Disclaimer: Je ne possède rien !
Komui now realized it wouldn't be as easy to find the child as it had been the first time he had run off.
He hadn't even been there for more than a day, and the order already mentally scarred him.
Twice.
"Lavi, Kanda. Search for him. If you happen to run into anyone else familiar with Allen that isn't busy, get their help as well. Check the halls, cafeteria, and his room."
The two paled at the idea of checking Allen's room. To them, it was a sacred place that no one would dare step near. Privacy was highly thought of at the Black Order. The simple idea of breaking in and searching his room made the both of them incredibly nervous of what would happen if they did check his room. What if when he went back to normal, he found out?
Komui knew they had to be thinking of the worst when it came to looking in another's room. Especially when it was the same person that held the most secrets since they joined, other than Bookman.
"I will give you permission and a key to his room, and-" The chief was interrupted.
"How could he get in if it was locked, though?" Lavi spoke up.
Komui gave a bored expression, "Judging his 'rough-and-tough' demeanor, I think he'd know how to pick a lock."
The redheaded exorcist shrugged at his answer, "True,"
Komui walked towards his desk, digging through multiple drawers in the process, though, not bothering to pick them up. "Aha!" He shot up, holding a sterling silver key up high. He walked over to the two, and paused.
He glanced at the both. The three were deadly silent.
After a moment, the chief handed the key to Kanda.
"What!? Aren't I responsible enough to take care of the key?" Lavi whined childishly.
"No," Kanda spoke for Komui, causing Lavi to cry over dramatically. "Enough fooling around, stupid rabbit. We have to find that redheaded brat." The samurai sneered at the thought. Knowing him, he was most likely lost in the halls.
It was just like Allen.
•
•
The child ran quickly, the spinning halls confusing him, seeming as though they would cave in at any second, though, he trusted them not to.
His breath ran rugged, his lungs burned painfully. His legs felt as though they'd give out any second now.
But he refused to stop, he bet they were just giving him a head start! He wouldn't let them win that easily!
He wouldn't be weak anymore! He promised he'd grow up to be strong, and not need any friends for support!
Little did he know that when he grew up, they were the only thing he had to live for, other than the pitiful akumas he swore his life upon to continue saving until the day he died.
He wouldn't stop now! He just had to find some form of exit, but the halls were endless. He refused to trust what was behind those doors.
The child felt his knee give out painfully, sending a shot of pain down his leg. He face-planted the floor, the cuts he had gotten earlier stung painfully as sweat dripped down his face. The redheaded child was too exhausted to care, his red-brown hair clung to his face. He needed air, dammit! Why couldn't he breathe? The sound of his heartbeat was loudly drumming in his ears, but along with the sound, he heard the sound of footsteps.
•
•
The first place the two had decided was to check his room. Mostly due to curiosity, rather than actually finding the boy. Even Kanda was mildly interested in what could be in the white-haired exorcist's room.
Kanda stuck the key in, twisting it until hearing the click of the door being unlocked.
He and Lavi looked at each other for a moment, before opening the door. What they saw hadn't surprised them too much, but the room was incredibly sparse of any personalized decorations, other than an unusual painting on the wall. One of a clown carrying a coffin on his back. The bed had been neatly made, the white sheets were crisp and clean as though no one had ever slept in them.
Kanda walked inside, "You check the closet, I'll check around the bed." Lavi simply nodded.
Kanda walked by the bedside, getting down to one knee, he looked under the bed, finding nothing but a trunk that he assumed Allen had backed readily for his next assignment.
Lavi opened the closet door, revealing rather unusual items. Such as, a clown costume, an old ball covered in dirt and scratches, a green child's clown suit, (that he assumed he wore while traveling with Mana.) and an open suit case filled with multiple pictures that caught Lavi's eye.
He felt a bit guilty for snooping around, especially around Allen's room. But his curiosity got the best of him. Allen had been there for over a year, yet they knew so little about him.
"Kanda, I found something," Lavi said cheekily.
"We're supposed to be searching for the kid, not snooping around the beansprout's room." Kanda spoke maturely. Lavi gave him a look, "Don't tell me you haven't been just a little curious about what he has in his room."
The samurai rolled his eyes, speaking no more words. He walked over to Lavi, the two sat down. Lavi pulled the suitcase closer, before picking a random picture.
He held it up to his and Kanda's face. The picture was of a small, beat up child, identical to Red. He wore a green clown suit, standing beside a kneeling, humorously-fat clown wearing the same suit from the one they had found inside of the closet. The child held a newer-looking replica of the ball, while wearing a deep scowl as the clown had a hand atop his head. Lavi felt the guilt of invading the boy's privacy even worse now, though, he continued browsing the pictures. He flipped the picture over, in scraggly handwriting, it said "Mana Allen crissmas eve yeer 8," Lavi guessed that Allen had written it after the photo was taken, judging by the grammar.
