A/N: Yay, I got more reviews!(x Thank you so much to NirvanaFrk97, EpikalStorms, Lenore91, bougainvillea blossom, Kaite1211, lily, myangelicladyofdarkness, Dana, Jazebeth, KoiKyuuiKitai, Ennael, and ifanybodyasksimreading for all reviewing!^.^ You were all very nice and considerate, offering me actual sentence-long reviews!(;
Nothing much to say on this chapter, except that it's going to end on a more serious note then I intended it to. Like some of you might not have expected the way Allen and Kanda's interaction would turn out, it'll probably be the same with Allen and Lavi's relationship in the beginning. But other than that, please enjoy!(:
Disclaimer: Nope! I'm just a teenage girl who could only ever hope to own something like D. Gray-Man:'/
Chapter 3
Time Frame — Morning of February 20th, 1895
—3rd Person POV—
~Allen~
Allen quickly ducked in slight shock, as he was almost ran over by a group of scientists and Finders speedily walking down the corridor with a dangerous stack of supplies.
Great, it's that time of year again… Allen thought grimly. And by that, he meant the time of year that Komui went crazy trying to throw a "surprise" birthday party for Lenalee. Really, no matter how many times they'd tried telling him, they were never able to convince him that Lenalee would never be surprised. At least, not after the first time he threw one for her tenth birthday. There was just no stopping that man.
With an exasperated shake of his head, Allen was about to continue on his way to—you guessed it!—the dining hall. Or at least, that was the plan until he was suddenly yanked unwillingly into a dark corridor. Allen yelped lightly, and then looking up, he realized that it was just Lenalee. What was up with people interrupting his eating time? It was the most important time of the day!
"What is it Lenalee?" Allen asked, noticing her nervous stance.
"Sorry. It's just that anytime Brother sees me, he freaks out and tries to lock me in my room," Lenalee explained with a blush of embarrassment. "Anyway, since he expects me to be in there all morning, I was wondering if you wanted to go into town with me for a couple hours. I asked Kanda, but he refused." At this, she gave a frustrated pout.
"Sure Lenalee. Let me just change out of my Exorcist coat. We don't need anybody coming back from a mission and spotting us, only to report us to Komui," Allen said with a grimace, already imagining the consequences if Komui were informed that he was alone with his little sister.
Nodding, Lenalee agreed eagerly, "That's a good idea. I'll go change as well. Meet you back here in ten?"
"Sure, I'll see you then," Allen replied, and quickly headed back to his room. Switching from his Exorcist coat to his regular black coat, as well as pulling on his gray knitted hat, Allen snatched up the remaining money he had left from his travels—some of which was depleted thanks to Road's sweet tooth. He figured he could buy something for her, since it was her birthday and all.
Soon enough, they were sneaking down to the canals, using the back and unused halls of the Order, taking care to avoid anyone. They were just about to climb onto the boat when a voice caused them to jump in shock. "Well well well. What do we have here? Two children sneaking out on a date?"
Cautiously turning around, they realized with a relieved sigh that it was just Daisya. Rolling his eyes at his antics, Allen said, "It's not a date. We're just trying to escape Komui's birthday party rampage."
"Oh, so you mean you wouldn't mind if I tagged along to chaperone your little outing?"
Allen and Lenalee gave each other unamused glances and then asked Daisya in unison, "What did you do this time?"
"Why would you assume such a thing?" Daisya smirked confidently. When they said nothing, Daisya slumped down and admitted, "Okay, so maybe I had a little run-in with a certain sword-wielding Exorcist…"
They both winced, knowing how vicious Kanda could be when angered. Finally, Allen spoke up, "Your Exorcist cloak is too conspicuous. If you can make it to your room and change and be back here within five minutes, unnoticed, then maybe we'll allow you to tag along."
Daisya wasted no second, and was soon back in less than the time Allen had granted him, dressed in a more casual top, as he had kept his Exorcist pants and boots, having had no time to get out of those. It wasn't too long before they were entering the large town near the outskirts of Headquarters.
"Where do you want to go first Lenalee?" Allen asked.
Giving him a sheepish smile, she answered, "Sorry, I didn't actually think this through. I just wanted to get away from all the chaos."
"Well I for one am starving. Let's go get some breakfast," Daisya suggested, and was soon leading them to a quaint little café. Lenalee and Allen agreed easily enough, not having had the opportunity to get any back at Headquarters, as they'd been too busy sneaking around.
Sitting around, Allen enjoyed his time with them, and ordered what to him would be considered a snack—he couldn't really afford his regular amount of food and he figured he could eat once back at the Order. Allen could already imagine all the delicious food Jerry must have cooked up for Lenalee's birthday party. This turned out to be a smart decision, as he ended up paying for the meals of a sheepish Lenalee and Daisya—Exorcist, after all, weren't really paid well, but Allen didn't mind.
"So Allen, why don't you tell us about yourself?" Lenalee suggested with an encouraging smile, leaning slightly forward in her seat.
Allen gave her an uncomfortable shrug, knowing his past wasn't a very nice one, but when her expectant smile didn't budge, he gave her a small summary. "Not much to tell really. Orphan; lived on the streets for while; eventually worked at a circus and later adopted by my father. We worked as travelling entertainers. My Innocence finally activated a year ago where I was picked up by General Cross and here I am."
Lenalee didn't seem too satisfied with his discouraging answer, not that he could really blame her. "Do you miss your father?" Lenalee eventually asked cautiously.
"Terribly," Allen answered with a nostalgic smile. There hadn't been a day gone by that he still regretted his actions from that wintery night, not that that would let him be stopped from following Mana's mantra. It was the only thing that had kept him going before befriending everyone at the Order.
"So what's up with that weird thing on your face?" Daisya asked so insensitively while chewing on a piece of toast, Allen almost wanted to laugh. The fact that he made it sound so normal and not like some freaky deformity as everyone else did, seemed a little unreal. Lenalee not so subtly kicked him underneath the table, causing Daisya to yelp.
"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to," Lenalee replied nervously, as if Daisya's question might have triggered an unwanted reaction.
Allen just shook his head and responded, "It's alright. Mana, my father, gave this to me."
The duo stared at him in slight shock. Daisya then scowled and muttered loud enough for them to hear, "Why the fuck would he…?"
"It's not like that. After what I did, I deserved it," Allen sighed, fidgeting with the napkin in his hand.
"Allen, there's nothing anybody could have done to deserve that," Lenalee frowned worriedly.
Allen shook his head and elaborated, "Lenalee, you don't understand. I… I turned Mana into an Akuma." When all they could do was stare in astonishment, Allen continued, "He cursed me. He cursed me to forever see the tortured souls of the Akuma… and then I killed him."
Lenalee gasped and murmured in a horrified whisper, "So when you said you activated your Innocence a year ago, you meant…?" At Allen's affirmative nod, Lenalee's wide, amethyst eyes filled with tears, causing Allen to panic. He hadn't meant for her to cry! How could he have been so stupid? Allen should have known that Lenalee wasn't as mature as she used to be, and doubtlessly more sensitive as well.
"It's alright Lenalee!" Allen waved his hands anxiously. "I came to terms with what happened long ago, and it's one of my reasons for becoming an Exorcist." Allen then thought to long ago, when he and Crown Clown had come to an understanding and without thinking about it, began to speak in a small voice, "That's why I became an Exorcist. To fight for… To live for… For those precious to me. For the freedom of the Akuma's souls. For my friends."
"Allen…" Lenalee whispered. With a jolt and a blush of embarrassment, Allen realized he'd spoken aloud.
Before either could say anymore though, they felt a hand ruffling their hair. Glancing up, they realized it was Daisya giving them that annoying smirk of his. "Come on you two! Quit being so serious!" He then proceeded to drag both youths out of the café and after strolling through the lively town for a bit, Daisya finally led them into a small, clothing and accessories shop for youths.
"What are we doing here, Daisya?" Allen asked curiously.
"Well, we need to get something for the birthday girl, obviously, or Komui will have our heads," Daisya explained, finally letting them go as he began to browse around the store.
