Note: Pairings are yet to be decided. This is not a yaoi or shounen ai, but a bishounen. Probably. I think. One more thing, the man who bumped into Lavi last chapter was the same man who came in Allen's room that night when he was having a nightmare.
Tale Three: Mark of the Devil
The whizzing sound of roller blades resonated throughout the empty street of the neighbourhood one Monday morning as the owner zipped in, pulling his wheeled trunk along. A wide smile that reached up to his ears graced his young features as he hummed a happy tune. The boy had a bluish hair, wearing a pair of gray boots that reached up to the middle of his legs, dark brown pants and a green and white striped sweater.
The boy continued on humming a happy tune and only did he stop when he reached the gate he was directed to.
"White gate. Is this it?" the kid let go of his trunk as his both hands rummaged through his pockets, searching for something and that something turned out to a folded piece of paper. He opened the paper and checked the contents. Inside was a sketch of some sort of a map that led from the airport to the train station to the downtown and to the house that has a white gate. On the lower right portion was a picture of someone that no one could identify.
"The map is good and accurate, but his drawing really sucks." he either complimented or commented.
Now that he was sure he was in the right place and not somewhere he is not supposed to be, the kid hit the doorbell twice and waited for half a minute before pressing it again.
"Onii-sama, are you home?" he called.
'Ding dong! Ding dong!'
"Onii-sama?"
The kid sighed. "Did he forget that I am coming?"
He stayed still for a moment, thinking.
"...hmm...what to do? What to d- Ah!" he exclaimed right after a light bulb appeared, hovering above him. "I know!"
+++oOo+++
In the class 1-A, the new student, Allen Walker, who transferred school right at the middle of first semester sat at the first row next to the window. Their first period had finished ten minutes earlier and Allen did nothing since he was introduced to the class, but sat there in silence, chin on his right gloved hand as he stared the vast blue sky outside while his classmates were gossiping about how pale he was and how odd his choice of hair color. He can hear them clearly. Some admired him for his good looks specially the girls in his class while the majority was teasing him from behind and there was this group of good-for-nothing who does not liked him to the very core of their being. He could have told them to stop those accusing words, but he could not bring himself to. He couldn't care less anyway. It doesn't matter what they do in their lives as long as he has nothing to do with it then, he can live his carefree life to the fullest.
"Hey, dude. Are you bored?" he heard someone spoke to him, so he looked over his shoulder and saw four guys in his class. He can tell just by their looks that they were up to no good.
"Not really." he replied and turned his head back to the scenery he was enjoying until some disturbed him.
This reaction of his had insulted the second guy who spoke to him. His comrades looked at him as his face contorted aggressively. However, the guy, who appeared to be their leader, smirked as he composed himself and played it cool.
"Say...didya dyed yer hair? 'Cuz it suits you! You look like an old man! Ahaha!" they laughed together, mocking the white haired teen.
"And wazzup with that get'up, eh? Why wear gloves?" the other one on the left teased.
"Dude, he needs it for his rheumatism."
And the whole class burst into laughter.
The four sure had a good time teasing the new student. Oh, how they loved to see the pained look they were waiting for.
"Haah..." Allen sighed, intentionally. This made the four to stop laughing followed by the whole class who sensed the leader's temper almost reached the boiling point.
"What?" he growled.
"Nothing." Allen replied dejectedly without looking at them.
Somewhere in a household a kettle whistled, calling for someone who put it on the stove to turn the heat off.
At the same time, the guy had reached his boiling point. He slammed his right hand on Allen's table, yanked him and punched him on his left cheek. Allen was too shocked at this that he did not notice he was falling until he was sitting on the floor, not moving. Just then, the door to their class slid open and entered a man in his twenties wearing the proper teacher's uniform though he had a beret on.
"What's going on in here?" he asked the whole class who fell silent. The teacher looked at the group of four males towering the white haired student who was still in shock. "Can anyone pray tell?"
"I fell on my seat, sir. They just came to help me up." Allen spoke immediately now that he had recovered from his shock.
"I see... Now, go back to your proper seats. We're going to start." the teacher smiled as he went to the teacher's table and the students oblige, scrambled back to their seats. He knew that what the transfer student had said was just a lie. After all, he knew him so well since he graduated in that school four years ago. The teacher wanted to punish those four, but he knew Allen won't let him do it because it will only make things worse for the transfer student, so he said, "By the way, Mr. Walker?"
"Yes, sir?"
"It's good to see you here." and with that said, the class started.
The guy from before glared at Allen's back from his seat. He could never accept defeat and would never will. How dare was he to say that to the teacher? Did he just show pity on me!? He 'tsked', clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white and that was when he noticed something on his right hand. He lifted it up and took a closer look at the back of his hand. There was something white on it. He used his left hand to take that substance; he examined what it looked like a powder and smelled it.
His brows furrowed in his conclusion.
"Cosmetics...he is using cosmetics on his face...?" he smirked.
+++oOo+++
The kid who arrived at the house Allen rented had managed to pick the lock on the gate and on the door. He already unpacked and arranged his things in his room that Allen prepared for him the other day. There were only two rooms, so it was not that hard to find his. Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to take a look around. For someone as rich and wealthy as Allen, he sure rented a cheap yet good looking house. Well, not bad for someone who will temporarily live in. After marvelling the in and out of the house, the kid skid back inside and into the kitchen. He opened the fridge to grab something to eat when a golden light came out of it and his eyes twinkled as if he found a treasure chest with gold inside.
"Wow... As expected of onii-sama!" he beamed.
The kid picked up an armful of snacks from the fridge, waltzed into the living room, plopped on the couch and turned the TV on with the remote he found on the coffee table.
He spent two hours watching television and eating chips and biscuits. Now, the living room was a mess. He knew that Allen would scold him for this, so he went to grab a dust pan and broom and started cleaning his mess. Afterwards, he walked aimlessly around the house. If the TV was turned off he was sure that the house was creepy since there were no other noise aside from the occasional sound of a vehicle that was passing by and the dog's bark. The house was good indeed, but it was out of place seeing that it was located at the farthest end of the block where it was twenty five meters away from the nearest neighbour.
"Hm? What's this?" he picked the white envelope up on the table in the dining room. He turned it back and found a scripture of some sort written in black ink. "I've never seen any calligraphy that looks like this, maybe it's a code? Onii-sama must have forgotten this." curious, so curious, he ripped it open and tried to read what was inside. Yes, he tried and failed miserably. "Haah... I don't know how to decode this if this is a code..." he sighed, then frowned when something caught his eye. At the center bottom of the letter was...
"An inverted black star...? What the heck!? Is onii-sama a member of illuminati!?"
+++oOo+++
"WHAAAT!" a very loud and high pitch exclamation shook the whole cafeteria which made the other students to stop. A girl who was pouring her juice drink in another cup had spilled her skirt without her noticing it while the other guy whose spoonful of food held in air just a centimeter or two away from his open mouth as they looked at the source of the cafeteria shaking voice. It turned up to be the Chinese, Lenalee Lee.
Apparently, she stood abruptly as she slammed both hands on the table when she exclaimed after hearing what had Lavi told her.
She flushed red, embarrassed.
"Have you no shame?" Kanda, who sat a meter away from Lavi who was across Lenalee, asked.
"S-sorry..." she mumbled as she sat back. The students then resumed eating.
"So...uhm... Lavi, you had tea with him yesterday?"
"Yup!"
"Why did you not tell me? Kanda and I should have joined you!" she whined.
"Don't involve me in that." Kanda protested.
"Oh, c'mon Yuu. I know you want it."
"Call me by my name again and I sure am as hell that you will live today to die tomorrow."
"S-scary..." Lavi paled. "A-anyway, how about we gate crash to his house?"
"Eh? But that is trespassing." said Lenalee.
"I know! But, little Allen is a good person. He's good in piano! Don't you want to hear him singing while playing the piano?"
"I do!"
"What about you, Kan~da?"
"Tch. Whether I want to or not you will do everything in your might to make me say yes, so whatever."
"Yay!" Lavi raised his hands in the air childishly.
+++oOo+++
Later that afternoon after classes, the three went straight from school to Allen's house and came face to face with a kid at the gate.
". . . ."
"Who the hell are you?" Lavi deadpanned.
"I ask you same thing. Who the hell are you?" the kid replied, matching Lavi's deadpanned expression.
"Mah name's Lavi. This beauty here is Lenalee and this grouchy samurai wannabe is Yuu- ouch!" he cringed, nursing the bulge on his head. "What was that for?" he looked at Kanda behind with teary eye.
"I told you not to call me that!"
"Yes..."
"Just call him Kanda. What's yours?" Lenalee asked with a smile as she crouched down.
"I'm Timothy Hearst. Cousin of Allen Walker. Please state your business here.
"Huh?" they blinked.
"My, you speak like you are in a business meeting. Well, we are here to visit a friend, your cousin." said Lavi.
"I'm sorry to say but onii-sama was not here yet."
"Where is he then?"
"I dunno. Probably he went shopping for groceries."
"Mind if we wait for him?" Lenalee asked.
"...hmm...onii-sama told me not to let any stranger, but I guess you are as harmless as an innocent ant, so welcome in." the kid, stepped aside and let them pass.
"You know...ants can also bite." Lavi winked, but it appeared he just closed his eye.
And so, the four found their selves screaming out their wits as Lavi suggested to have a movie marathon while waiting for the Allen. Leanalee and Lavi both had help Timothy looked for something that was eye catching and interesting to watch in the cabinet beneath the flat screen TV while Kanda just sat on the couch, legs crossed and arms spread wide. There, Lenalee found the Last Destination, the latest ones, and they all agreed to watch. Timothy grabbed two buckets of popcorn and four canned fruit sodas to share. To add to the thrill, Timothy had the windows closed and lights off. That was when Lenalee started screaming behind the cushion, Timothy had accidentally thrown the popcorn on the TV screen, Lavi was behind the couch on all fours, and Kanda was trembling at the sight.
