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Chapter Thirty-Five – The Melody

The fact that Allen was confused was pretty evident and the fact that he was angry was even more evident, the expression on his face and the fact that his hands were both clenched into fists both told that story remarkably well. A fact that might have served to intimidate the other white-haired youth were he actually looking at his companion.

He was not and so the effect was lost on him.

Allen kept his fists clenched as he took a step toward Hitsugaya but then something stopped him from actually going through with his plans to throttle the Shinigami.

Allen… you don't want to do that.

The voice that was echoing in his head served to stop the teen short, his eyes widening as another gasp left his lips. That was a voice that he knew all too well and one that he hadn't heard in so long and yet would never in a million years forget.

Mana.

Allen had no idea what had caused his father to make an appearance now but he was going to listen to the voice in his head because he trusted him. Even after everything that Hitsugaya had said to him earlier he couldn't bring himself to blame Mana for any of it. Even the Shinigami himself had said that his father hadn't known that anything out of the ordinary was going on.

And out of all of the things that he had been told this was the one that he was choosing to believe.

Because he needed to.

Hitsugaya glanced over at Allen and noticed the fact that he was on his feet but he didn't say anything about that and instead just shifted his gaze back to the piano. Standing in front of it brought with it a strange sense of déjà vu that would have been really weird were it not for the fact that he had regained his memories courtesy of Road.

Without meaning to she had made all of this possible.

Taking a deep breath and then exhaling it slowly Hitsugaya reached over and placed his hands above the ebony and ivory keys, keys that were reversed and black where they should be white and vice versa. He left his hands to hover there for a few minutes before he closed his eyes and then started to play. He didn't need to look at the keys to play this, he could play this particular melody in his sleep.

As soon as his hands touched the keys haunting music rose to fill the room.

After playing for a short time Hitsugaya actually started to sing quietly, the sound of his voice blending well with the music and there was a dual quality to it that made it sound as if there were two people singing a duet rather than just one person.

Allen stood by with a shocked expression on his face.

This was something that Hitsugaya was completely oblivious to considering the fact that he had his eyes closed right now. He continued to play, the song having an almost sad quality to it.

It might seem as if nothing was happening but unseen by the two in the room the Ark was starting to put itself back together piece by piece, fueled by the song and the wish that went along with it. The other Exorcists that had come along on this mission were revived and slowly they began to gather in the tower. It was impossible not to notice the fact that they were missing two of their group and Lavi was more than a little bit concerned about that.

Though he didn't for a second think that the Noah had beaten them.

Those two were just too damn stubborn to die.

As the last notes faded into oblivion Hitsugaya opened his eyes once more and then turned to face Allen, getting the shock of his life as he took in his appearance. It was only the fact that his powers as a Shinigami remained that allowed him to take note of this difference and he was admittedly shocked because out of all of the things he knew the Ark could do this was not one of them.

But he couldn't have been happier that it had surprised him.

"Come on," Hitsugaya said, gesturing to Allen and making a waving motion with his hand to convey the fact that he wanted the other white-haired youth to come with him. He didn't elaborate on the reason why, nor did he explain what it was that he had done, but instead just made that come hither motion and then turned to once again summon the entrance to the room.

Or exit as the case was in this instance.

For a moment Allen hesitated, wondering if Hitsugaya was leading him to his death or something considering his background. It didn't take him long to make his decision however and ever the trusting, and more to the point forgiving, soul he decided that he was going to take his chances. Moving quickly he crossed the distance between them and followed Hitsugaya through the portal that he had summoned using one of the piano's keys.

The two emerged seemingly out of nowhere only a few feet from the spot where the others in their group had assembled to regroup and figure out what they were going to do.

"Beansprout! Chibi!"

Predictably Lavi was the first to notice and greet the group, his one visible emerald eye focused on the pair as his brain went into overdrive to try to figure out just what had happened and how they had all managed to come out of this alive.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

Allen and Hitsugaya looked over at one another when they both yelled the exact same thing at the exact same time and after a moment both white-haired youths actually started laughing. Probably a result of the stress and then the relief to know that something had gone right for them for a change.

Regardless of the cause it was something of a rarity and that caused the others to gape at them.

