A/N: Wow, a lot of you sure were happy about Lavi getting stabbed… xD Haha, but in all seriousness, thank you very much to negimarules52, NirvanaFrk97, Lahel, KoiKyuuiKitai, lovergirl85, myangelicladyofdarkness, Lenore91, Lucia Tsukiyomi-hime, bougainvillea blossom, Jazebeth, Dana, EpikalStorms, Will of the Abyss - AllenxRoad, Ennael, Glaux Bryonia, SotS, Firehedgehog, Snipperita, NekoGurl98, The Happy Jester, Kingocats, 3789976, and Katey Burke for all taking the time to review the last chapter! ^,^ That was the largest response I've gotten in one go! (; Then again, I did have that small, two month hiatus. Really sorry about that by the way, but school has been keeping me really busy, and I'm already behind enough as it is, so I didn't have much time for writing. :/
Anyone not like Allen's little incident with the de-aging potion? Well, if you didn't, you're probably not going to enjoy this chapter very much! ^,^
Disclaimer: I sure wouldn't be on this site if I owned D. Gray-Man. :p
Chapter 5
Time Frame — Morning of March 6th, 1895
—3rd Person POV—
Kanda was not a happy Exorcist. Or at least, he was even more unhappy then usual at the current moment. Never had he imagined that he'd be saddled with an annoying brat to take care of. And it had to be the beansprout of all people! Well, he wouldn't handle the damn brat for another second.
As for Allen; he was having the time of his life.
"Would you quit doing that, damn it!" Kanda growled, as Allen continued to tug at his hair from where he was sitting on Kanda's shoulder. Allen just scowled in response, and yelled back in his childish voice, "Mean Bakanda!"
Kanda almost stopped in his tracks, having never heard such an insult in his life before. How had a three-year-old even come up with that in the first place? Beyond aggravated because of both lack of sleep and the obnoxious brat on his shoulders, Kanda finally snatched Allen from where he'd managed to climb up and dropped him on the ground without a care. "I fucking quit." With that, Kanda begin to stalk away in anger.
That is, until a quivering voice stammered out, "K-Kanda?"
Don't look back. Don't look back. Kanda chanted in his head, but his betraying eyes glanced back to see large, moonlit eyes filled with tears and staring at him pleadingly. Cursing profusely under his breath over 'damn brats who couldn't keep their tears to themselves', Kanda stalked back and snatching Allen up like you would a piece of luggage, continued on his way.
It was around daybreak that they finally managed to stumble to the entrance leading to the dining hall. Not very discreetly, Kanda slammed the doors wide open and marched inside in an angry stride, not bothering to spare any of the gaping Finders or scientists having breakfast a glance. Fortunately, Allen was practically drowning in his own Exorcist coat, so being held at Kanda's side, he mostly blended in and therefore went unnoticed. Not that Kanda actually cared for secrecy as he made a beeline for a table further in the corner, where three familiar Exorcists currently off duty were enjoying their breakfast. They were the only ones who had actually ignored his entrance, used to his temperamental fits. At least two of them had. The third, and newest, read head, was staring curiously at him.
"Is there a problem?" Lavi asked with a friendly smile, once Kanda had finally reached their table, eyes narrowed in anger. Kanda sneered at the obvious newbie, but before he could make a scathing remark, Lenalee interrupted. "What's wrong, Kanda?"
Getting back to the matter at hand, Kanda replied with an irritated voice, "This is what's wrong?" And with that, dumped Allen in the middle of the table, though the oversized coat prevented them from getting a good look at the de-aged boy.
"Umm, so you're here to tell us about how you stole Allen's coat?" Daisya snickered.
Before an argument could break out between them, a head full of thick, snowy locks popped out from underneath the coat.
Exclamations of:
"Allen?!"
"Shortstack?!" and
"Twerp?!" were heard at the table.
"Kanda, what did you do?!" Lenalee finally turned to him with an accusing tone of voice.
"I didn't do a fucking thing!" Kanda argued, angered at being the one at fault.
They were interrupted by Allen's giggling form who was pointing at Lavi, while calling out, "Wabbit! Wabbit!"
"Hey! I'm not a rabbit! Don't you remember me, buddy?" Lavi pouted at his new nickname, not having expected Allen of all people to give him one. Allen shook his head stubbornly and responded with an affirmative nod, "Wabbit!"
"What about me, Allen? Don't you remember me?" Lenalee asked anxiously.
Allen turned to look at her curiously, before nodding excitedly, and replying, "Lena!"