Shaking her head, Lenalee objected, "No, it's alright you guys. I don't really need you to get me anything. Having you around is enough." Allen offered her a grin, but they both ignored her protests and split up to look around the available items. After a bit, Allen spotted a pair of long, thick and silky, crimson ribbons that reminded Allen of Lenalee's crystallized Dark Boots. Smiling nostalgically, Allen bought them from the store's owner while Lenalee was distracted with something else. Just as he was about to turn around though, he spotted a familiar, forest green bandana displayed behind the counter with a couple others. Not giving it a second thought, Allen finally used the last of his money to buy it and quickly pocketed it inside his coat before his other two companions noticed.
Satisfied with his actions, Allen then proceeded to sneak up behind an unsuspecting Lenalee and ordered her to close her eyes for a moment. Trusting him, Lenalee did as she was told and didn't question when Allen suddenly began to gently tug at her pigtails. For his part, Allen was tying a ribbon on each pigtail so that the scarlet ribbons would flow down along her dark, thick hair, making the vibrant colors stand out. Finishing up, Allen directed her towards a nearby mirror and then allowed her to open her eyes. Opening her eyes, Lenalee let out a small gasp as she gazed in admiration at the beautiful ribbons cascading down along with her long pigtails.
"They're gorgeous Allen! Thank you so much!" Lenalee gushed with a beaming smile and gave him a quick hug.
"Don't forget about me Lenalee!" Daisya called as he left the counter with his usual confident grin. Before either could respond, Daisya suddenly tossed a silver chain in the air, which landed perfectly around Lenalee's neck. Looking down, Lenalee realized that a simple, silver, oval-shaped pendant hung from it. Gently taking it in her hands, she managed to open it with a click.
"You're always going on about family, so I figured you could put some picture or the other in there," Daisya simply shrug as he began to lead them outside the shop.
"Thank you very much Daisya!" Lenalee responded excitedly while giving him a quick hug as well. As they continued walking out the shop and through town, Lenalee curiously asked, "Say, when do you two celebrate your birthdays?"
"April 5th," Daisya simply shrugged nonchalantly.
"December 25th," Allen also replied when he realized Lenalee was giving him an expectant look.
"Wow! Your birthday's on Christmas? Doesn't it suck to be told the present you're getting counts for both?" Daisya asked.
"Not really. I like my birthday," Allen beamed truthfully. It was the day Mana had adopted him after all, and it's not like he had received very many presents during his lifetime. One of the few had been Mana's treasured pocket watch, but that had been taken one of the first times his Master had thrown him at a pair of debt collectors, not that he'd ever told anyone. To this day, he still felt guilty and ashamed over losing Mana's precious gift.
Before anymore could be said between the trio, they were interrupted by an annoyingly familiar voice. Allen grimaced.
"Allen~!" Next thing he knew, Allen was sprawled on the sidewalk with a pair of lips on his. Unlike the first time in the Ark, Allen wasn't able to catch her because of his lack of height and strength. Why hadn't he seen this coming?
"Hello Road," Allen sighed when he was able to speak again.
"Oh, come on Allen~! Don't be that way! And after I went to the trouble of looking for you!" Road giggled and then pouted.
"Well does your Millenie approve?" Allen asked expectantly, recalling she had mentioned him last time. Speaking of which, he briefly wondered where Lero was. He rarely saw her without him in tow.
Road merely shrugged as she finally picked herself off him and helped him up. "He says as long as long as I'm not bored~! Plus, when this is over and done with, we still get to have our chosen! Might as well find one or two," she explained, which made Allen question the fact of her knowledge on him. It wouldn't surprise Allen if she did know of his occupation, unless she couldn't detect Innocence like the Akuma, but that had never really been proven one way or another. In the end though, Allen just gave her a curious look since he wasn't suppose to know about her in the first place.
"Allen, who's this?" Lenalee finally asked a bit suspiciously. Exorcists, after all, weren't allowed to keep in contact with any previous affiliations they had, unless they were admitted into the Order as well.
"This is Road. Road, this is Lenalee," Allen introduced them with a cringe. Why was this happening?
"Wow, Lenalee! You're very pretty! And I like your hair! You'd make a very nice doll," Road giggled.
"Um, thank you," Lenalee blushed.
"Road!" Allen groaned in exasperation. "You can't go around wanting to convert others into your own personal dolls."
