A/N: Look everyone! It's my third update in the single month of March! You must all be so proud of me! :'D

Thank you so much to Shad0wReaper133, ultima-owner, Ennael, linderp, patrick the almighty observer, Takei Daloui, bougainvillea blossom, OtakuDrag0n, RaNDoem, YullenSunsetKitsune, 9foxgrl, RoxasAlexi19, Pacifistic Brat, Kitty Offline,vampireharry the 2, Firehedgehog, Latias426, and Kusabiishi for all being such wonderful reviewrs! Ahh! I just get so excited every time I see a new review from one of you! It's people like you that make it worth writing.(:

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! I've been bad about editing lately, just because I get so excited to publish the next chapter, so please don't be too mad with mistakes you find! Enjoy!(:

Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-Man or Velcro. The latter of which I am forever grateful for! xD

Chapter 15

Time Frame — Night of February 5th, 1896

—3rd Person POV—

~Allen~

"Komui, I said no," Allen sighed tiredly and scratched the back of his head as Komui continued to cling to his legs.

"But Allen," Komui pouted and gave him the large, puppy dog eyes that he usually reserved for Lenalee.

"Komui, I'm busy. There's still other stuff I have to figure out, and it'll be difficult to fully train someone while receiving missions from Central," Allen argued, rubbing his face. Komui was just too persistent for his own good.

"Aha!" Komui shouted, swiftly jumping to his feet. "But that's exactly it! The main job of a General is to find Exorcists and train them, so once I inform Central, all you'll need to do is send in occasional reports every couple of months to inform them on the progress of your pupil."

"Huh? That's a thing?" Allen blinked and then muttered darkly to himself, "I doubt Master ever did such a thing, otherwise someone would have reported abuse…"

"Oh, is that it, Allen?" Komui smiled slyly, his glasses flashing sinisterly in the fluorescent lighting. "Are you afraid that you'll treat your apprentice with the same contempt General Cross treated you with?"

The reaction was instantaneous. "No! I would be a much better teacher than my Master! I would never treat someone as horrid as he did me!" Allen declared passionately.

"Perfect!" Komui practically giggled with a clasp of his hands. "So now that that's settled, how many apprentices would you like, Allen?"

"Wait—what do you mean how many—is this about Timothy and Mei-Ling?!" Allen rambled as he scrambled to put all the pieces together.

"The clock is ticking, Allen~! Choose now or I'll choose for you~!" Komui sang with glee.

"Mei-Ling!" Allen shouted, still breathless from his earlier rant.

"Uh oh! Too late~! Klaud has already claimed Mei-Ling, so you may have Timothy!" Komui declared with a cackle.

Allen gaped at the mind-boggling Supervisor who continued to laugh as if he had just accomplished something great. Once everything fully registered in Allen's head, he slumped down and muttered in a miserable voice, "You're unbelievable, Supervisor."

Patting him on the shoulder, Komui just nodded and began to guide him towards the exit. "Now, come with me, Allen, the next step is to introduce you to your apprentice."

"But I already know the little brat!" Allen scowled.

"Uh ah, Allen! Now what was that you were saying about treating an apprentice better than your Master?" Komui scolded him with a devious grin.

Allen's grumbles did not cease the rest of the way.

"Wait, what do you mean he's supposed to be my Master?!" Timothy scowled even fiercer than Allen. "I thought it was supposed to be the old man with the fluffy hair that was gonna be my teacher!"

"Now, now, Timothy," Komui placated, looking down at him with an amused grin. They were currently in the middle of the Science Division room, where he was finally being outfitted for an Exorcist uniform (apparently he'd managed to evade Johnny and his measuring tape for the past month with those ridiculous roller skates he'd made). "I know General Tiedoll has been working with you for the past month, but that was simply temporary. I think it would be best for both of you if Allen were to be your teacher, and I'm sure you'd feel more comfortable with someone closer to your age. You could be like brothers!" Komui practically squealed, and Allen was pretty sure the man was getting some sort of sick pleasure out of this.

"Komui, I'm pretty sure you're the only one who believes any of that garbage," Allen said dryly, leaning back against a nearby desk, arms crossed.