Lenalee let out an obvious sigh of relieve, which Daisya took advantage of by directing Allen's attention to himself. "Hey twerp! Remember who I am?"
Allen gazed at him with curious silver eyes, before nodding. "Da-Dai-Da…" Allen struggled to say his name correctly.
"Come on, repeat after me; Dai-sya," Daisya attempted to help him out. Allen furrowed his eyebrows and scrunched his nose up in concentration, as he unsuccessfully attempted to say Daisya's name a few more times. Suddenly, Allen's expression brightened up, and pointing excitedly at Daisya, he exclaimed, "Daisy!"
Everyone stared at him for a moment in surprise before Daisya comically fell out of his chair in shock, and the rest snickered at the newly given name. Even Kanda's lips twitched slightly upwards. Getting back up, Daisya argued vehemently, "No you damn twerp! It's Daisya!"
"Daisy! Daisy!" Allen giggled some more, practicing his version of Daisya's name.
Shaking her head, Lenalee tried to hide her mirth, and turned seriously to Kanda. "Tell us what happened!"
"Dumbass stumbled into one of your idiot brother's storage rooms." It was all Kanda had to say before they all understood. Even Lavi, being new, had heard about Komui's infamous experiments gone wrong, though this was the first time witnessing it himself.
"Oh Brother…" Lenalee trailed off, shaking her head, but not surprised in the slightest.
"So what are we suppose to do with him?" Daisya asked, as he experimentally poked a giggling Allen.
Slapping his hand away, Lenalee scolded him, "Stop that! And what can we do but take him to my brother? It's his fault for creating such a thing in the first place. Honestly, what could possibly go on in that head of his?" Lenalee made sure to wrap Allen well enough in his Exorcist coat, as the rest of his clothes appeared to be gone. Turning to Kanda, she asked, "What happened to his other clothes?"'
"They were falling off him, so I just dumped them in his room when we passed by," Kanda replied in an annoyed tone.
"Alright. We'll worry about that later," Lenalee decided, picking the bundled up Allen in her arms and discreetly slipped out of the cafeteria, and was soon followed by the rest of her comrades.
Soon enough, they were entering Komui's darkened office, trying to wade through the mountains of paperwork that littered his office. One of them took the liberty of turning the lights on and they then stared blankly at the slumped over form of Komui.
"Err, how do we wake him up?" Lavi wondered, having heard the infamous stories of Komui's "naps".
"Oh, I totally got this!" Daisya smirked, as he confidently strode over to Komui's sleeping figure. They stared a bit curiously as they watched the older teen lean over and quietly whisper into his ear. And then…
"HOW COULD YOU LENALEEEEEEEE!?" The next thing Lenalee knew, Komui had flown over his desk and kneeled at her feet, wrapping his arms around her waist as he released a torrent of tears.
"HOW COULD YOU EVEN CONSIDER GETTING MARRIED WITHOUT TELLING YOUR OLDER BROTHER?! AM I EVEN GOING TO BE PART OF THE WEDDING PARTY?!" Komui ranted, as Lenalee's face flushed pink from embarrassment. Kanda and Lavi weren't sure how to react, though Daisya currently held a self-satisfied smirk. And of course, Komui then had to notice the wrapped up bundle being held in Lenalee's arms…
"AND YOU ALREADY HAD A BABY TOO?!" Komui yelled in horror. At this, Komui suddenly turned serious, as he stood up and whipped a large drill out of nowhere, asking with a dangerous gleam in his eyes, while staring at Kanda, Lavi, and Daisya, "So, tell me. Who is the specimen that dared touch my precious Lenalee?"
By now, Lenalee had lost her last shred of patience. Being careful with Allen, she swiftly activated her Dark Boots and let her brother know exactly what she thought of his actions… With a good kick to the head.
"Ow! My precious little sister, how could you hurt your big brother?" Komui cried dramatically, clutching the growing bump on his head.
"Quit being so dramatic, Brother. We have a problem," Lenalee stated seriously, deactivating her Innocence.
"What can your big brother do for you?" Komui suddenly perked up.
"It's not what you can do for me. It's what you can do for him," Lenalee said, holding a curious Allen up to Komui's astounded face.
"Allen?"
"Sis-Com?" Allen asked in his childish voice, cocking his head to the side.
"Err, what?" Komui glanced up over Lenalee's head to see Daisya and Lavi leaning against each other, attempting to hold back their laughter, though they weren't doing a very good job of it. Even Kanda was smirking.
"I think he means Sister-Complex," Daisya piped up, releasing a snicker.