"Aww, but why not Allen~!? Normal dolls are boring and break too easily," Road whined while clinging to his arm. Unfortunately, Allen knew what she truly meant by that "breaking" as well. Lenalee, for her part, blinked in shock, not having expected for the girl to mean it literally. She then frowned. Allen must have known this girl very well to easily pick up on what she meant. From what he'd told them of his past, it didn't seem likely he'd had the opportunity to get to know anyone very well.
"And this is Daisya," Allen finally introduced his other companion for the lack of anything else to say. Unluckily, he realized too late that it was probably a bad idea considering Daisya's mischievous smirk. What stupidity was he going to say this time around?
"Why, Allen! You never told us you had a girlfriend! And to think we're your friends!" Daisya shook his head in mock disappointment.
"Yeah Allen! I talked to Millenie all about you! So much in fact, he ordered me to come see you straight away!" Road nodded in a matter-of-fact voice.
"Well, for one, you're not my girlfriend. And two, it never really came up," Allen shrugged while discreetly rolling his eyes.
"Well it's decided then! I, Road Kamelot, will be your girlfriend from now on!" Road declared while throwing her arms around him. Not giving him a chance to protest, Road gave him a peck on the cheek—it'd originally been aimed for his lips, but he'd managed to turn his head just in time, though she didn't seem the slightest bit put off. "Bye-bye Allen~! If I spend too much time with you, Daddy will find out and kill you! Let's try to delay that for as long as possible, kay~!?" And with that bit of lovely news and a cheerful wave, Road skipped away, down the street and around the corner beaming all the while.
Allen sweatdropped.
"That girl sure knows how to take charge!" Daisya laughed.
"Allen, where do you know this girl from?" Lenalee asked with a suspicious look, causing Allen to gulp nervously. She couldn't know!
"Uh, I met her once before. When I was passing through here on my way to join the Order three weeks ago," Allen explained, deciding to go with the truth of this reality.
"Wow! You sure must have made an impression kid!" Daisya nodded approvingly while giving him a hard slap on the back, causing Allen to stumble slightly forward. Regaining his balance, Allen just shook his head knowing there would be no arguing with him.
"We should probably be heading back now. Komui will probably be finishing everything up soon," Allen suggested realizing how close to noon it already was. Realizing the same for themselves, Daisya and Lenalee scurried along with Allen, hoping they hadn't been missed.
Komui didn't disappoint. The party he had organized was much more extravagant then all the welcoming parties held for new Exorcists put together. Not only that, but he'd made sure that every single Exorcist was attending, with the exception of all the generals and any pupils they had of course. Sadly, this included Miranda, since unlike last time, they didn't have an urgent need for Exorcists. Allen had long ago lost track of Lenalee, but he contented himself with all the food available, much to the shock of all those who had yet to meet him. To Allen's happiness, Jerry had actually made a single table of food all for him and had clearly labeled it "Allen's Food". Allen had definitely enjoyed that.
Unfortunately, he wasn't sure what to do at the moment. Lenalee was being swept in a crowd of presents and Daisya and Kanda were nowhere to be found—not that Kanda would have been his first choice either way. Plus, since the rest of the Exorcists were all grownups, they either looked down on him in annoyance or pity, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Allen continued walking through the crowds hoping to see a friendly face when he suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Well, he'd spotted somebody alright. And that face belonged to none other than Suman Dark.
Well for one, he looked absolutely miserable. Not that Allen could blame him after seeing his memories. But still, despite knowing it wasn't his fault that Suman had ended up dead, Allen couldn't seem to stop the overwhelming feeling of guilt bloom and settle in his chest like an uncomfortable rock. After a minute of putting himself together, Allen took a deep breath and slowly made his way over to where he was sitting. Suman didn't notice him, so Allen took the liberty of tapping his shoulder. "Hello. Nice to meet you. My name's Allen Walker," Allen introduced himself with a tentative smile when Suman looked down at him in surprise, though he couldn't seem to keep the nervousness out of his voice.
Suman didn't answer for moment causing Allen to worry, until he noticed Suman staring at his Exorcist coat—he'd switched into it when they'd gotten back—with an obvious frown of disapproval. "This place keeps getting worse and worse. What the hell are they thinking dragging children into this? Tell me kid, how old are you?" Suman finally looked at him and Allen winced, knowing he should've expected that sort of response. Suman's intense gaze softened when he noticed Allen's reaction, probably assuming he'd scared him.