"Allen! When did you become so rude?!" Komui cried dramatically. Allen simply handed him a box of tissues.

After a small pause, in which Komui loudly and obnoxiously blew his nose, Timothy sighed loudly and said, "I guess I wouldn't mind having the geezer as my teacher. Sure beats that old man; he's always fussing over me!" Timothy then grimaced, as if this were some sort of great crime that had been committed against him.

"Would you quit calling me that?! My name is Allen! Does no one around here understand the meaning of that?!" Allen practically shouted in frustration. Komui handed him back the box of tissues.

"Whatever geezer, but there's no way I'm calling you 'Master'!" Timothy made an ugly face at him.

"Good!" Allen nodded, for once, satisfied. "To me, 'Master' is practically a derogatory word! An insult!"

"Oh, really?" Timothy snickered deviously. "Well, it'll be a pleasure working with you, Master~."

Allen could only gape.

Time Frame — Night of February 5th, 1896

"How do I look?" Timothy grinned cheekily, as he roller skated backwards down the halls, in order to face Allen.

"The uniform looks good," Allen nodded absentmindedly. Timothy's uniform was made up of black capris and a big jacket, all thickly lined in silver, and though Johnny had made him boots, Timothy had forgone them for his skates. But Allen was more worried about the kid's training. What had Komui been thinking?! He'd never trained anyone in his life and he had no idea where to start! With Cross, it had all be trial and error, with error being a prominent factor, and in the end, it had been more self-discipline than anything else, as he had been more eager to learn than Cross had been willing to teach. And don't even get him started on his first encounter with Akuma—Allen almost chuckled; maybe Komui had been onto something. It seemed focusing on something new had distracted him from all the mess with the Noah and the Fourteenth.

"Timothy," he finally spoke. "Go and switch out those skates for your boots, and then meet me in the training room."

Timothy shrugged and then smirked nastily. "Sure, whatever you say, Master~." Allen bristled, but before he could say anything, Timothy swiftly spun and rolled down the smooth tiles with a wicked laugh. "See ya then!"

Allen huffed, but let it roll off his shoulders with an exasperated shake of his head; in some ways, it sort of reminded him of the times when Mana had dealt with him, back when he was a little brat, and a nostalgic smile tugged at his lips. A small voice whispered that maybe it wasn't because of him, that Mana had paid him any mind, that maybe, just maybe, he'd been more interested in the Fourteenth, but Allen simply clenched his jaw and shoved the thought away, to the depths of his mind, as he made his way down to the training rooms. Much to his astonishment, the journey was simpler than he'd thought, and the white-haired teen sincerely hoped that his sense of direction—or lack thereof—was somehow improving.

Entering, Allen was surprised to find Kanda and Alma sparring, and a small smile pulled at his lips. Despite all the tension between the two Japanese boys at the beginning, it seemed that as time went by, they'd slowly rebuilt back their old friendship, and though Allen couldn't be sure it was the same as before, he was glad to find that they were getting along. Even his own irritation towards Kanda was slowly waning as the older Exorcist loosened up, though he couldn't really claim any sort of fondness for him. Allen's eye twitched as he began to recall all the stupid nicknames the sword-wielding Exorcists seemed to come up with.

"What the hell are you staring at, beansprout?" Kanda pulled him from his dark thoughts, and Allen could only scowl further.

"My name is Allen," the white-haired boy stressed with an irritated frown, and briefly wondered as to why his annoyance towards Kanda could ever wane. Though it seemed that the Japanese hadn't been lying when he'd pointed out Allen's staring. During their spar, Allen had somehow zoned out, until they'd noticed him leaning against the doorway once Alma had lost.

"Hiya, Big Brother!" Alma immediately jumped up with a contagious grin, but before Allen could even think of returning it, his eye abruptly activated with a swift whir of cogs forming above his red and black swirling eye. Kanda and Alma became rigid with attention, but Allen could only stare at the wisp of a woman that had appeared between the two Japanese males, her figure fading in and out like that of a ghost. Allen tensed up as he continued to stare at the pretty girl, shuddering at the utter despair the emanated from her.