Who would have thought that Kanda would tremble in a horror movie?
All of them, except Kanda who was pale for not letting his fear out, were screaming and only will they stop if the scene was calm and peace.
But then again, there is always a storm after the calm.
Despite all of that, they were really enjoying the movie marathon that they didn't notice it was already dark outside, furthermore, Allen was walking back home with three bags of groceries when he heard screams from his house.
"Did I forget to lock the door and gate that a thief barged in, saw a ghost and screamed? Huh. That's ridiculous."
"KYAAAH! He's decapitated!" Lenalee screamed.
"Oh my GOD! That was disgusting!" Lavi yelled.
"...There's too much blood...am gonna puke..." Timothy paled.
"Go to the bathroom!" Kanda pushed him up and out of the couch.
'CLICK'
The lights turned on.
". . . ."
Allen stared at the four. Lenalee hugged the cushion on her chest tightly with her legs up, Lavi was behind the couch, cowering, Kanda was pale and trembling a bit though he had this bold facade, and Timothy was on all fours, pale and blue, ready to puke at any moment if you allowed.
"...hi...there..." Lavi trailed off.
"I see...you were having fun." said Allen.
"Onii-sama... I'm sorry." now standing up, Timothy apologized.
"It's okay. I know this will happen, but please...clean those mess after watching.
"Y-yes. Thank you!"
"You're welcome." Allen then went to the kitchen to unpack his groceries and prepare for dinner.
They all seemed to forget that a character from the movie was killed upon the arrival of Allen.
"I thought he is going to get mad at us." said Lenalee.
"Don't worry. Onii-sama won't be mad. He just dislikes unorganized things. He is a kind person." Timothy assured.
"He's right. He even let me have tea with him yesterday." Lavi supported.
In the kitchen, Allen put all the bags on the table when he noticed the white envelope he forgot this morning. He picked it up and discovered that someone ripped it open and might have read the contents. He only one person who would do that kind of stuff and that was no other than...
"Timothy Hearst." he called.
"Ye~s?" replied the kid from the living room.
"You opened this letter, did you not?"
"Yes, onii-sama! But, don't worry, I couldn't read it."
"I see..."
"UWAAAH!"
Allen sighed when he heard their screams.
+++oOo+++
The movie soon ended and Timothy cleaned their mess with the help of three. Since it was already dinner time, Allen invited them to have dinner with them in which they gladly accept. Kanda would have resisted if not because of the soba that seemed to enchant him to eat it. He was surprised at the teen who cooked the dishes. He never would have thought that the British knew Japanese cuisine.
"You bet! Onii-sama is a genius after all!" said Timothy proudly.
"Really?" Lavi and Lenalee chorused.
"Not really. It just so happened I went to Japan two years ago with someone and learned how to cook Japanese cuisine."
"Tasty." they heard Kanda said out of the blue.
"Did you say something, Kanda?" Lenalee asked.
"I said it's tasty."
They all ate their dinner accompanied by a small chat, talking about the things that happened recently and occasional insults between Kanda, Lavi, and Allen who always retorted back in a calm and polite manner which really pisses Kanda off until Lenalee noticed the bruised on Allen's cheek.
"Your cheek looks like swelling."
"Oh, someone punched me at school this morning."
"What!? Why would someone do that?"
"I don't know. But I guess they are the school bullies."
"What? You were bullied, onii-sama?"
"Yes."
"Idiot. Don't answer like it was nothing to you beansprout."
"My name's Allen, JerKanda. And yes, I don't care at all."
"But, beansprout... You should fight back! Or better yet, call us for help!"
"Please refrain from calling me that, Lavi. And, thank you for the offer, but I can handle the things myself."
"So, you're fighting back?" Lavi asked expectantly.
"Nope."
"Why?" Timothy and Lenalee asked.
"It will just get worst in my part."
"So, what are you going to do if you won't fight back? Report it?" asked Kanda.
"Nope. I'll handle everything my own way."
The dinner soon ended and the three went back to their homes. Timothy offered to wash the dishes instead of Allen and told him to get some rest. Allen thanked him for his help. Normally, he would not accept it, but Timothy is his relative and they were closed to each other.
Allen went to his bedroom, closing the door behind. He clicked the lamp on the nightstand to lit and shuffled on his bed under the blanket. He sat there, leaning his back on the wall and opened the letter. Inside were figures like codes. He can read it just fine though it was his first time to encounter it, or so what he thought. At the bottom he saw a black inverted star and his left gloved hand automatically reached for his forehead where he hid his scar under the concealer.
"What's the meaning of this?" he asked himself, brows furrowed.