Before he had a chance to apologize though, Allen answered, "I just recently turned thirteen."
"So younger than Miss Lee I see," Suman grimaced.
Allen fidgeted for a moment, wondering what he should say when Suman unexpectedly spoke up, "I'm Suman. Suman Dark."
"Nice to meet you Mr. Dark," Allen answered politely, with a small sigh of relief.
"You may call me Suman," Suman allowed with a nod.
Allen wondered what he should say next, when he recalled something Johnny had told him long ago. "Suman, do you know how to play chess?"
Suman blinked at him in slight shock before asking him, "You know how to play chess?"
"Well, no," Allen blushed, "But I'd really like to learn." Allen figured a small, white lie couldn't hurt, plus it wasn't like actually learning it would be such a horrid thing.
"Well, yes, I do in fact have a chess set. We could go now if you'd like," Suman suggested, and Allen noticed with relieved smile that Suman didn't look as dejected as before. He actually seemed to perk up somewhat. Allen nodded in agreement, and they both slipped unnoticed out of the dining hall and headed towards Suman's room. It wasn't long before Suman had set up the chess board and was explaining all the rules to Allen.
Allen eventually noticed that despite Suman's love for the game, he wasn't very good at it. It mostly had to do with the fact that he sort of rushed into it by going with the first idea he had instead of thinking of all the possibilities and what the outcome of his actions might be. In other words, by their ninth game, Allen finally had him beat.
"What! That's not possible!" Suman argued with a low mutter, looking intensely at the chess board as if waiting for it to give him the answers on how he could have possibly lost. Unfortunately for him, it was clearly obvious. Allen had checkmated him through and through.
"So is!" Allen grinned victoriously. Who knew winning after so many losses could be so satisfactory?
A knock to the door prevented them from further arguing. "Come in!" Suman called out.
The door opened to reveal Johnny. "Hey Suman! I—" Johnny cut himself off when he noticed Allen. "Allen! There you are! We were wondering where you were. Stealing my chess partner was the least I expected!" Johnny exclaimed with cheerful laugh, causing Allen to give him a sheepish smile.
"Anyway, you should probably go on back and speak with Lenalee. She was looking for you and I think she's starting to get worried," Johnny suggested.
Allen nodded and slipped off the chair and out the door, but not before calling back, "Thanks for the game Suman! It was a lot of fun!"
Allen distantly heard Johnny teasing Suman on how many times he'd lost as he headed back towards the dining hall—by following the scent food of course—figuring that would be a good place to start. Thankfully, despite the diminishing people, Lenalee was still there.
"Lenalee!" Allen called out. Turning to look at him, she gave him a relieved smile and waved him over to where she was. Once he was near, Lenalee spoke up, "There you are Allen! Where did you go off to?"
"I'm really sorry Lenalee!" Allen apologized, realizing he'd technically ditched her party. "I was playing chess with Suman and must have lost track of time."
"That was nice of him. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself!" Lenalee beamed. "Anyway, a large portion of my presents included candy among other things, and I was wondering if you'd like some. I already offered some to Komui, Daisya, and Jerry. Kanda of course can't stand them," she giggled.
"Sure! I'd love some," Allen nodded eagerly, knowing better than to refuse Lenalee.
"Great!" Digging around all the paper wrappings, she pulled out a small stash of candy. Smelling the delicious treats, it wasn't long before Allen had gobbled them up.
"I'm glad you enjoyed them!" Lenalee laughed at his enthusiasm, to which Allen nodded eagerly, the last piece of candy—a lollipop—still in his mouth. "Anyway, I'm going to gather everything else up and take it to my room. After that, I'm going to help out in cleaning the cafeteria."
It didn't really surprise Allen that she would clean up after her own party, so he just nodded and said around the lollipop in his mouth, "I'll 'elp out!"
Lenalee accepted his help graciously, and allowed him to carry half her gifts to her room. It wasn't too long before they arrived, though Allen didn't even get a foot near the door of her room—you never knew when there was a Komurin around the corner, or worst, Komui himself! Lenalee must have realized this as well, because she let out an embarrassed sigh and didn't question him when she came back to take the rest of her stuff in. Allen ended up chewing up the rest of his sweet lollipop in nervousness.