"W-what is…?" Allen trailed off with a horrified expression.

"Damn it beansprout, where the hell is it?!" Kanda shook him out of his stupor. Allen attempted to shake his head, but his unresponsiveness only further frustrated Kanda. "Fine! Alma, come on, we've gotta find where the damn Akuma is!" Kanda abruptly grabbed Alma, and they both swiftly sprinted out of the training room.

"W-wait…" Allen weakly protested, his wide eyes glued to the specter. The woman flew forward, as if to follow the other Exorcists, but then slowly began to fade away. Allen felt a shudder go down his spine, as the woman's otherworldly voice spoke up and raised goose bumps on his arms, making his hair stand on end.

"Before the petals fall, I will be waiting for you. I'll be waiting. Forever."

Once his cursed eye deactivated along with her departure, Allen could only wonder who it was that could possibly be chaining her to this Earth.

It wasn't until Allen had realized that Kanda and Alma were on some wild goose chase, that he quickly sprinted out of the room in order to chase after them, only to unexpectedly slam into a much larger form.

"Ah, General Walker, it seems we haven't had the pleasure of meeting," the jovial voice said as he steadied a slightly dizzy Allen with a large hand on his shoulder.

Glancing up with an astonished blink, Allen stuttered, "G-General Tiedoll?"

"Ah, so you've already heard of me? Surely all good things, I'd hope," the fluffy-haired General chuckled merrily.

"Um, y-yeah. Komui was telling me about you," Allen fibbed, before apologizing with a sheepish smile, "And I'm sorry about taking your apprentice. I really wasn't up for it, but Komui insisted until he practically tricked me into it!"

The older General chuckled at Allen's indignant expression, before replying, "Ah, no need to apologize. After Komui told me what was going, I too felt it would be a good idea. Timothy's a wonderful boy, and I'm sure you'll both get along great!"

Allen's face darkened slightly, and all he could do was mutter back, "Right…" After a small moment of thought, something occurred to the fourteen-year-old. "Say, General, will you be heading out soon?"

"Yes, of course, I was hoping to continue my search for more Accommodators, despite protests from the Supervisor. I know they find it imperative that we stick to Headquarters as much as possible, only leaving for specific missions, but I feel it is my duty to continue the search," General Tiedoll explained with a kind smile.

"Would you be open to suggestion, General?" Allen asked tentatively, and at Tiedoll's nod, he continued, "Go and travel along the coast of China, near Japan. I have feeling you'll find someone compatible there."

"Hm, anyone specific in mind?" The General looked down at him curiously.

"Just a sailor," Allen muttered with a shrug, avoiding eye-contact. He knew they would need as many Exorcists as they could get, and Chaoji was one of them. Allen had been surprised by how unpleasant the older teen had been, even more so than Kanda with his callous and spiteful words, but Allen didn't want any of those petty feelings to get in the way. Fortunately, Chaoji hadn't been on the ship that had been wiped out by the Akuma when on their way to Edo a little less than a month ago, as Allen had forgotten he was even an Accommodator in the first place.

"Alright, General Walker, I'll take heed of your advice," the older General nodded, and before Allen knew it, he was gone.

And unfortunately, in his place, stood Timothy.

"Well?" the seven-year-old obnoxiously demanded. "Are we gonna train or not? I'm not getting any younger here, you geezer!"

Allen smirked wickedly, a dark aura unexpectedly surrounding him. "Yes, you're absolutely right, Timothy."

When a pair of irritated Japanese boys finally walked back into the training room, it was to the scene of a breathless Timothy painstakingly running laps around the large room, while a merciless Allen hung upside down from one of the makeshift pull-up bars, mindlessly flipping through a book he'd snatched from Alma's bag.

"Beansprout!" Kanda roared. "Why in the fucking hell did you send us on a wild goose chase?!"

Allen didn't even bother pointing out the fact that he hadn't sent them on anything. The upside down boy simply glanced away from the book in distaste and said blandly, "Oh, you guys are back. And Alma, since when are you into romance?"

