A/N: Yay! A fast update! And a quick thanks to Alaia Skyhawk, Lena-luvs-cats, jy24, Amelia Loves Anime, and Alice2795 for reviewing! Love you guys!^.^ Enjoy!

Disclaimer: No, I do not, in fact, own anything to do with this franchise. I am simply a big fan who takes what she enjoys and creates something out of it.(:

Chapter 35

Time Frame — Afternoon of April 20th, 1896

—3rd Person POV—

~Allen~

It might've been a nice, quiet afternoon, if it hadn't been for Timothy's muttering and complaining. Eye twitching as yet another crumpled, balled-up paper hit him on the side of the head, Allen turned to Timothy, momentarily ignoring the job application he'd been carefully filling out. "Hey, would you quit that?" Allen demanded, snatching the crushed paper and tossing it back at Timothy's face.

"Then you do this for me!" Timothy shouted, dramatically tossing his hands up and slumping back against his desk chair. Thoroughly unimpressed, Allen turned back to his application, but predictably, the blue-haired brat couldn't find it in himself to shut up just yet. "Emilia's making me write a stupid book report! Ugh, this sucks…"

"Um…" Allen turned to him, eyeing him oddly. "Then what's the problem?"

Still leaning as far away from his desk as he possibly could, Timothy fiddled with his pen, muttering "I dunno what to write about, and she said it was due tomorrow…"

"Gee, that really sucks," Allen deadpanned. "I mean it's not like you could write about what you read in the book, right? How unfortunate…"

"That's the thing though!" Timothy suddenly jumped up. "I tried going to the library earlier today! But those stupid squints with their stacks of books kept shoving me to the back of the line because their studying was much more important! I figured I could just make up my own book report, since it'll probably be a week or two before Emilia notices, but I've come up with nothing!" The blue-haired boy crossed his arms mulishly, before brightening up and turning to Allen. "Hey, have you read The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood? Do ya know what it's about? Huh? Huh?"

"What?! No! Timothy get off me!"

Ultimately, Allen was forced to agree to go to the library himself to check the book out in order to get Timothy out of his hair—literally. Though once he had found the building, Allen could see the issue. The science students were rushing about, lugging thick tomes around, and crowding around tables attempting to study the same textbooks. The checkout line was ridiculously long, and it wasn't hard to imagine Timothy, a small seven-year-old, being pushed about. Normally, the presence of Exorcists was one to be cautious of, but finals were rapidly approaching, and anyone getting in the way of their studying was bound to be hurt.

"Sheesh, stupid brat leaving everything till last minute," Allen muttered to himself, a glower set in place and making sure to shoulder-shove anyone who got in his way. Fortunately, that did the trick and kept almost anyone from pushing him around in their rush, and soon enough he reach the small, children's section (which only existed by request of Emilia once she began to tutor Timothy). He briefly browsed through the small number of fiction books, before selecting the correct one.

One glance in the direction of the checkout desk and Allen knew there was no way he was wasting any more time. After a quick glance around, he discreetly shoved the small book into the pocket of his Exorcist coat, before calmly walking off. (It's not like anyone would notice, since those books were technically meant for Timothy.)

"Young man, that's against the rules."

Allen resisted the urge to jump in surprise. Morphing his irritated expression into his poker face, he calmly turned back.

"Aw, sheesh Allen, no need to look at me like you're going to kill me," Oliver chuckled, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

Allen relaxed. "Hey Ollie, how's it going?"

"Just fine! At the very least, I'm doing a whole lot better than these guys," he gestured towards the rest of the students rushing about stressfully. "Yikes…"

"Yeah…" Allen agreed with a small wince as they both began to head out.

"One of my tutors assigned me another research paper," Oliver blew out a sigh. "Just came by to check out a couple books, but didn't realize it'd be this much of a hassle."

Allen scoffed. "Tell me about it. Timothy left another one of his assignments to the last minute, and the little brat was practically stampeded over when he tried coming in to check out a book, so he roped me into it."

Oliver grinned. "Timothy's the little kid with the blue hair, right? I remember him! You're really good to him Allen. I could see he really looked up to you."

"Oh um, really?" Allen muttered. This was news to him. He quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I didn't know this library was open to the public."

The bronze-eyed teen shook his head. "It's not, but my parents are benefactors of the academy, so I'm allowed access. The small library we have at home is usually enough, so I don't always bother, but this was just one of those times where it was a necessity."

"Well, I'll see you around, Oliver. I should be getting back to the dorms before Timothy gets it in his head to make a book report on an imaginary book," Allen rolled his eyes. They waved each other goodbye, and Allen began heading in the direction he hoped the dorms were, his fingers crossed. But when he heard a shout, he came to dead halt.

By now, the sky was dim as night set in, but Allen could make out a lump where someone had fallen, along the path of the academy entrance. "Oliver?" he muttered, throwing himself into a dead sprint. A few seconds later, his suspicions were proven correct. Oliver's satchel was abandoned on the ground, books spilling out and scattering, with Oliver himself hunched over into himself.

"What the hell? Oliver, what's wrong?" Allen demanded, dropping to his knees beside him.

After a long, painful pause, Oliver cleared his throat, and whispered, voice strained, "A-Allen, I… I need your help…" Oliver's fingers curled and clenched around his wavy hair, gripping his pulsing head.

"Alright, alright," Allen quickly agreed, slowly helping him to his feet. "Come on, we'll head back to my dorm room."

"N-no," he gasped. "Listen to me."

"I am," Allen grunted, helping him move forward. "Now come on!"

"W-wait," Oliver protested, though he was too weak to prevent Allen from dragging him along. "I-I haven't been completely honest with you… It's, uh, sort of a-a half-truth, really…" Another pained groan escaped him, and Allen briefly glanced over to see Oliver clutching at his forehead, rivulets of blood seeping through the gaps of his fingers.

"Oh fuck! You're bleeding, damn it," Allen cursed. "And this really isn't the time for confessions, Oliver! How the hell can I help you?!"

"T-take me away from here," Oliver muttered through gritted teeth. "Not to your dorm room. Away from people."

Allen momentarily eyed him incredulously. "What the hell? Do you want me to drag you into the woods?!"

"Yes!" Oliver snapped abruptly, eyes momentarily flashing a lighter color than bronze. For a moment, Allen was frozen in place, before doing as Oliver said. Once they were on the edge of the school grounds, Allen thought he heard him murmur, "I-I'm sorry. I've been trying to hold it back for as long as possible."

Feeling cold, Allen didn't bother to reply, because Cross had once told him what a Noah transformation was like, and now, he was facing the likely possibility that he was dealing with one.

But what were the odds that this was the reincarnation of the madman who had conquered thousands of souls, feasting off their misery, and nearly bringing humanity down to its knees?

What are the odds indeed? Allen thought darkly.

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