Just as they were heading back though, Lenalee came to an unexpected stop. "That's right! This is what I wanted to show you! Komui helped me out by using the pictures we have for every Exorcist's profile," Lenalee rambled. Allen didn't understand what she meant until she reached inside her coat and pulled her silver locket out. Opening it up with a small click, Lenalee demonstrated the inside, which now contained pictures within. On one side, was a picture of Komui and Lenalee herself, and on the other side were pictures of Allen, Daisya, and Kanda obviously fitted together on purpose.
"I… I feel bad, because I couldn't include everyone I care about. Guilty, because I know a lot are very a precious to me. They're my family!" Lenalee explained anxiously, causing Allen himself to feel guilty. This must be the reason she'd been looking for him, and he hadn't even been around. Before he had a chance to attempt to reassure her though, she took on a determined gaze and continued, "But I chose you four, because I cherish you very much. You're the closest people I have, and I know we haven't known each other for very long Allen, but I feel like I might have met you in another lifetime. Or am I just being delusional?" At this, Lenalee ducked her head with a blush, looking slightly mortified.
Allen shook his head with an internal wince, and was quick to reassure her. "No, it's okay Lenalee. I know what you mean. I know exactly what you mean."
"I'm glad, because I was starting to feel a bit silly," Lenalee replied sheepishly.
"And I care about you too Lenalee," Allen added with a gentle smile. "Now come on! I'm sure the cleaning crew must be dying without our help!"
"Right!" Lenalee laughed.
Time Frame — Morning of February 28th, 1895
It was only about a week after Lenalee's birthday that the Bookmen Clan was finally allowed to join the Holy War in order to be documented for their numerous records—this mostly had to do with two of its members being compatible with the Innocence, which had easily worked to both sides' advantages. In the end, after much negotiating, the Bookmen Clan would be allowed to record the Holy War without being tied down to the Black order, but in exchange, their services as Exorcists would be required.
But Allen wasn't focused on any of this. He had seen straight through all this information and had only thought of one thing, or in reality, person—Lavi. Allen wouldn't be lying if he said he was scared out of his mind. Despite his comraderie and friendship with Lavi in the past, Allen's mind kept drifting back to the words Lavi had once told him.
"I am not your comrade. I never thought of you guys as my friends, even once. I am the successor to the Bookmen line, nothing more."
And ever since then, he had doubted. Doubted Lavi's genuineness; his words; his actions. Of course, he hadn't said anything, and rarely had had the time to contemplate it with everything that had occurred afterwards. But in the folds of the night, when he should have been resting, he'd mulled over what being a Bookman really meant, and hadn't been happy with the outcome. Was Lavi nothing more than an act, or had they wormed their way into his heart? When he saw him, he couldn't help but think back to when that same, vibrant green eye had looked at him so cold and uncaring. Like he was nothing but another character in his recording book. And it hurt him. Hurt him so much to think that he was nothing to the one he thought of as his best friend.
Allen shook his head with a sigh, knowing if he lagged any longer, Lenalee would start to worry and finally begun to make his way towards the dining hall for breakfast, where Allen knew Lenalee would be talking with him. Time to face the music.
Allen managed to enter and order breakfast, before Lenalee noticed him and called him out. "Allen, over here!" Figuring his food wouldn't be ready for a bit, Allen walked over, trying not to focus on the piercing gaze Lavi was giving him.
"Allen, there you are! I was wondering why you weren't here sooner. Anyway, this is our new comrade, Lavi!" Lenalee enthusiastically introduced the Bookman Junior, as well as confirmed Allen's suspicions on her wondering where he'd been.
"Nice to meet you. My name's Allen Walker," Allen introduced himself politely. Despite Lavi's easygoing attitude, there was something that greatly unnerved Allen about it, he just couldn't seem to pinpoint what exactly.
"Nice to meet you there shortstack!" Lavi laughed, his usual mischievous smirk playing on his lips. But still, there was something about him that was making Allen slightly anxious. But why could nobody else see it? Was it something attributed to him being a Bookman? But he'd always been one. So why did Allen feel so uneasy?