"W-what?! N-no I'm not!" Alma denied it vehemently, blushing in mortification. When the only thing Allen and Kanda could do was continue to stare at the boy in disbelief, while Timothy continued his arduous task in the background, Alma finally reluctantly mumbled, "L-Lenalee insisted."

"Right…" Allen trailed off doubtfully, before flipping back onto the ground in one swift, graceful motion. "Anyway, I did tell you two to wait. I saw a suffering soul, alright, but she wasn't actually chained to anything…" Allen muttered with a frown as he touched his scarred eye.

"Chained?" Alma blinked in surprise, just barely catching the book Allen had tossed him as he neared them.

"It's what my eye is cursed to see, and how I can tell when an Akuma is disguised as a human. The soul that the person called down in order to create the Akuma is swathed in chains and tied down to the Akuma, and is suffering up until the point that the Innocence destroys the Akuma, therefore releasing the soul," Allen explained somberly. "But the soul that I saw earlier, she just appeared out of nowhere and then vanished once you two left. She seemed terribly sad, but wasn't actually in pain, and I have no idea what was tying her down to this world. And she whispered something, right before she faded away…"

Kanda and Alma blinked up at this, before Kanda finally demanded, "Well, don't leave us hanging beansprout, what'd she say?"

Recalling her words, Allen finally quoted, "'Before the petals fall, I will be waiting for you. I'll be waiting. Forever.'"

"Could it be…?" Kanda muttered to himself.

Allen and Alma immediately turned to him. "Have you seen her before, Yuu?" Alma prodded.

"I think so," Kanda frowned. "Back when we were kids, living in the Asian Branch, remember? I told you I kept seeing woman walking around, only for her to disappear moments after."

Alma scrunched his nose up in confusion. "I thought I told you that was just Fou."

Kanda shook his head. "But it wasn't. I met Fou later on, and they looked nothing alike."

Allen snickered. "So what is it, Kanda? You've got some girl haunting you now? Only you would have a deceased girl after you."

"Shut. Up," Kanda growled quite tersely, enough to shut Allen up. "She's not dead if I have anything to say about it, damn it!"

"Err, Yuu?" Alma frowned up at him. "What's going on? Do you know this girl?"

Kanda's jaw locked in place, as he gripped Mugen's hilt in agitation. Glancing towards Allen, he asked rigidly, "You know how we were created, right?"

Allen grimaced. "Yes, unfortunately."

"Then you know of how we were Exorcists long before your time. I've seen memories of my past life, and the only reason I joined the Order, is so that I could search for her," Kanda finally admitted with a fierce expression. "I can't really be sure if it's the same girl that you saw, but considering what she said, I have a pretty good feeling she is."

"Well, you heard what she said, Yuu," Alma pointed it out with a small frown. "She said she's waiting for you. That could mean one of two things. Either she really is a ghost, and is waiting for you in the afterlife, or she could be trying to send a message from somewhere far away."

"Yeah," Kanda furrowed his eyebrows. "I guess you're right, Alma."

Attempting to break through the heavy tension that encased them, Allen suggested, "Well, if you two aren't doing anything, want to give me a hand with Timothy? Komui dumped him on me, expecting me to fully train him as an Exorcist, but I'm not really sure where to start."

"And why the hell do you think we would, sprout?" Kanda rudely cut in.

"Kanda! Don't be so unpleasant!" Alma admonished him, and when Kanda could only grumble, Allen had to hold back a snicker. Turning to Allen, Alma grinned at him and said, "You know we'd love to help out, Big Bro! Why don't you introduce us to the little bugger?"

"Alright, thanks!" Allen grinned back, and turning around, he called to a stumbling Timothy, "Hey, Timothy, come here! I want you to meet someone!"

Too exhausted to even scowl, Timothy trudged over to the trio, gasping for breath all the while. Placing a steady hand on his shoulder, Allen introduced him, "You guys, this is my apprentice, Timothy. Timothy, these are Alma and Kanda; they're going to be helping me out with your training today."

Finally finding the strength, Timothy straightened up, and with a small sneer towards Allen, replied, "What's wrong, Master? Can't handle little 'ole me, by your lonesome self?"

"Listen up, you horrid little brat," Kanda unexpectedly growled, towering over Timothy with menacing aura, causing the young boy to jump up in surprise. "The first lesson we're going to teach you is respect for your elders, so get the fuck down, and give me a hundred pushups, before I take Mugen out and slice you to pieces!"

"B-but I've never done any pushups!" Timothy stammered, tears leaking from his eyes.

"Then you better fucking learn quickly!" Kanda snarled, sliding out Mugen before the petrified seven-year-old. "Or do I need to repeat myself?!"

"Yes, sir—I mean no, sir!" Timothy shouted in fright, immediately throwing himself to the ground at the sight of the nearing Mugen, and quickly began to do a clumsy set of pushups.

"Damn it, punk! You're doing them all wrong!" Kanda protested, as he got down and began to show the cobalt-haired boy how to properly do pushups.

"O-oh," Timothy stuttered, as he carefully began to mimic Kanda's actions.

Before Alma could scold Kanda for being such a jerk, Allen caught his attention by chuckling behind his hand. "Isn't this great, Alma?" Allen grinned at him. "Kanda's actually stepping up and setting Timothy straight. Never thought I'd have a reason to thank him of all people."

"Ah, well Yuu's not so bad. He's a jerk for sure, but a good friend when it comes down to it," Alma smiled.

"Really now?" Allen raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Yep! You've just gotta look past all his flaws if you want any hope of becoming friends with him. And when you live in such a cold and lonely place, you'll do anything to have a friend. Kanda was my only option at the time," Alma smiled sadly.

"I think the little wretch has finally got it," Kanda scowled as he made his way back over to them, leaving a miserable but frightened Timothy to slowly get through his round of pushups.

"Thanks, Kanda," Allen sighed in relief. "Timothy can be kind of a handful."

"You've got to quit being such a pushover, beansprout," Kanda glared at him, though it seemed more scolding than malicious. "The imp's going to keep stepping on you like a fucking doormat."

Allen was upset to find that Kanda was right, and deflated. "Yeah, you're right," Allen admitted and then scowled, "But I refuse to turn out like my Master!"

"Kid, there's a difference between simply being an asshole and earning the hellion's respect. Grow a backbone and quit letting him push you around," Kanda rebuked him in his crude and rude manner.

Allen blinked in surprise. "T-thanks for the advice, Kanda."

Kanda scoffed. "Don't think this means we're friends or some shitty sentimentality like that, sprout."

"Of course not," Allen said dryly, discreetly rolling his eyes. "Anyway, do either of you have any actual advice on how to train Timothy? I'm really at a loss here, especially considering my Master wasn't the greatest teacher."

"I think you're starting out great with the physical training. Whether your Innocence is defense or offense, being strong and learning how to defend yourself is always a strong foundation, since there's always the possibility of not being able to use your Innocence in a fight," Alma began as he keenly observed Timothy. "But that's pretty much all you can do for the kid. An Innocence weapon is a very individual thing, and you can't really teach someone how to use it completely effectively. You'll just have to be careful when introducing him to different levels of Akuma."

"Alright," Allen nodded as he began to go over the list, "Physical training, self-defense, fighting Akuma; got it."

"How does the brat's Innocence work, anyhow?" Kanda finally spoke up, as he too observed Timothy.

"It's a Parasitic type. You see that bandana he's wearing over his forehead? Underneath it is a blue stone embedded in his skin, and it allows him to posses anyone he likes. He hasn't gotten complete control over it yet, but it'll be hell when he does. I'm guessing it'll allow him to take possession of Akuma as well, and be able to destroy them that way, but it's all up for speculation," Allen explained. "It does leave his physical body vulnerable though."

"Hm, then physical training won't be much help in his case, though I suggest you still continue," Kanda finally said. "If anything, you should probably begin his training against Akuma sometime soon. The higher level Akuma will be the most difficult, and if he can get to the point of possessing the Noah themselves, then we'll have a damn of an asset."

Allen nodded in agreement, slightly surprised at how mature they were being about this conversation, though he was pretty sure it wouldn't last. "Yeah, I'll probably be heading out sometime in the future. General Tiedoll was right; we shouldn't give up on our search of finding Accommodators, and staying cooped up in here isn't going to help Timothy become stronger."