"Really, now?" Komui asked rhetorically in a dry voice. "But this is a problem. How did it occur?"
When Kanda realized that they were all staring at him expectantly, he scoffed and said, "Idiot beansprout stumbled into one of your storage rooms."
"Tsk, tsk. What have I told you about going near those things?" Komui shook his head, much to their astonishment over how he implied it was their fault they existed in the first place.
"Unfortunately, it is too late now," Komui muttered, while he stared contemplatively at Allen, who was staring around the room in curiosity.
"You don't think this affected his memories?" Lenalee asked her brother in a worried tone.
"No, no. He clearly remembers all of us, which probably means he still has all his memories associated with us. The problem is that not only has he taken the body of a child, but he's also taken the mind-set of a child. Once he returns to normal, he'll remember his experiences the way a child would. With colors and sounds and emotions. It has sort of worked the same way, except in reverse. He recognizes our faces, so whatever emotions he associated with us before, is how he will react in our presence. And whatever he thought of us before, whether he wanted us to know or not, might slip out," Komui explained.
"So, he thought I was a rabbit…?" Lavi mused with a perplexed tone.
Lenalee giggled and said, "It might not be that. He could have simply linked your bouncy personality with that of a rabbit."
"Looks like a rabbit to me," Kanda commented dryly.
"Aww, that's not very nice Yuu-chan~!" Lavi scolded, while wagging his finger, though the smirk on his face ruined the effect.
Suddenly, the room became deadly quiet, though Lavi took no notice.
"What. Did. You. Say?" Kanda slowly stressed out, carefully gripping Mugen's handle.
"That you're not very nice!" Lavi partially repeated, purposely acting oblivious. He suddenly gulped nervously when he felt the ice cold tip of Mugen being held at his neck.
"And what was it you called me?" Kanda asked in a low voice, glaring at Lavi with dangerous, dark eyes.
"Err, Yuu-chan?" Lavi squeaked. That was all it took for Kanda to lose it. Lavi yelped as he suddenly began to duck and dodge the oncoming swift motions of Kanda's blade.
Fortunately for Lavi, a small voice spoke up, "Kanda?"
Everyone stopped to look at Allen, still in Lenalee's arms, staring at Kanda and Lavi's frozen forms with an unrecognizable gaze. Hearing what he had said, Lenalee walked over to where Kanda was.
Taking in the scene, Allen finally turned to Kanda, and much to their shock, slapped his small, chubby hand onto his face. "Mean BaKanda!" Allen scolded.
Behind them, Daisya finally erupted into laughter. "Oh, that's rich!"
"Why you fucking beansprout…" Kanda growled, eyes narrowed at him.
Of course, the only reaction this elicited was a giggling Allen.
"We really do need to get you some clothes," Lenalee mused, figuring she didn't need to scold her two bickering friends now that Allen had done it for her.
"Oh, I have a solution for that!" Komui suddenly exclaimed, glad to finally be of some use. Before he could be asked what it was, he skipped out of the room, while calling out, "Oh, Johnny~!"
Time Frame — Noon of March 6th, 1895
"So, what do you think?" Johnny eagerly asked, as he presented a newly clothed Allen. After having the situation explained to him, Johnny had immediately agreed to make a quick outfit for Allen, though even that had taken up most of the morning. Nonetheless, he'd managed to create a pair of trousers, a sweater, gloves, and a tiny pair of boots for little Allen.
"He's adorable!" Lenalee squealed. Of course, she was the only one exited. Kanda, Daisya, and Lavi didn't seem to find the clothes all that interesting.
"So, what exactly are we suppose to do with a three-year-old?" Lavi scratched the back of his head. Bookmen learned many things, but dealing with children was not one of them.
Komui sighed, and spoke up, "I have to work on the antidote and we can't really have a child his age running around the Order. He'd cause complete and total havoc!"
"Like you don't do that on a daily basis…" Daisya said dryly, while the rest sweatdropped.
"Anyway," Komui ignored him and continued, "It'd be best if he burned his energy off somewhere else. Which one of you would like to take him out to town?"
"Oh! Me!" Lenalee immediately piped up.
"Of course, my precious Lenalee! Anything you want," Komui happily agreed, and then turned to the male Exorcists, saying with a more serious voice, "And you three will go along as well, for the protection of my dear Lenalee, of course!"
Thankfully, they knew better than to argue against the protective older brother. Sister-complex indeed…
Soon enough, all five were strolling around the town, a curious Allen in tow. Despite his eagerness to explore the town, Allen made it his job to irritate Kanda to no end. The Japanese could do nothing but growl at the annoying child, and even that was risky with a protective Lenalee around. Unfortunately, Allen took it too far by trying to tug Mugen away, causing Kanda to snap.