"It's Allen," he pouted good naturedly, figuring he could go along with it 'til he could figure out what was wrong.
Nothing much happened from then on. At least, nothing out of the ordinary for the Black Order. Lavi almost had a heart attack from Allen's appetite; Johnny harassed him over his future Exorcist uniform; and everyone got a good laugh over Lavi's general newness in the Order's ways. Lenalee even convinced Lavi to be taken on a tour throughout the Order, despite his protests and reasoning over the fact that he'd already been taken on one a couple weeks ago when they'd been here to do more negotiating. But Lenalee would have none of it and Allen decided to tag along.
It was fun for the most part—despite Allen still not being able to figure out what was out of place with Lavi. By the time dinner came about, Johnny had finally completed Lavi's new Exorcist uniform, having worked on it nonstop since that morning. After much encouragement from all of them, Lavi finally decided to go on ahead and put it on. Although it was a new and cool sight for everyone else, to Allen, it was like looking back on an old and nostalgic memory. Back to the days when everything made sense, and they all knew their purpose. Before they all begin to question what was truly right.
It was after dinner that Allen and Lavi were called to Komui's office. For once, he was actually awake and ready to brief them on their mission. "Hello, boys. Because Lavi will not have time to be trained by a general do to his Bookman duties, I've decided to pair him up with someone very experienced for his first assignment," Komui explain, while giving Allen a piercing look. At first he didn't understand, but then Allen thought back to when Hevlaska had announced his synchronization rate with Crown Clown, and realized that Komui was pairing Lavi up with the closest thing they had to a general at the moment. Even if that closest thing to a general was a thirteen-year-old boy. Komui must have thought this through quite a bit.
Due to this, Lavi gave him a slightly surprised look, but then shook it off and turned back to Komui. "Where's Gramps?"
"There are still some last minute preparations that he has to attend to, so he'll be busy for the next couple of days. Do not worry, he is the one who suggested that you begin to learn how to go about your Exorcist duties," Komui reassured him. Having succeeded, he moved on to the debriefing of the mission. Standing up from his cluttered desk, he took out one of the many rolled up maps, and unfurled it on the table for a clear view of Southern Europe. "See here? This is where your mission will take place. It's a large forest north of Albania. Here, west of the forest lies a large lake, where nearby villagers would go fishing for food. Unfortunately, something seems to be lurking there. Villagers have reported a strange creature to be terrorizing away the fish, which has significantly depleted the food supply. When Finders were sent in to investigate, two were reported to disappear. Five days later, their corpses were found on the shores of the lake," Komui explained grimly.
Lavi and Allen glanced at each other nervously. Komui continued, "No Akuma have been sighted just yet, but we're not taking any chances. Whatever is creeping down there isn't to be taken lightly, so we're taking action faster then we normally would have. Here, take these and read these on your way there for more information," Komui advised, handing them over the usual pamphlets. Unfortunately, they were thinner then they usually were, making Allen confirm that they really were taking action fast.
Throughout all this, Allen had also been trying to recall everything he had learned as an Exorcist, even the small things that seemed small and instinctual to him. If Komui was really serious about this, then Allen would have to take the unofficial position of being Lavi's mentor for his first mission. Ironically, Allen would have to teach him the whole 'assume everyone to be an Akuma' lesson, Lavi had originally taught him when he had failed to understand his Master. As much as he wished it, Allen knew he wouldn't always be around Lavi with his 'convenient eye'.
When they left, Allen and Lavi split off to their respective rooms to grab their own things and met back up minutes later down in the canals, where a Finder was waiting for them. Thankfully, the Finder already knew about Lavi taking Allen's position as the new rookie, so he directed his own explanations to Allen, recalling everything his comrades had told him when they had communicated back to Headquarters. Allen nodded in appreciation, though the information was nothing new to them.
Soon enough, they were racing through the city, unsurprisingly trying to catch up with the train that had already left the train station minutes ago. Lavi easily kept up with them, jumping across buildings as if he did it all the time, but that came to a stop when they landed on the bridge, the train racing underneath, as if realizing what they were about to do.
