Claimer: I own all OC's. Not that they're any in this story...

Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own D. Gray-Man. Otherwise, this would have happened a lot earlier in the manga.

Plot: I'm participating in the "Yullen Week" that's going on here. The theme for today is "doll." Collaboration between Neko-Kyoutan and myself.

Allen stilled, listening quietly to what the Bookman had to say. When they spoke, it was natural for someone to sit down and listen; these men were so respected and feared. They were there when the world started, or so it seemed, and they would be there when the world ended. They were the guards of the Doors; the only thing that stood between people from this world and people from another world crossing over and messing around. The only other thing that allowed a person to cross over what the crystal. This was now broken into a million pieces and scattered everywhere. Allen jumped back into the conversation as the Bookman started to speak again.

"The duel went on for three nights and three days, keeping the people up at night, worrying about who was going to become the victor. They knew that if the man didn't win, The Lord would come out and slaughter all of them, staring with his family. So the people hid in their homes, afraid. They showed no outward support of the dueling man, but secretly hoped that he would win and become the new king.

Finally, after a time, the sounds of the duel stopped, and the air filled with a strange, empty silence. The people, one by one, began to emerge from their homes to see what they could see. The castle at the top of the village was calm, quiet, and eerily so. The door cracked open and the people watched as the man emerged, holding his bloody sword at his side. He walked three steps out of the door, looked at the people, and said one thing.

'It has been completed.'"

Here, the Bookman stopped and looked at Allen. "Do you know who that man was?" He asked in a quiet tone. Allen had heard the story once before; it was told to all those who was to inherit the throne. So yes, he knew who the man was. After nodding, the Bookman smiled and nodded his head to him, encouraging him to continue.

"The First King." The Bookman smiled and continued his story.

"After defeating The Lord, the First King ruled for three hundred years. The people, at first, were a little wary of him and his leadership; after all, they had just gotten out of a monarchy. Still, they allowed him to rule, and after the first ten years realized that they couldn't have chosen a better king. He was kind, nice to the people and not forgetting where he had come from, or the oppression he had suffered from under the hands of The Lord. He listened to his people and ruled kindly, ending disputes with advice instead of force.

But all was not well within the kingdom. There was a group of followers, the Lord's Men, as they called themselves, which believed that everything was better when The Lord was in rule. So they formed their own little society, intent on overthrowing The First King and all that he represented, and putting their leader, who was The Lord's right hand man, in charge. He would restore everything to its former glory, they believed. These people worked endlessly, day and night, forming and re-forming plans that would help them overthrow the king. And after the three hundredth year, they were finally ready.

They attempted their overthrowing, but the king's men were mightier than they were. As they retreated, one stopped and looked back, vowing one simple thing:

'The man who rightfully owns this throne will return.'"

Allen froze after the Bookman's story was complete. So that is why Solen was truly after him. Because he was a part of that group who tried to overthrow The First King. Allen's brain went into overdrive as he thought about the, now clearer, reason that Solen wanted the crystal. With that, he could overthrow both worlds, and do what his ancestors could not. But...if he was after Allen, then why was Lavi...?

"It was a warning son." The Bookman whispered. "It was a warning to you, about that friend of yours. If you're not extremely careful, he will be next." Allen's eyes widened. Kanda...was next? They would kill him, he was sure of it. Allen looked down and blinked back the tears that were gathering in his eyes. He didn't want to admit it, or want it to happen, but it was time for this to end.

For Kanda.

Allen got up and turned to leave, but the Bookman stopped him, a surprisingly gentle hand on his arm. "Don't do anything dumb kid. If you leave, your friend will have no chance. The only hope he has is with you." Allen blinked, and then nodded, turning around to enter the room where Kanda and Lavi were staying, the old man following him. He smiled up at Kanda when he got in the room, the nodded at Mr. Lavi. If you didn't know the kid well enough, you would have never guessed that something was wrong with Allen. But his smile was off just enough to let someone know that he was worried about something; worried about someone. Hopefully Kanda didn't pick up on that.

Kanda looked over when footsteps approached the door. He was getting jittery, with everything going on. It was probably a good thing, because if he didn't stay on his toes, then things could quickly get rather ugly. With Allen and the old man back, he felt less interested in asking Lavi questions. The old panda seemed like he knew more than Lavi did, but asking the things he did around Allen didn't seem... right. The reason? Kanda wasn't sure himself, but he didn't question it. His death glare subconsciously softened at the pale boy's smile, but it was as fleeting as the glance toward him was. It seemed like they both knew they were due for quite a bit of chaos.

Lavi on the other hand, smiled widely in greeting to Allen and his guardian. "Hey, you guys done so soon?" The red-head just knew that Kanda had more questions, and hated being cut short. But it was best this way. The more he knew the more trouble he was in. Lavi had the feeling that Kanda was already more involved in this than he was, but he wasn't from a different dimension and had nothing to do with this. He didn't want the raven in any more trouble than he was in already. Of course, there was Allen, who Lavi liked enough... but did the kid really know what was going on? Not just with whatever was after him, but beyond that? That must be what Gramps warned him about.

So…okay here's the deal. See this update? This lovely, shiny update that I have finally put out for the lovely, shiny people that you guys are? Yeah. That's going to be the last one in a while, seeing as school is kicking my ass and then serving it on a silver platter. Turns out that Culinary School is not just "throw something in a pan and hope to God it turns out okay". There's actually a lot of…work involved. XD The good news is that Kitty and I will be writing a lot more now that she has a lot more free time on her hands. Just don't expect updates too soon…because life sucks. But I…somewhat promise, as summer come around and I get a break, you will get updates. . Hopefully. If the thing called "life" isn't keeping me too busy. *cough* Anyway, just thought you guys needed to know what was going on. You know what to do now.

Rate and review.

Your loving, shiny and busy writers,

Kiyoko-kun

Kitty-chan (Neko-Kyoutan)