"We should get out of this place," Hitsugaya said after a few moments. "We're back at the Order now…" He had taken the liberty to use the Ark's powers to move it to the headquarters of the Black Order's European branch though he wasn't going to admit to that part out loud. Actually he wasn't planning on telling any of the others the truth of him but that didn't really mean anything since Allen had all of that knowledge and could easily share it if he so chose.

Hitsugaya was just holding out hope that he wouldn't choose to do that.

Because he was pretty sure that things would end badly for him if the teen did.

"Wait are you serious?" Lavi asked as he looked at the smaller of the two white-haired youths, a look of disbelieve and maybe a trace of skepticism in his single eye.

Hitsugaya just nodded his head before he turned away from them and started walking, intending to lead the way back to the village below the tower where they could exit the Ark. Whether or not they chose to follow, well that wasn't really his concern. If they wanted to get out then they were going to do that but he didn't really care one way or another.

Allen was the first to fall into step behind the smaller boy but that was chiefly because he still had some things that he wanted answers to. Lavi was next and at that point all of them did so, with Kanda being the last and most reluctant.

After a trek back through the tower and then the subsequent town they came to a door that actually led out and into the office of none other than Chief Komui.

Causing Hitsugaya to mentally bemoan his choice for a connection point.

"You're back! And you're all alive!" Komui exclaimed as they entered his office seemingly from out of nowhere, the Branch Chief immediately getting to his feet and running over to tackle-hug his sister. Holding Lenalee tightly the man actually couldn't hold back the tears, relief evident in his every feature as he held the person that was most precious to him. He cared about all of them, this group in particular, but Lenalee was and always would be the most important person in his life.

She was the one that he had done everything for.

The reason he had joined the Order and hastily climbed the ranks in the first place.

This reunion between brother and sister caused a stab of pain to Hitsugaya's heart but he tried not to let that show as he turned away from the scene. Deciding that he had done everything that he could in this instance he started walking, making his way toward the door of the office. He didn't think that anyone would notice that he was leaving, they were all too busy with their celebration right now.

And he wasn't going to interfere in that because they deserved it.

He on the other hand did not and he had no intentions of sticking around for it.

Noticing the fact that Hitsugaya had slipped away Allen frowned and then left the office, looking for the smaller boy and finding him pretty quickly since Hitsugaya wasn't really traveling all that fast. "Running away?" Allen called out once he was in sight of the smaller boy. His tone was neutral, there was no accusation there even if the words could be taken as just that.

"Not running," Hitsugaya replied as he came to a stop, not turning to face Allen but not continuing onward either. "I'm just not intruding on a celebration I have no right to."

Allen was silent for a moment before he scowled. "How can you even say that? If it wasn't for you then we'd probably all be dead right now!" His voice was actually heated as he said this, Allen surprising even himself with the way that he stood up to Hitsugaya and sort of berated him for his self-deprecating comment.

Why he was doing that was anyone's guess considering the fact that he himself had been ready to strangle the smaller boy with his own two hands only a short time ago.

Things had changed.

The greatest of which being the fact that all of his friends, no his family, were alive.

And he had Hitsugaya to thank for that.

Hitsugaya was also surprised by what Allen had to say but after a moment he let out a wry little chuckle. "You're the last person I would have expected to defend me," he said in a thoughtful voice. For a few moments he stood there in silence and then he slowly turned and looked up at Allen. "There's something else that I need to talk to you about…will you come with me?" His voice was actually hesitant as he posed this question, Hitsugaya not sure whether or not Allen would go for it but needing to ask none the less.

Allen was surprised by this but after just a moment's pause he nodded his head.

"Sure."

Hitsugaya was grateful that Allen was going to give him this chance and he nodded his head, once again starting to walk and this time trusting that Allen was going to follow along behind him. Once they reached the outside of the Order's headquarters he was planning on using his powers but for the moment he wasn't keen on anyone else learning about those so he was going to hold off until they were out of sight.

Until they reached that point walking would have to suffice.

Allen wasn't sure what Hitsugaya wanted to talk to him about but he was thinking that after the bombshell that was dropped on him before it couldn't be anything worse. And so he followed along behind the smaller boy, curious as to what was going on.

As well as to how earlier revelations were going to affect their lives from this point out.

A/N – End of another chapter and there's only one more to go. Hope that you enjoyed this, please leave a review and share your thoughts. Thanks for reading.