"Listen shortstack, I don't think I—" Lavi cut himself short with a loud scream, as Allen continued on without listening to him and pulled him along, down to the train, knowing that if they had hesitated any longer, they would have missed it. Plus, he kind of deserved it after refusing to call him by his given name. The Finder, having landed closer to the unopened hatch, led them inside, with Allen dragging along a dazed Lavi. After landing inside and being led to their private compartment by a flustered attendant, Lavi suddenly straightened up and pulled Allen roughly up by his Exorcist coat. Giving him a crazed glare, Lavi growled, "Don't ever do that again! Got that shortstack?!"
Allen gave him a quick, nervous nod, and Lavi dropped him carelessly, collapsing onto the red cushioned seat soon afterwards. Allen didn't bother him again for the rest of the night.
Time Frame — Morning of March 2nd, 1895
It had been about a two days since they had left Headquarters, and they were finally on their third and last train. Unfortunately, they would have to hike up for a couple miles through the forest to reach the village itself, but they tried not to dwell on that. Ever since Lavi had woken up on the first train, Allen had drilled him on every possible piece of advice he could think up. Despite Lavi's easygoing manner, he took all of it seriously, at least to a degree. Truthfully, it was more than Allen could have hoped for. Currently, they were stretching their muscles out by walking around the train.
As they strolled leisurely, Allen again peeked up at Lavi. Despite his efforts, he hadn't yet identified what it was about Lavi that had him so on edge. Lavi then peered down at him from his towering height, leaning down towards Allen's height, his single, forest green eye staring straight into Allen's moonlit ones. "Alright, what is it with you shortstack? Ever since I met you, you keep giving me these suspicious glances. I'm not sure what I did to garner such treatment, but I hope there are no hard feelings," Lavi grinned pleasantly.
But Allen had stopped listening. Stumbling back away from Lavi, Allen finally realized what had him so uneasy when he looked straight into Lavi's single eye. The Lavi he had known had been very open, his eye always filled with an emotion one way or another. But this Lavi… Despite having the right facial expressions, Lavi's eye was almost as blank as that day on the Ark. His words and actions had distracted from it, but now that Allen was truly looking at him, it was so obvious.
"—shortstack! Hey, what's the matter?" Allen suddenly realized that Lavi was holding him up by the shoulders to keep him from falling back, while calling out to him.
Swiftly shaking his hands away, Allen stepped back with a sick feeling in his gut, and muttered barely loud enough for Lavi to hear, "Your eye. It's dead. Like there are no true emotions within you, despite your happy-go-lucky act."
Suddenly, before Lavi could respond to Allen's accusations, a young girl came up to them with a sweet smile, offering them flowers. Of course, Allen had seen her coming a mile away, but he had been planning for this to serve as a lesson to Lavi, especially considering he didn't yet know what exactly his left eye was useful for and didn't want him to become dependent on it throughout the mission. As Allen offered her a slightly shaky smile and accepted a flower, his claw was suddenly ripping the girl apart, just before she could manage to shoot his head off. Looking up to see the shocked, and slightly frightened face of Lavi, Allen repeated the words that his Lavi had told him once, long ago with a suddenly exhausted sigh, "You should assume that everyone you come into contact with is an Akuma."
Allen then proceeded to drag a shaken Lavi back to their compartment, while silently brooding, and away from the shrieks of all the panicking passengers accusing him of murder. Unfortunately, it was a horrid scene he had long ago gotten used to.
A/N: Well, that wasn't a very happy ending to a chapter -_- Anyway, I'm really sorry to say that with school starting tomorrow for me, I'm going to update a lot slower:/ So sorry about that, but I hope you'll be patient enough to continue waiting for my updates.
And in answer to my two anonymous reviewers who tried giving me ideas on what else include in this story;
lily: That's actually a pretty neat idea! I hadn't given the Asian Branch much thought, but now that you mention it, I think including them at some point would be fun!(: It probably won't happen for another couple chapters, but I'll be sure to keep it in mind(;
Ennael: I hadn't thought much about the generals, what with them being busy and all, but unlike Cross, they'll be sure report back to the Order at some point, so including them in as well might be fun. Unfortunately, they're not going to be a permanent fix like you seem to want, since they do have jobs, but I'll be sure to include them later on in the story!^.^
I'm still willing to listen to ideas any of you might have, and be sure to leave a review on what you thought about the chapter please!(: