A/N: Sorry I freaked everyone out with Allen's thoughtless abandonment of the letter!(x
But thank you to Lena-luvs-cats, Walker's Annoying Voice, jy24, 19Teardrop94, Alaia Skyhawk, Takei Daloui, and Noble Soul of Purity-Aamuet for your wonderful reviews! Long reviews are the best kinds of reviews, and I feel as if I've hit the jackpot!^-^
Disclaimer: Nope!
Chapter 34
Time Frame — Noon of April 15th, 1896
—3rd Person POV—
~Allen~
The fact that Timothy was such a slob hid away the crumpled letter Allen had carelessly cast aside, though said teen was unaware of the potential ramifications its discovery could have brought along. Unperturbed, Allen had simply scooped it up later, in the same night he'd discarded it, and hidden it away back in his pocket. But even now, a week later, its contents still filled Allen's thoughts. And though he had yet to find peace with it, it was truly thanks to Cross that he hadn't been driven mad by it all.
Throughout his upbringing, the General had been careful to show him the ugly sides of both the Noah Clan and the Black Order in the most unbiased and raw way possible. And though it had desensitized any awe or respect he could've held for the Order, his position as an Exorcist cursed with being witness to the tortured souls of Akuma had given Allen his own impression of himself. He'd never had a particular opinion of Neah Walker—the man who was said to have slaughtered his own clan for the sake of peace, and even power for himself. But if it ever came down to it, Allen knew whose side he'd be on.
That illusion was now shattered.
If war really did break out once more, who would Allen choose?
(Maybe in another life, if they'd already been in the midst of war, he'd have stubbornly stuck with the Order and his comrades—as long as no one knew of his true identity.)
"Why so quiet?"
Allen glanced up from his lunch. Lenalee had slid into the seat beside him, leaning close in order to be heard above the racket. (The thought of war had dampened their spirits, and so Alma had taken it upon himself to cheer them up, or at least, get them out of their funk. At this point, he's sunk to the level of riling Kanda and Daisya up. Allen had to give it to him though. It was certainly working.)
"Hey," Allen greeted her, attempting to offer her a smile. "Where have you been? Haven't seen much of you lately."
"Yeah," Lenalee nodded, eyes dimming and smile turning sad. "After the news Bookman gave us, it turned HQ into a frenzy. I've been spending most of my time up there, trying to help out in any way I can. Brother is being overworked, especially with so many people resigning after the news broke out."
Allen's eyes widened. He'd been so wrapped up in his own issues, he hadn't thought about how their whole organization had been affected. "People have been quitting?!"
She nodded gravely, one hand reaching out to grasp his tightly. "Yes, even a couple of the students have as well. And sure, it's normal for them all to stress, what with finals coming up next month, but now there's heaps of pressure on the oldest students, as a good number of them are being forced to replace everyone who's quit. And though obviously nothing has been confirmed yet, not only do we have to start making war preparations just in case, Brother is also loaded with the task of hiring a whole new network of Finders."
"I had no idea," Allen admitted guiltily.
Lenalee squeezed his hand once more and smiled sweetly. "Don't worry about it. None of the others do either. All the Exorcists are already feeling so pressured. In fact, they're calling all the older Exorcists back to HQ. We've been so easygoing about it, because we never thought we'd have to fight once more, and now they're worried we might not be strong enough. Brother's calling in the Generals as well. Most of them were part of the last war, and he wants them to asses us, to see if we're really prepared."
"Makes sense," Allen nodded quietly, wondering if any of his friends would be strong enough to fight off the Level 3 he recalled so vividly. And Level 4's! He didn't thing there were such a thing, until Neah had made mention of it in his letter! Allen held back a shudder.
"Anyway," Lenalee moved on in attempt to change the subject, "I never got to ask. How are Lavi and Chomesuke doing?"
"Last time I saw, they were just fine," Allen offered with a small shrug. "But I'm still a bit worried. Lavi's still technically a Bookman, as far as I'm concerned. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid and run off or something."
"I'm sure he'll eventually come back," Lenalee decided with a firm nod. They drifted off into a comfortable silence, watching amusedly as Kanda and Daisya fought. The lunch hour felt unusually long, and at some point, Lenalee pulled him to his feet. "Come on!"
Allen didn't protest, and before long, they were strolling along the quiet grounds of the campus. He was comfortable enough, until Lenalee pulled him down to sit on a bench and turned to him asking, "Allen, what's the matter? Is there something else that's going on?"
It took only one look at her pleading expression, and Allen knew he couldn't possibly lie to her. "I…" he trailed off, shifting nervously. "Do you… do you remember back when I first came here, and everyone was suspicious because of my surname?"
Her expression turned thoughtful, but fortunately, she didn't bombard him with any questions. Instead, she nodded simply and replied, "Yes."
"The truth is," he admitted, "That I didn't think there was any significance to being known as a Walker."
Lenalee's brow furrowed. After a small pause, she asked, "What changed?"
With an anxious frown, he explained, "When I went to visit Cross, he gave me a letter. It's addressed to me, from Neah Walker."
As the significance dawned on her, she became stunned and without a word, Allen pulled out the crumpled letter he'd continued to carry around in his pocket. Wordlessly, he handed it to her, avoiding eye contact.
Unbearably slowly, she took the time to smooth the letter out on her lap in order to process what he'd just revealed. After a long minute, she finally brought the old, brittle paper up to her face and read. For a while, Allen couldn't bear to watch as she read through it, but eventually his curiosity won out, and he turned to her. Lenalee had already set the letter down. Her face was red with what looked like anger and she was on the verge of tears.
"L-Lenalee?" Allen stammered.
"H-How dare he?" she whispered, eyes downcast, fingers tracing the postscript where Neah had revealed his lack of will to kill Mana. "I know it's his brother. I understand exactly what it's like to have a brother you love so much. But to put us all at risk this way…"
Allen's expression crumpled. "I-I'm sorry…"
She shook her head furiously, turning to him. "You don't need to apologize for him, Allen. It's not your fault. I'm sorry I haven't been around this past week. To have so much revealed to you, and in a letter of all things!" Lenalee heaved a sigh, before gathering him into her arms. "Thank you for telling me. You don't need to be alone Allen."
"I…" Allen swallowed thickly, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Thank you."
A/N: Eeeep! I expect maybe another three chapters and probably an epilogue? Ahhh so excited to finally complete this story!(: And if you feel as if this story is nowhere near being finished, don't worry, all the big stuff is happening in the next three chapters!(; Hehe~
Anyway, pretty please review?(: