Chapter2! Pls review! :)

I'm still currently thinking on how this story should progress. Most likely I would not update it rather frequently, but reviews are certainly welcome if you want to suggest anything regarding my story! :) Pls tell me if anywhere in this chapter is weird! Thanks!

SingingBlues

Chapter 2: Death Sentence

Allen, you...are going to die today.

A foreign face approached him as a pair of hands lunged towards his face.

"What?!?" His eyes flew open immediately, before he felt something cold and sharp touching dangerously at his throat. His eyes widened.

He realised he was not alone.

The air was still as he stiffened on the spot, unable to move. His eyes gazed at whoever was doing this, but it was so dark, he could see no one. He could not even see the weapon which was threatening him, only felt the cold and dark malice which could devour him at this instant. A killing instinct.

He was going to be killed.

"Who are you?" He asked firmly, trying to hide the fear which was overpowering him. He knew that if he let fear control him, he would be dead before the killer could kill him. As he waited for the killer's reply, many thoughts were generated in his quick mind, searching for any solutions. In the end, he decided to use his phone placed at the table beside his bed to call the police.

"So, who are you?" He asked again, his hand started to move. Stealthing cautiously and avoiding to be caught, he fixed his gaze at where the killer supposed to be, while his hand was heading towards the table, which he counted, was about forty centimetres away from his current position. The pale moonlight shone into his room through the window, as the clock ticked softly, telling people that time was slowly slipping away.

A few minutes passed, and nothing happened. Allen did not know whether he should be glad or suspicious about the situation. The killer did not answer his question, nor did he make his final move by slashing his throat with one swift cut. Should he do it, he would have been dead instantly.

Wait, dead? Did he say...dead? Allen's hand stopped in getting his phone back. It slowly went back to its owner's side, as his thoughts started to rewind again. Dead. Why couldn't he think of that? When he was dead, his misery would end instantly, his loneliness and emptiness would end instantly, his build-up exhaustion would end instantly, the constant demands from his uncle would end instantly...everything would end instantly.

And with that, he would go and find Mana, and lived with him forever in the underworld, not disturbed by the troubles circulated in the real world. With Mana, then would he find real happiness in his life. So it would be better if he was dead. Yes, he should be dead. Now.

He silently closed his eyes. He started to think of his friends: Lenalee, Krory, Chaoji, and the mysterious red-haired teenager whom he had met in school. He hadn't forgotten about him, and wanted to know his name. He wanted to make friends with him, but it was all too late. The thoughts changed to an image of a middle-aged man, who resembled of a clown in a circus. Perhaps minutes later, his wish would be granted.

"I'm ready. Kill me," Allen said, having his final resolution. Though he could not see the killer, he was very sure that he was a little astonished at his reply from the slight jerk of his weapon. Cold wind brushed past as he slightly shivered, but remained calm as he waited for his final sentence.

"ALLEN!" It all came too fast. Suddenly, another stranger called his name and appeared out of nowhere, crashing into his room by his window. The killer seemed not to have expected his coming as he redrew his weapon from his throat and faced the new intruder, who interrupted this session. Before Allen could even wonder what had happened, someone grabbed his waist and they just jumped out of the window, their bodies stalling in the midair. The silver-haired boy slowly looked down, his eyes widened in horror seeing that his legs were not touching anything, like they were really flying like birds with wings.

Except that they had no wings.

"Wh-What the hell are you doing?!?" Even before his question was answered, the two of them started to plummet down at a speed which could kill them instantly. Allen looked down at the doom laid for them, and wondered whether he should be happy to be able to die honourably this way.

In the end, he screamed.

"You...it's all your fault!"

"But I thought you want to die in the first place?" That stumped Allen instantly.

"How...how did you know?!?" Who the hell was this person who could even read his mind so accurately?

But now wasn't the time to even think of this, when they are falling to the death's door! Allen wailed, as he struggled and tried to grab something, but it was no use. He looked down, and realised that they only left a few tiny metres before they were slapped onto the floor like flat pancakes. Allen shut his eyes.

Finally, he was going to die. Wasn't this great?

Thud.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

Was he dead?

Oi!

Who...was calling for him?

Oi, wake up! Wake up!

Mana? No, it sounded more like a teenager than a middle-aged man. Then, who was it?

"ALLEN, WAKE UP! YOU ARE NOT DEAD!" He woke up immediately, having the feeling that he had been slapped rather hardly at both sides of his face. The silver-haired boy then groaned softly as he touched his cheeks, which felt coincidentally swollen. His eyes widened as he saw the stranger. He sat up immediately, glaring fiercely at the latter.

"You...was it you that slapped me just now?!?" He just shrugged in reply.

"But you keep thinking that you are dead, so the only way to get your conscious back is to slap you back to reality. Isn't it good? You are awake, and alive." Allen only blinked at his innocent smile, before looking around, recognising the buildings in his city instantly.

He was...alive. Alive.

His lips parted slightly, as a soft gasp escaped his mouth. His thumping heart started to stabilise. For once, he was glad that he was still alive. He turned to the stranger who had saved him.

"Who are you? Why did you save me?"

"Because I have my duty." Allen's eyes widened slightly as he placed his hands on his shoulders. It felt exceptionally warm, as he looked straight into his eye which was emerald in colour.

He found his person rather familiar, like he had seen him before.

"I have to protect you. You...cannot die." His heart thumped painfully at his chest for a second.

"What? Why...why I cannot die? Why?" He was in a fluster. Why he couldn't die? Mana said that he could not die, now this person, whom he had not even met, said that he could not die! He shook his head as he pushed the other aside roughly, getting himself up to his feet.

"Allen, you must listen to me! You cannot die under His blade!" The stranger grabbed his wrist, but was slapped away by his other hand, as Allen stared at him hardly with his dull grey eyes.

"And why is that so? Why?"

Faint noises of vehicles travelling on the roads were heard as the sky was brightening. Night had ended, as dawn had arrived. The stranger stared at him for a moment and sighed, before he took off the hood that had been hiding his appearance. Allen's eyes widened in shock.

"You...it's you! That person whom I met at the washroom in school! Why are you here? Who are you?" The other just let out a chuckle, before he smiled and showed his hand to him.

"Nice to meet you, Allen! My name is Lavi, and I'm in charge of protecting you from now onwards." Allen took his hand and they shook hands.

"Lavi...why are you in my school then? I don't remember seeing you as a student before." The sly-looking one just gave a grin as his emerald eye twinkled.

"You will find out in due course." Allen just frowned and gave a slight huff. Seriously, what was with all the suspense? The silver-haired teenager patted his dirty clothes and looked at the light-blue sky. It was going to be morning soon. He had to get back home and prepare for school.

After a few seconds, he realised that he had not completed his homework which was to be submitted by today. He groaned, gripped his silver strands in frustration, and was about to run when he felt a sudden dizziness and collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. Lavi walked up to him and just sighed, shaking his head.

"How is he, Lavi?" He turned to face a rather short man, resembling a dwarf in fairytale stories. Lavi couldn't help but laugh softly at that. The latter just stared at him rather sternly in reply.

"What?"

"Nothing, gramps. He is just plainly tired from all the things that had happened to him yesterday, that's all."

"I see. So, who was the Black Assassin he had sent?" Lavi's eyes narrowed as he frowned.

"The samurai." The latter's panda eyes narrowed as well.

"So He has made his move as well. We have to hurry."

"I'm ready. Kill me."

He leaned against the wall, his head facing slightly upwards. With his eyes partially opened, he stared at the sky, and found many birds flying past. He hissed as he shaded his view from his hand, chasing away the light which was trying to invade his thoughts. As time passed, he still could remember what that child had said when he was going to end his life.

"I'm ready. Kill me."

He hated the light. He felt his pocket, and took out his phone which had been vibrating for a while. He flipped it open and picked up the call. Murmurs were heard from the receiver, but he did not answer. After a moment, he ended the call, and slipped the phone back to his pocket.

He looked up. It would be morning soon.

"So, it failed?" The Earl put the phone back onto the table. He then lit up a cigarette in his mouth and started to inhale the thick clouds of smoke emitting out of it. He leaned back against his comfortable chair, grunting softly.

"I'm not surprised."

"Why not, Earl?" A girl was standing at the entrance of the room, holding on to a ragged doll in her arms. She just gave a sweet smile and walked up to him, looking at him earnestly.

"Rhode, back from school already?" The said girl heard someone talking to her and turned around, seeing a tall young man sitting beside the Earl, having a book in his hands. His black hat was resting on his lap silently. The blue-haired child just lit up another smile on her face, nodding her head.

"Hello, Uncle Tyki. You must teach me Mathematics later, okay? Can you?" She gave a pout and begging look in her cute eyes. It was too hard to resist. Tyki just averted his gaze somewhere, pretending that nothing had happened. Noticing everything, Rhode just bit her lip and walked up to him, shaking him till the young man finally surrendered himself to her.

She grinned happily at her victory. Tyki just groaned in defeat.

"C'mon, Rhode. I am not good in Mathematics. Earl is better than - " Tyki stopped talking as the child was almost into tears. Sighing dejectedly, he decided to continue to read the book in his hands. Rhode smiled happily again.

"It is very rare that the shinigami would fail in his duties. What should we do?"

"Don't worry. This matter is not worth hurrying, and perhaps he may be tired. We should give him some holidays to clear his thoughts in his mind."

"Tired? Did I hear wrongly? A shinigami never gets tired," Tyki said. The plump man just burst out into deep chuckles, amused by his comment.

"Well, well, this might be true. But the truth is, he has worked hard for a few weeks. We should let him have some days of break for now."

Allen, you...are going to die today.

It was blurry. He was spinning with dizzy, wondering where he was. What had happened at that moment?

Oh, he remembered. He was at his room, while someone was in it too, wanting to kill him. He did not do anything, only placing his weapon at his throat, ready to end his life. At first, he was frightened, and wanted to call for help.

But then, he decided that death might be a good idea after all. And so, he waited, for the shinigami to claim his life.

In the end, he was not destined to die yet. Someone came, and took his hand, escaping from the window. His face was covered by the black hood, and he thus could not see him clearly. They were flying down at full speed, and at that particular moment, he did not want to die.

"Nice to meet you, Allen! I'm Lavi, and I am going to protect you from now onwards."

He had red hair, and a black-coloured eye-patch at his left eye. That emerald shine from his eye was beautiful, so beautiful that he was attracted to it. He was not wrong. He had met him before, and the two of them met once again.

Was this...coincidence? Or...was it supposed to happen in the very first place?

Allen, you cannot die. You must not die.

Thoughts swam around his head. He did not know who he was anymore. Who was he? Why was his life so precious that he could not just abandoned it easily? Why?

So many questions. So...many...

"You are awake, Allen!"

Grey pools gradually opened, as the silver-haired teenager groaned softly, feeling his hurting head. He then looked at the one who had talked to him, and realised that it was Lavi, the stranger who had saved him from danger. Hissing under his lips, he sat up groggily, his mind blank.

"Where am I?" Lavi blinked at the question, and thought for a while.

"Hmm, you fainted just now, so I brought you back to your house. If you want to go back to school, it would be impossible."

"Why?"

"Because it's already two in the afternoon!" Allen turned to stare at him for a while, nodding his head gently, before his eyes went as wide as tennis balls, his mouth curved up in horror.

"WHAT?!?" Allen grabbed his clock and stared hardly at the numbers. Thinking that everything must have been a mistake, he glared hardly at the clock again, trying to change the goddamn numbers using some illusionary tricks performed by most magicians he had seen on television programmes, but it was painfully obvious that it was impossible. His homework and the glares from his teachers all tumbled into his aching head immediately. He looked into the situation helplessly, and imagined the darkened face of Lenalee when he met her.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Allen wailed, messing up his hair in frustration. It was as if his doomsday had just crashed right up to his doorstep, turning his world upside down instantly. His headache ached even more at the thought of his uncle, who might show up anytime in the day. It would be drastic if he found out that he did not go for work today. Stumbling from the bed and up to his feet, he went to his cupboard and threw out whatever shirts or shorts he could wear, and started preparing for work immediately.

"Erm, may I ask what you are doing?" Lavi asked, pointing to him.

"What do you expect? I cannot just stay here idle all day! I have to work." The red-haired teenager tapped his finger on his chin as he peered at the ceilings, seemed to be deep in his thoughts.

"Because of your uncle?" Allen stiffened.

"Who...are you actually? What else do you know about me?" Lavi gave a cheeky smile to him in reply and said:

"Many! Like, I know that you do not like people to call you shortie or something..."

"Hey! I'm still seventeen! I'm still in puberty, you know!" Allen interrupted and made a face, looking at him with much displeasure. He slammed the cupboard door shut as he took out his bag and threw stuffs that he needed into it. He slid his hands into a pair of pale brown gloves as he started combing his hair neatly using his favourite grey comb bought from his foster father. It was his birthday present after all, and he took great care of it.

"I know, but you are considered small-build when you reach seventeen. It's like...you are having malnutrition." Lavi looked closely at Allen's house keys in his hand and spun it around his fingers, playing with it.

"Don't underestimate my appetite. You don't know me." Allen grabbed the keys back to his possession and headed for the door, walking along the narrow pavement and down the stairs to the basement of the house. Followed behind him was Lavi, who was observing the surroundings for quite a while. Allen stopped by his kitchen and grabbed some sandwiches to munch on the way.

"No way...these are considered your lunch?" Lavi looked at him incredulously.

"For now, yes. I will always settle my lunch before I go to work, but the situation now is different. In normal days, these are only appetisers to fill my stomach temporarily." Allen smiled as he closed the door of the refrigerator and prepared to leave. Lavi just raised his eyebrow as he tugged his hands into the pockets of his deep-blue jeans.

"Normally I have lunch at 12 noon sharp, but because of you...ah, never mind. It does not matter now." Allen put on his bright-red jacket and fumbled with his keys, finding the right one which would unlock the main door.

"But would it be okay if you miss a day of school?"

"It is okay, as long as I produce an excuse letter and submit it to the General Office," Allen replied as he wore his shoes which were already beyond recognition. Lavi just gave a rather grimaced look at the particular evident hole at the front of his left shoe, seeing his big toe wriggling inside. His stomach just churned uncomfortably.

"Are you going to follow me for like every single second? I'm not a kid anymore!" Allen stated as they were already standing in the middle of the streets.

"Yes! Remember that I'm going to be the one protecting you from dangers?" The redhead pointed out his main aim to the silver-haired boy once again. Allen just could not understand why he sounded so enthusiastic about this.

"But what you are doing now will only attract more attention! It would be worse if you let my uncle see you!"

"And why is that so?"

"Because," Allen looked straight into his eye seriously. "Seeing you as my personal friend, he will keep pestering you for money, and rob everything out of you till you have nothing left. Nothing. Not a single penny."

Wait. When did Lavi become his personal friend?

Lavi did not seem to be shocked at all.

"Really?"

Allen frowned, obviously knew that he did not believe a word he said. Giving up explaining these rather complicated stuffs to the redhead, the silver-haired teen started heading off to his destination. The redhead continued to follow him behind, but he did not really care, as long as he would not disturb him when he was working.

Peering at him at the corner of his eye, he wondered who Lavi was. He seemed to be a very mysterious person, even though he had introduced himself. He did not talk much about himself. In fact, they were mostly talking about issues circulating his own personal life rather than his. And everything became even weirder when he said that he needed protection all of a sudden. Why did he need to be protected? From who? And who exactly was after his life? Everything just seemed to be jumbled all over the place!

Maybe...that person was going to come back again? The one who tried to assassinate him yesterday night. He wondered. But why?!? Why was his life so important and threatening that everyone came running after him? It was not as if he had made enemies in his whole life! He was just a plain, normal boy who had normal lifestyles as most people around here!

Though he admitted that his life was a little different from the others. Yes, a little.

"Alllennn! Are you listening to me?" They were at a bus stop. He turned rather tiredly to the one calling him for a few seconds.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Taking a bus?" Allen's eyes rolled in exaggeration. He was super amazed. Did Lavi have two personalities, acting smart for a while, before acting stupid like a dummy?

Suddenly, he saw someone. Someone whom he did not want to see.

"Something wrong, Allen?" Lavi noticed his tension and asked. Allen did not hear his words as his gaze was still onto a middle-aged man who was apparently heading towards their direction. The boy then turned to the opposite direction, praying hardly that a bus would just pop out and take him away. Allen groaned inwardly. Of all times, why must he notice Cross at this moment?!?

God answered his calls. A bus came a few seconds later, and he hastily boarded it, pulling Lavi together with him. They walked to the back seats, as Allen took a book out of his bag and covered his face, peeking outside sometimes to note where his location was. When the bus finally left, he revealed his face and let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Who are you avoiding, Allen?" Allen just stared at the bewildered redhead, before he turned around and stared outside the window.

He was glad that he said his prayers every night before he slept.

Praise the Lord.

Pls review! :D