Kanda was now mildly interested in the pictures, he, too, picked out a picture. One with the same two clowns. Though, this time, the child wore a bright smile, holding onto the clown dearly. Lavi's eye softened at the picture. He was beginning to understand how the rugged orphan had become so polite through the years.
A large paper caught the redhead's attention, he quickly snatched it, though, careful enough not to crumple it. He opened it. It was of an old newspaper. He read the headline aloud. "Circus clown killed in carriage..Accident..Mana Walker, December..25th.." Lavi spoke uncomfortably. He now realized why Allen had been so uncomfortable during the annual Black Order Christmas parties, doubled as his birthday party.
Lavi could only imagine how depressing it would be to have the only person you care about, die on the day he adopted you, not to mention that it was supposed to be a jolly holiday for many.
Kanda froze, glancing at the paper silently. The redheaded exorcist had attempted to read the article, though, the ink from the paper had suffered damage, it smudging the ink to no recognizable state.
A sad look washed over Lavi, his shoulders slumped. He only could guess how many times Allen read the article, over and over again. Only to have old feelings renewed again at the simple glance at the article. How many times had the order not been there for him when he had been so upset?
And suddenly it clicked.
The permanent mask of Mana.
The child turned his head towards the direction of the sound, only to be met with the shoes of a female.
Two females.
The child glanced up, trying to get a better view of their faces.
It was the timid pigtailed girl he had seen earlier, and an older woman with dark rings around her eyes. Violet eyes widened, "Miranda, please watch over him! I have to tell Komui that we found Red!" Lenalee spoke quickly, before dashing off quickly before Miranda could speak.
"A-Ah! I don't know how t-to watch over a child! I've only known the ones that threw r-rocks at me!" The woman cried out. The child laughed humorously, "So have I," he said blandly. The woman look at him, tears had already filled her eyes. "You mean, you've been b-bullied? Was i-it at a s-school?" The woman asked curiously, yet, in a very wavering manner. "...A school? I'm not allowed to go to school."
The woman gave him a profound look. "Not allowed? But why not? It doesn't look like there could b-be anything wrong with you.." She said with the smallest bit of more confidence. The child observed her carefully with silvery-gray eyes. Miranda felt familiarized with the eyes, though, she couldn't quite place her finger on it, 'She didn't look like she could hurt a fly, could she?' The child thought, with the small help of delirium from his exaustion. How he hadn't fallen asleep, he still didn't know.
He looked down, causing the exorcist to regret her words, "I-I'm sorry! It's o-okay if you don't want t-to tell me!" She exclaimed quickly. The two were now sitting against the cold corridor walls. Red shook his head, 'Kids' are 'fraid of me'. They think' I'm some sorta' freak, a demon." He spoke allowed with a calm and collected attitude.
"But why is t-that?" Miranda asked.
The child slowly rolled up his sleeve, revealing the deformity, the disgusting, scaly red arm that had given him his name.
The eyes of the woman had grown to a pinpoint size.
"Don't you dare believe t-them!" The woman spoke in unusually timid, yet confident tone. The child was surprised by the change in attitude from the woman.
"Believe o-or not, I know a 15 year old b-boy with the exact same arm." She said, her nonexistent eyebrows furrowed down.
The kid wore a bored expression, it was clear she was lying. He'd pity the next person born with the arm of one whom came from the devil. "Oh, reall'? What's 'is name?"
"Allen Walker."
"We should leave." Lavi said, placing the newspaper back in the suitcase. He could only pray Allen wouldn't notice.
Kanda nodded, for he too was a bit uncomfortable going through the beansprout's personal items.
The closet door was shut, and the two left the room, locking the door on the way out.
They would never speak of this again.
Author notes:
That was one of the longest chapters I've written yet! There wasn't exactly an exact winner for a person, so I picked one that would sort of form the story better. I definitely want to have Red meet Rouvelier and Link! But I also want to write a happy chapter that doesn't have Red running out of the science department..;n; I need more ideas! I sort of left the story on a cliffhanger, which I'm sorry about! But I'll (hopefully) have another chapter out tomorrow! ^_^ I won't have a chapter out on Friday though, since you know. Halloween~. ^w^ Also, thank you all for the poll! Sorry for the OOC Miranda! I'm going to do another poll! What category chapter should the next few chapters be based off of?
A. Angst
B. Hurt/Comfort
C. Humor
D. Other: (Insert idea/category)
Ps. Every three chapters, I'll answer to your reviews. ^w^
I hope you enjoyed!