facing the monster. Glowing rings shot around the wings on her anti-akuma boots, sparking before Tyki found himself lost in a brilliant white light. The force hit later, sending a jarring shock wave that ripped his vines off his body, canceling the purple ring he had been forming and throwing him with a sickening thud into the ground.
Lenalee landed on the ground beside the crater she had made and stood for only a moment before falling to her knees. She winced painfully, that last attack having done quite a number on her broken ankle, rubbing her wrists with a grimace. The Noah groaned in a more human tone, lying unmoving on the ground, his severed vines twitching.
::
"Hm."
A soft grunt of annoyance was heard and Devitt yawned, opening an eye towards the source of the sound. He was currently sprawled out on a chair, sitting beside his brother, who was draped half over the table and half still on the chair, snoring loudly with his hand still clutching his revolver. The black-haired punk of a Noah stretched awkwardly, arching his back and extending his arms over his head, bending at the elbows to flop behind his head. He rubbed a fist in his eye, the other hand twirling his own revolver around a finger.
"What is it, Earl-sama?"
The Earl was frowning, hunched over the chess board, like he'd been for the past three hours. Road had grown bored of watching after the first twenty minutes and had gone off to play with Lero. Jasdero and himself had fallen asleep after about an hour and a half, though he kept waking every so often, unable to sleep with his brother's constant snores.
There was no response to his question and Devitt began to feel uneasy, shifting to sit properly in the chair, leaning forward onto the polished ebony table. He narrowed his golden eyes to peer at the chess board. The white knight near the black king and queen was now in danger of capture by the black rook. Devitt's mouth formed an "oh" as he realized the black king had performed the move called "castling".
Ah, he's mad.
The Noah squinted one eye, sighing at the Earl's lack of an answer and halting the twirl of his gold-plated gun to jab the barrel into Jasdero's side. The blonde moaned and his bandage-wrapped arm raised on instinct to hold his own gun up to Devitt's head. The black-headed boy didn't even flinch at the cold metal on his scalp, merely smirking as his other half cracked open his eyes with a tired whine.
"Neh, Devitt-kun~! I was sleeping!"
"Baka, you were snoring so loud I couldn't sleep!"
"Well ya didn't have ta wake me!"
"If you didn't snore so much, I wouldn't have to!"
"So mean~"
A rough huff alerted them to the Earl's displeasure and the twins stopped their bickering, turning their heads in his direction. The First's top hat was tilted awkwardly to the side where his hand had shoved it and his plastic grin seemed even more plastic than usual. With a snort, he snatched up the white knight and moved it in a backwards "L" away from the black rook. The twins tensed and Devitt narrowed his eyes, not daring to speak. The Earl did that himself.
"F*cking exorcists."
::
Tyki slowly rose to his feet. His head was turned towards Lenalee and cocked at an odd angle and his teeth were gritted in anger, suggesting that he was glaring at her from behind the mask. The Chinese exorcist tensed and tried to stand, but the bad ankle ruled that out, causing her to hiss and fall back to her knees. Allen could only watch helplessly as the Noah approached Lenalee.
No...this can't be happening!
The second the thought crossed his mind, a flash of light jerked his attention away from Lenalee. His golden eyes beheld a dark door opening in the air directly behind Tyki, two shadows gracing it as the figures bearing the shadows stepped out.
What...
He fleetingly saw Lenalee's purple orbs widen as two sets of arms grabbed Tyki and began hauling him back into the floating door. The voices froze him to the spot.
"C'mon, Tyki-pon. That's enough playtime with the exorcists."
"Ne~ come play with us now!"
Allen narrowed his eyes as the familiar faces of Devitt and Jasdero met him. They were sporting grins and laughing, poking at Tyki's wounds. He shuddered. Was the Noah Clan always this unfeeling to their own? With a shake of his head, he watched as Tyki was pulled back into the Earl's Ark door, the twins waving to them with oddly friendly grins.
"Sorry to cut your fun short, but we gotta go!"
"Yup, yup~!"
The white-haired exorcist couldn't remember a time when he'd been as happy to see an enemy as right now.
"Teehee!! Until next time, exorcists!"
With that, the Ark door shut and the light was gone, darkness enveloping the area once again. Allen collected himself and looked over to Lenalee, who was making her way to him, crawling through the mess of dirt and debris.
"Lenalee! Are you alright?"
The girl reached him and smiled weakly, sitting beside him.
"Yea...I'm okay, Allen-kun. Just a broken ankle. But what about you?"
Her eyes shone with concern and Allen forced himself to look away from the sparkling amethyst, eyes focusing on the limp body in his arms. Tears formed once again in his golden irises, falling onto the bare chest sprawled with a black tattoo. His gaze moved from the tattoo up the Japanese's chest and neck to rest on his face. It was peaceful, like he was finally getting the rest that he'd never had before in his life. Allen felt a lump form in his throat.
"...Allen-kun?"
Lenalee's voice barely reached him. He tried to respond but couldn't. Instead, he moved his black hand to brush a stray strand of midnight blue hair from Kanda's face, keeping his palm on the older boy's cheek. The skin was horrifyingly cold to the touch. Allen's chest twisted as his eyes found the deep stab wound that defaced the exorcist's perfectly toned chest, painting a splatter of red across the black pattern of his tattoo and marring the softly tanned pectorals. More tears fell onto Kanda's body.
Kanda...you...
...no...
...it's all my fault!
"Allen? I asked if you were alright..."
Unfortunately, those were the worst possible words for Lenalee to use at this moment. Allen rounded on Lenalee, golden eyes sparking with a glare, moisture shining in them.
"Me?! Am I alright?! Who cares!! What about Kanda?! Huh?! Is he alright?!"
The girl stared at him, stunned with shock and hurt.
"Do you only ever think about me, Lenalee?! What about Kanda?! Kanda!! He died and it's all my fault!!"
Lenalee lifted a hand to touch Allen's shoulder but he wrenched it away from her.
"Don't even touch me!! You shouldn't care about me!! I'm a murderer! I killed exorcists at the Order, I injured Lavi's arm, and I was stupid enough to let Kanda fight all alone! Don't you see?!"
Tears formed in the exorcist's eyes as she trembled beneath Allen's onslaught. He was hurting her, badly. And to top it off, the seven marks of the Fourteenth still remained on his forehead, casting a very frightening look on his face as he glared at her in anger. Her fingers shook as she grasped the hem of her skirt.
"Allen..."
"I KILLED KANDA!!"
Allen burst out, the yell breaking into a painful sob. He wrapped his arms around Kanda's head and cried into the exorcist's blood-matted hair, shoulders shaking violently.
"I...It was all my fault...I...killed him..."
::
Lenalee hid her face in her hands, crying into them. She felt so helpless. Allen was blaming himself and Kanda was...
K-Kanda-kun...
She choked on a sob, lowering her hands enough to look at the exorcist's body as he lay with his head in Allen's arms. Kanda. The exorcist who everyone loved to hate. A harsh-talking, cold-hearted samurai with an uncanny ability to come up with nicknames that fit people perfectly. The boy who had always pushed people away and said he didn't care, but when it mattered he wouldn't hesitate to throw his life on the line for his comrades. The Japanese who had allowed her a small sliver of his tolerance, sharing the meditation room with her, even complimenting her from time to time. Always listening when she needed to confide in him. Always tolerant when she wanted to tease him. Always caring for her own good. He was her second brother in a sense.
And now he was gone.
Tears clouded her view until she couldn't see straight. With a small cry of grief, Lenalee brought her face down onto the top portion of Kanda's chest, tears falling on the skin and trailing down. Her senses clouded into a fog and she shook in silent agony as Allen voiced her sorrow with loud ones. The two inspectors stood off to the side silently still, though neither exorcist even registered their existence.
Lenalee's heart broke and she clutched Kanda's torso, shutting out even the sound of Allen's heart-wrenching sobs, listening only to the shaky beat of Kanda's heart and the soft labored exhale of breath...
Her eyes flew wide open.
"Allen-kun! Kanda-kun's still breathing!!"
Haha, there you see? I didn't kill off Kanda. I wouldn't do that to you guys...
...or would I? o.o;;
Next chapter...What Do You Really Want?