"Damn it all, beansprout! Quit it, would you?!" Kanda snarled, scowl set firmly in place. Allen stumbled back in shock.
Lenalee was on him faster than bees on honey. "Kanda, calm down! He's only a child now! You have to be patient," Lenalee scolded with a disapproving frown.
"And we all know Kanda doesn't have any of that," Daisya muttered loudly to Lavi in a mocking voice, causing the red head to snicker.
Pointing the tip of Mugen's blade at Daisya's neck in one swift motion, Kanda growled, "Shut it, clown face! No one gives a fuck about what you think!"
"Err, guys?" Lavi piped, up, though he was completely ignored.
Smirking cockily, Daisya seemed unfazed by Kanda's threat. "Why don't you stop being such a sissy and admit you're wrong for once?"
"And why don't stop being a fucking dipshit and keep your ass where it belongs?!" Kanda snarled back, slightly jabbing Mugen against Daisya's neck, causing a small trickle of blood to run down his neck.
"Guys?" Lavi spoke up again, but was drowned out by Lenalee's indignant yell.
"Hey! Would you two stop acting like immature brats?! What sort of example do you think you're giving Allen?" Lenalee admonished them furiously, realizing that their argument was going too far. Her brother had assured her that Kanda's temperamental issues would mellow down over the years, but it sure didn't seem like it now, especially with Daisya around to aggravate him, and adding Lavi into the lot would surely make things worse.
"It's not like the little dumbass will stay like that forever," Kanda grumbled, but grudgingly sheath Mugen back to apiece her. Daisya backed off as well, wiping the blood running down his neck off with an annoyed grimace.
"Guys!" Lavi yelled with a frustrated edge to his voice.
"What?!" They all looked at him with irritated scowls.
"Do any of you happen to know where our little shortstack has run off to?" Lavi glared at them.
Suddenly feeling panicked, they glanced around the crowded streets, but all they could see were the townspeople that had been previously watching their loud argument, as well as the occasional carriage being pulled by horses down the cobblestone streets.
"Well, fuck," Kanda growled, practically summarizing all their thoughts.
"Oh, Tyki~! Look what I've found~!" Road skipped down the sidewalk towards the tall, well dressed man.
Taking a long drag from the cigarette currently hanging at his lips, Tyki spared her a small glance and asked, "What is it, Road?"
Tyki's eyes then widened as he took in the silver-haired child being currently held in Road's arms and then leaned in to get a good look. Realizing the intense gaze being set upon him, Allen shrunk into Road's arms. Truthfully, Allen wasn't sure how to feel about the girl who had taken him. Her face reminded him of hurt and pain, but it also reminded him of sweet things, like candy in your mouth, or chocolate ice cream. It made Allen feel very confused. But this man. He was different. He reminded Allen of a thunderous agony inside of his chest that burned and ached endlessly. Remembering the distant and blurry memory, three-year-old Allen began to shake as tears sprung to his eyes.
"Look what you did!" Road gasped, and tightly clutched Allen to her chest.
Leaning back, Tyki raised his eyebrows in surprise, and then began to slightly panic as he saw the waterworks coming. "Huh?! What's wrong, boy?"
Realizing that this only caused Allen to shrink further away from him, Tyki frantically searched around his pockets and then finally pulled out his deck of cards and held them awkwardly towards Allen. "Err, would you like these, boy?"
"Tyki!" Road scoffed with an exasperated shake of her head. "He doesn't want your stupid cards."
Allen surprisingly proved her wrong a couple seconds later, when he excitedly snatched the stack of cards from Tyki's gloved hand, fear quickly forgotten. Road just rolled her eyes when Tyki gave her a satisfied smirk.
"Err, Road? Exactly who did you steal this child from?" Tyki asked cautiously, wondering what crazy scheme had gotten into Road's head this time.
Sniffing in disdain, Road huffed, "You can't steal what belonged to you in the first place." In Road's mind, this meant that by kissing Allen before he'd joined the Order, she'd technically called dibs on him, but Tyki didn't need to know that.
Tyki stared blankly at her for a moment, before shaking his head and muttering, "I don't think I want to know."
"Good answer!" Road giggled.
"So, boy," Tyki addressed Allen, who had been carefully shuffling through the cards with his chubby hands. "You like to play cards, huh?"
Allen looked up at him, and simply shrugged, now not sure how to feel about this man. Once he pushed past the pain, he'd, for some odd reason, felt some sort of pity towards him. As for the cards, it reminded him of a time that he'd actually enjoyed the man's company, despite its briefness.
"What, are you a mute, or something boy?" Tyki asked dryly, as he blew out another mouthful of smoke.
Allen shook his head furiously in response, prompting Tyki to command, "Then say something, boy."
Pointing one chubby finger at Tyki's face, Allen declared, "Thick gwasses!"
Road and Tyki both blinked in surprise for a moment, and Road slowly asked, "Did he just call you thick glasses?"
"It would seem so…" Tyki muttered, an odd look on his face.
"Weird," Road simply shrugged, and then piped up, "Ooh, Tyki! There's a cake shop down the street and Daddy said you just had to take me! Come on!"
"Right," Tyki nodded distractedly, though this went unnoticed by Road who had set Allen on his feet and was now towing him down the sidewalk with a bounce to her step.
Following after them, Tyki dug his hand into his pocket, fingering the pair of thick glasses that he'd taken off earlier, in exchange for his top hat.
"Ooh! Now try this one!" Road demanded, shoving a spoon full of strawberry shortcake into Allen's mouth, not that Allen was complaining. Allowing this girl to take him had been the best idea ever! As much as he'd enjoyed watching his other friends argue back and forth, they'd forgotten to feed him! But this girl had been feeding him all sorts of cakes and sweets for the past hour, and they both had yet to tire of doing it.
"Road, I think you're overfeeding him," Tyki commented from his seat, as he watched his niece continue to stuff Allen.
As if to prove him wrong, Allen grabbed the rest of the cake and shoved it into his mouth, and then gave Tyki a triumphant look, causing him to roll his eyes.
Road giggled and then piped up, "Hey Tyki, watch Allen for a bit, will you? I'm going to bring us some candy from across the street!"
"But you don't have any money," Tyki replied.
"Don't I~?" Road giggled as she held Tyki's wallet up for display and then skipped out of the shop.
Tyki shook his head in exasperation, and muttered, "Should have known."
Allen simply giggled and continued to snack on the multiple cakes surrounding him, first making a grab for the triple fudge cake coated in thick, chocolate frosting and chocolate chips. As he continued to munch on the fluffy treats, Tyki watched him in a bored manner, head leaning against his gloved hand and a cigarette casually hanging between his lips.
"So, boy," Tyki began, causing Allen to look up at him in surprise. "Do you actually know how to play poker with those cards?"
Allen nodded seriously, and swallowing down the bite of cake, he answered in a clear, childish voice, "Yes."
"Who taught you?" Tyki asked, wondering why such a young child would even know something like that in the first place.
Allen cocked his head to the side, as he contemplated the question himself. The first thought that came to his mind was a red headed demon, causing him to shudder, and say, "Masta…"
"Master?" Tyki questioned in surprise.
Allen nodded frantically, and glancing around him superstitiously, he lowered his voice and declared urgently, "Evil!"
"Evil?!" The Portuguese man stared at Allen in shock, trying to figure out if he'd heard correctly.
Allen nodded certainly, and repeated, "Evil!" Then, as if to make himself feel better, Allen began to stuff himself with more cake.
"Right…" Tyki trailed off uncertainly.
Before anymore could be said between them, Road bounced into the shop, calling out, "Oh, Allen~! Look what I brought for us!" In her hands she held a huge bag overflowing with all types of candies and sweets.
Allen jumped up excitedly, and they were soon digging through the bag greedily, tossing used wrappers on the table and cramming their mouths with as many candies as they could until they resembled chipmunks. They suddenly giggled as they stared at each other's faces, and began to crunch their way through all the candy in their mouth, reveling in the juicy and sugared treats melting in their mouths and mixing together to create exotic tastes.
Another hour soon passed as both Allen and Road worked their way through the pile of candy, with Tyki occasionally snatching a piece or two and stuffing it in his pocket, Eeze on his mind.
As the afternoon drew on, Allen yawned and blinked heavily, his head bobbing up and down.
"Don't children usually take naps?" Tyki asked, as he stared at Allen's sleepy form.
"I guess they do," Road replied around the cherry-flavored lollipop in her mouth. Sighing, she admitted, "I should probably be taking him back now."
Tyki stared at her in surprise, almost choking on the smoke he was exhaling, and slightly coughing as he stared at her in surprise. "You're actually returning him?!" If there was one thing Tyki knew about Road, it was that she never shared.
Pouting, Road explained, "I have to, or else he won't return back to normal. Ah well, there's always next time." Taking Allen into her arms, he immediately snuggled into her and promptly fell asleep. "I'll be back in ten minutes. Wait here, okay?"
Before Tyki could reply, Road exited the shop, leaving him to clean up after their mess.
"It's been hours! Anything could have happened to him by now!" Lenalee cried. They'd been scurrying through the town for the past few hours and they'd just met back up, all coming back empty handed.
"We'll find him," Kanda growled stubbornly.
"Could it be that someone took him, or did he just run off?" Lavi mused with a worried frown.
"I think we all know the answer to that," Daisya glared accusingly at Kanda, only receiving a scowl in return.
"Blaming each other won't help matters," Lavi said seriously, putting a calming hand on a shaking Lenalee's shoulder.
"That's right!" Lenalee agreed. "We can't just give up now! He has to be around here, somewhere."
"Oh? Are you looking for something?" Road giggled as she snuck up behind the group causing them to jump in surprise.
Exclamations such as:
"Allen!"
"Beansprout!"
"Shortstack!" and
"Twerp!" were all heard around the group as they stared in shock at the younger girl carrying a sleeping Allen in her arms.
"Should have known you would be the one to have him," Daisya shook his head in relief.
"Huh? Who is this?" Lavi asked Daisya, curious as ever, though Kanda stared at him expectantly as well.
"I'm Road~!" Road piped up with a giggle, as she gently dumped Allen into Kanda's surprised arms. Kanda scrunched up his nose in disgust when he realized Allen's face and hands were sticky, stained, and covered in crumbs.
"He better be back to normal by the time I'm back!" Road threatened, and then giving Allen a swift kiss on top of his head, she whispered, "Sweet dreams, Allen~!" With that, Road made her quick leave, soon getting lost in the crowds.
"And that, everyone, was Allen's girlfriend," Daisya declared with a smirk, 'causing Lavi to stumble in shock and Kanda to slightly raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"You're kidding!" Lavi exclaimed. "Every time I would talk about girls with the shortstack, he seemed so uninterested!"
"Then he must be very focused on this Road chick," Daisya simply shrugged.
"I think we should be getting back now," Lenalee gripped out with a small frown on her face, as she began to stock towards the direction of Headquarters.
"What's up with her?" Lavi scratched the back of his head.
"Girls; never could understand them," Daisya replied, as they began to follow her.
Kanda looked down at the sleeping Allen in his arms, and muttered as he also followed after them, "You sure like to cause a ruckus, beansprout."
"My Lenalee~! You're back~!" Komui jumped up and practically sang, as the five of them entered his office.
"Yes, Brother. Have you managed to finish the antidote, yet?" Lenalee asked, as she made her way towards him, the rest following behind her.
"Of course! Anything for my precious sister!" Komui declared, as he dug around the mess on his desk, until he finally produced a small vile filled with a thick, navy blue liquid, a triumphant grin on his face. Lenalee sighed in relief as she took the vile in her hands and uncorked it.
The others quickly sat the sleeping Allen down on the couch across from Komui's desk carefully supporting him, as Lenalee got ready to pour the liquid into Allen's mouth. Just as she was about to tip it over, Lavi suddenly shouted, "Wait!"
This caused them all to jump in surprise, but fortunately, Lenalee managed to keep the antidote from spilling over. Lavi gave them a sheepish smile as they glared at him, and said with a nervous laugh, "Right, sorry about that. I just thought I should do something real quick, before you gave it to him."
Before they could ask for any explanations, Lavi unzipped and slipped out of his Exorcist coat, and proceeded to wrap Allen in it, placing his small arms into the huge sleeves, and zipping it up, practically drowning him in it, the collar of the coat surrounding his tiny, angelic face.
Komui began to suddenly clap enthusiastically, as he left his desk and clapped Lavi on the back. "Good job, Lavi! I'd forgotten of that slight detail! Thank you very much for protecting my dear Lenalee's virgin eyes!"
That's when the rest realized why Lavi had done what he did, especially Lenalee who was furiously blushing, as she stuttered out an indignant, "Br-Brother!"
Getting to his knees, Komui began to dramatically beg, "My precious sister, can you find it in your heart to forgive my audacious mistake?! If it weren't for Lavi, who knows what your beautiful eyes would have seen!" At this, Komui began to cry.
Releasing an exasperated sigh, Lenalee finally said, "Yes, Brother, I forgive you."
"Thank you, my dear Lenalee! I knew you had a heart of gold! Now, if you'll excuse me, my inventions are calling to me! I'm coming, my dear Komurin~!" And with that bizarre statement, Komui was skipping out of the room.
"Lenalee," Daisya spoke up, causing them all to look at him. "Your brother really is an idiot…"
Lenalee decided not to dignify that with a response.
Crouching back down, Lenalee gently tilted Allen's head up, and lightly pinching his nose, Lenalee poured the antidote into Allen's mouth, and then clapped her hand on top of his mouth, preventing him from breathing until he swallowed it all. At this, Allen's silver eyes flew open in shock, and widened to the size of saucers, as he instantly swallowed the sticky liquid inside his mouth. Allen began gasping for air, once Lenalee released him with an apologetic smile, and stared at the surrounding Exorcists with a weary gaze.
"Sorry about that Allen, but it was for your own good," Lenalee spoke in a stern voice. Allen simply blinked, not even knowing what was going on in the first place.
Allen fidgeted as they all stared expectantly at him. After a couple moments of nothing happening, Lavi piped up, "So, is it going to work or not?"
"It has to!" Lenalee frowned, and then sighed in frustration.
Shrugging, Daisya slumped down on the couch, and decided, "Well, if it's going to take a while, we might as well get comfortable."
Everyone seemed to agree, because soon enough they were all squishing themselves on the couch in the order of Daisya, Kanda, Allen, Lenalee, and then Lavi.
It wasn't too long before the long morning took its toll on them, and they were all slumping against each other, slumber taking a hold of them.
Time Frame — Night of March 6th, 1895
"Erm, excuse me?" a timid voice spoke up, causing the sleeping group to fidget around at the disturbance. Eventually, they all managed to wake up, shouts such as:
"Lavi, get your elbow out of my face!"
"Get the fuck off me, clown face!"
"Eww, is that drool on me?!" and
"Bad BaKanda!" were heard around them, as they tried to get away from each other, though it was difficult when squished together on such a small couch. But hearing that last, childish voice caused them to all suddenly stop and stare wide-eyed at the still, de-aged Allen.
"WHAT?!" they all yelled in shock and anger when they realized the potion hadn't even worked. This caused them all to start shouting at each other, blaming everyone from Kanda, to Komui, to even Allen himself.
"Um, excuse me?!" the voice piped up again, albeit a little louder this time. They instantly quieted down when they realized they weren't in the room alone, and looked up to see who it was that had woken them up in the first place.
Feeling all of their gazes on her, Miranda began to shake in fear, as she bowed profusely and stuttered out, "I-I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't mean to i-i-interrupt!"
"Yes, you did. You said 'excuse me'," Kanda pointed out bluntly, causing Miranda to blush in embarrassment.
"Not now, Kanda!" Lenalee scolded Kanda. Seeing the young woman's Exorcist uniform, Lenalee recognized her as the new Exorcist her brother had mentioned, and said to her, "I apologize for our rudeness. It wasn't very welcoming, was it? I'm assuming you're looking for my brother?"
"Your brother…?" Miranda trailed off.
"Oh, right! Sorry, I mean Supervisor Komui Lee," Lenalee elaborated to the newcomer.
"R-right! Yes, I was told to see him as soon as possible…" Miranda nodded frantically, but then trailed off with a frown when she noticed something behind Lenalee. Making her way around the teenage girl, Miranda crouched down, by where Allen had been sitting on the couch, and stared at him wide-eyed. "Allen?!"
"You know the little twerp?" Daisya asked, just as surprised as the rest of them.
"So that's really him?! What happened?" Miranda asked with a worried a frown, as Allen stared at her curiously.
"There was a bit of an accident, and a potion landed on him," Lavi took the liberty to explain in a sheepish tone.
"Is he going to be okay?" Miranda asked, fussing over him. When the room continued to stay dead silent, she looked up at them and demanded in a way that was out of character for her, "Well?!"
Miranda's eyes widened when nobody met her eyes, and she almost became hysterical as she realized that the one person to help her and give her a chance at a new live couldn't even remember her! Before she could do anything drastic, the disk on her arm suddenly whizzed down to her wrist and began to whir to life, lighting up the room with its magnificent glow.
"What's that?" Lavi was the first to ask, as they stared wide-eyed at Miranda's Innocence.
"It's my Innocence, Time Record. For some reason, it seems to have taken a liking to Allen…" Miranda explained with a perplexed frown.
"Do you think Time Record, as the name implies, could be able to return Allen to his actual age?" Lenalee asked.
Miranda was silent for a brief moment, and then she explained, "Time Record says that returning Allen to his true age is impossible." Everyone immediately tensed up in fear at the notion, but then Miranda hurriedly continued, "But, Time Record says there is something that can be done."
"What is it?!" Kanda, surprisingly, demanded.
Miranda only shook her head, and then the glow from her Time Record suddenly enveloped her and Allen in a small bubble, shining brighter by the second, causing the other Exorcists to shield their eyes from the radiant light. Soon, the light died down, Time Record deactivated, and in their place was Miranda clutching a thirteen-year-old Allen to her chest, making them all sigh in relief.
"M-Miranda?" Allen looked up at her through sleepy eyes.
"Hush, it's okay now," Miranda reassured him, causing Allen to silently nod and fall back asleep from utter exhaustion.
"Daisya, Lavi," Lenalee suddenly spoke up with a serious voice, "Help Miranda out, by leading her to her room. She's new here, and we wouldn't want her getting lost. I think I'll need to speak to my brother, before we try to figure out anything else."
"What about the twerp?" Daisya nodded towards Allen.
"Kanda can take him to his room," Lenalee decided, and Kanda new better than to argue when Lenalee got like this.
"Just one thing," Lavi said, before they all left the room, and turned towards Miranda. "I thought you said that Time Record couldn't return Allen to his true age."
Miranda furrowed her brows in confusion, and nodded, "Yes, that's what Time Record said."
"Right. Just wanted to make sure…" Lavi muttered.
Kanda wondered with irritation how many times it would be that he'd have to dump the sleeping beansprout in his room. Not like he could do much about it now. This set a firm scowl on Kanda's face, not that that was anything new.
"K-Kanda?" Kanda heard Allen murmur in a sleep-filled voice from where he'd carelessly tossed him over his shoulder.
"What?" Kanda grunted.
"Where are you taking me?" Allen muttered back.
"To your bed, dumbass. Where else?" Kanda resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the idiot beansprout.
"Oh. So you're not going to use Mugen to skin me alive?" Allen asked, making Kanda raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"I might. If you don't shut up. Though there's no way I'd use Mugen of all things to skin your sorry ass," Kanda replied in his usual harsh manner.
Allen, being too exhausted to put up a fight, simply sighed, "I thought as much."
They were silent again, and Kanda almost jumped in surprise when Allen suddenly muttered, "Sorry for trying to take Mugen."
"You remember that?"
"Kind of. I remember tugging at it, then lots of shouting. All I remember after that was lots and lots of sweets…" Allen trailed off with a contented sigh.
"Right. It was that midget girl who fed you. You're girlfriend," Kanda elaborated, when Allen didn't understand.
"Eh?! Is that what she told you?" Allen groaned in frustration.
"No, that's what Daisya said," Kanda explained.
"Oh, I'm going to kill that big mouth!" Allen growled under his breath. Kanda simply shrugged. It's not like he really cared all that much.
"Anyway," Allen continued, "I'm not apologizing for anything else I did, since you probably deserved it."
Just as he said this, Kanda dumped him on the ground, causing Allen to yelp as he roughly hit the floor. "Gah! What was that?!"
Kanda replied dryly, "This is your room." He then sneered and rhetorically asked, "What? Do you also need me to tuck you into bed?" When all he received was a glare in return, Kanda begin to walk away.
"You're still a BaKanda, you know?!" Allen called back.
"And you're still a dumbass beansprout!" Kanda automatically replied.
Allen sighed, as he stared at the ceiling, still lying on the floor. He could just never get a break, could he? Allen soon received his answer, when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Maybe he should've held back on the sweets…
A/N: Yeah, some of you might not like this chapter for the simple fact that there was nothing real plot worthy in this whole thing. (x Ah well, at least I introduced Tyki and Miranda into the story! (; I still have yet to come up with a plot for this, so at the current moment, I'm just trying to have as much fun with it as possible. I mean, I got a whole two years time to get these characters into all sorts of shenanigans! xD Make sure to review and tell me if you come up with any wacky situations! (; And hey, it provides for great character development~ (;
So, considering I didn't update for two months, I'm guessing you'll all want an estimate of when I can update next. Honestly, the only reason I was finally able to find time to write was because I'm currently on break for the week. I don't think I'll be fast enough to be able to write a whole new chapter by the end of the week, so if you see me not updating for a while, it's most likely that I'll be updating next month, during Thanksgiving break. Really sorry, but I thought I'd at least let you know. :(
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please leave me your thoughts on what you thought about the whole ordeal! (;