"Just don't forget that it'll be Lenalee's birthday soon, or Sister-Complex will slaughter you," Kanda grumbled, scowling at the thought of the psychotic Supervisor.

"Drat, I almost forgot!" Allen exclaimed.

"Really?" Alma asked at the same time, a grin forming on his face. "When is it?"

"The 20th," Allen replied absentmindedly as he wracked his brain for any possible gifts he could get for the female Exorcists. "You guys have any idea on what you're getting her?"

"Well I just found out," Alma pointed out somewhat dryly.

"I usually just buy her some candy," Kanda said with a shrug, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

Alma frowned teasingly. "Aw, come on, Yuu, try to be a little more creative than that. Do you guys know what she likes?"

"… No," Kanda finally admitted, and Alma turned despairingly over to Allen.

"Chocolate cake!" Allen exclaimed.

Alma face-palmed. "You two are hopeless."

"Well if you're so smart when it comes to Lenalee, what are you planning on getting her?" Kanda scowled. In the background, Timothy yelled something about being done, so the sword-wielding Exorcist turned towards him and shouted, "Now do a hundred sit-ups, brat!" He then turned back and stared at Alma expectantly.

With an exasperated shake of his head, Alma replied, "Well, like I told you before, she enjoys her fair share of romance novels, so I'd get her the sequel to Pride and Prejudice, because I know it's not in the library."

Allen and Kanda looked at him oddly. "No offense Alma, but you sound like a girl…" Allen awkwardly trailed off.

"I agree with the sprout," Kanda spat as if trying to prevent the words from lingering in his mouth, and the duo had to shudder do to agreeing to anything.

Alma pouted. "You guys are so mean… But this isn't about me! It's about Lenalee! Oooh, how about we throw her a surprise birthday party? I read about that once!"

"She'll hate it," Kanda and Allen replied in unison, and then simultaneously glared at each other for even daring to think that they could say the exact same thing at the same time. When Alma could only stare at them in confusion, Allen went on to explain, "Komui throws one for her every year, and though the sentiment was nice at first, things are slowly starting to get out of hand as the years go by. I remember last year, he tried to lock her up in her room practically all morning, and when she finally snuck out, she had nowhere to go so Daisya and I helped her leave and we ended up in town."

"Err, wow. If it's that hectic, why don't we just celebrate it with her now, while Komui's distracted with other things. Otherwise he'll probably wreck it somehow," Alma suggested thoughtfully.

"That's actually not a bad idea," Allen replied. "First we'll have to go down into town and collect some gifts for her, but it shouldn't take too long."

"It's a plan then!" Alma jumped up excitedly. "Okay, you two, go collect Lavi and Daisya; last I heard, Daisya was in the library with Lenalee, so be discreet about it! I'll go and ask Jerry if he can make a chocolate cake for us, and then I'll go meet you down in the canals!"

Before any sort of protest could be made, Alma dashed off and was gone just like that. Allen and Kanda gave each other a distasteful glance, before Allen turned away and called out to Timothy, "Timothy! You're done for now! We're going on a field trip."

"R-really?" Timothy's small, trembling voice asked as he shakily stumbled over to Allen. Wrapping his arm around the older boy's waist, Timothy began to sob. "P-please never leave me a-alone with that mean man again! P-please! I'm r-really sorry, Allen!"

A wicked grin formed on Kanda's face, at the sight of the wailing boy, and Allen knew he'd have to milk it for all it was worth. Using solemn tone that did not match his facial expression in the least, Allen said, "I don't know Timothy, you've been misbehaving pretty badly…"

"I-I promise I'll l-listen to everything you say!" Timothy hiccupped as he continued to sob.

"Really now? I guess I could give you another chance… But the moment you start acting like a brat, I'm sending you off to officially become Kanda's apprentice," Allen bluffed, his grin turning much more sinister than Kanda's, as Timothy clung tightly to him and blubbered out ridiculous promises on how he was going to be the 'bestest apprentice in the world' and how he wouldn't 'play pranks on him like he had with the fluffy-haired man'.

Once Black Allen had gotten his fill, he peeled off Timothy's sniveling form. "Alright, that's enough. You can have the rest of the day off."

"Yes, now we've got to hunt down the idiot rabbit and the clown face," Kanda muttered darkly, readying his katana.

Allen had a feeling this would not end well.

"I knew this wasn't going to end well," Allen sighed, as he stared unflinchingly at Kanda's murderous expression and Lavi's sheepish one. It turned out, Lavi had also been hanging around Lenalee and Daisya, and the moment he realized that Kanda was attempting—and failing—to discreetly get them out without having Lenalee follow them, Lavi had decided to step up and make up an excuse for Kanda.

"Damn it, let me go you fucking beansprout!" Kanda roared, struggling against Crown Belt, which Allen was using to detain both teenage males from killing each other—though it was more to keep Lavi from running on his part. "I'm going slaughter you, you hear me?! I am so done with your shit, you stupid, fucked-up rabbit! I am going to rip out your intestines, make you eat them, and rip them out again; over and over again, until you know the meaning of pain! Then I'm going to castrate you and skin you alive—"

Allen abruptly cut off Kanda's tirade from his mind. He did not need to listen to him going into detail on the many ways he was going to make Lavi suffer. Though he couldn't say he felt sorry for Lavi; the guy had practically insulted Kanda's manhood before Lenalee and Daisya—of which the latter would not be forgetting anytime soon.

"This is rich!" Daisya leaned heavily against him, barely able to keep himself upright from the laughter that shook him to the core. The wild, brown-haired teen had not helped one bit, only goading Kanda on by going more into detail about Kanda's little "problem".

"Do I even want to know?" Alma sighed heavily as he sidled up beside them, seeming immune to Kanda's colorful language, obviously having realized something must have occurred when they didn't show up at the meeting place.

"No," Allen grimaced.

"Hell yeah!" Daisya exclaimed at the same time, and then went on into great detail of what had occurred earlier in the library.

"Of course," Alma face-palmed, before walking over to face Kanda and Lavi, whom Allen had kept at a distance. Forcefully cutting through Kanda's tirade with a determined expression, he said, "Alright! Shut it! Yuu, I know Lavi can be a bit of a jackass, but right now, we're trying to do something for Lenalee. If any of you haven't noticed, she hasn't been sleeping at all for the last couple days, and I would greatly appreciate it, if you two weren't harping on each other every ten seconds!"

Daisya let out a low whistle. "Damn. You set them straight, Alma!"

"That goes for you too, Daisya!" Alma turned on him with a glower.

"Alright, alright, sheesh!" Daisya huffed, crossing his arms defensively.

"And this is all before we've even left the building," Allen muttered, though they all heard him perfectly.

"But that's why you love us, shortstack!" Lavi grinned cheekily. Allen refrained from throwing something at him, in order to wipe off that expression, but fortunately for him, he didn't have to. As soon as they were released, Kanda bonked him over the head in order to relieve some stress, and left the red-head to wail on the ground about his grievances.

"What the hell is that thing?" Kanda scowled, looking down into the cage.

"I believe that's a kitten," Allen replied quite dryly.

"It sure is a nasty little beast," Daisya wrinkled his nose in distaste, staring the white-and-dark-gray-furred feline, which seemed too scrawny, especially when compared to the size of its head.

Allen scratched the back of his head with a sigh. "Well, we're running out of time, and it's the only thing they've got left. Lenalee likes cats, doesn't she?"

"Beansprout, I'm pretty sure no human being could even remotely like that thing. I told you, you should've just bought her candy," Kanda shook his, glowering at the sight of the feline, which was just as incline to glower back. The thing certainly did not look happy in the face of Kanda.

"Maaaaooooww, meeeeeewww-mooooooowwww," the kitten continued its earlier tirade.

"And it talks!" Allen beamed, closely inspecting the dull, green-eyed cat. "And it can be kind of cute… Maybe if you squish his face a little to the right… I think?"

"Face it beansprout," Kanda continued to glare at the thing, "It's ugly as fuck."

"Well, if Lenalee can stand the sight of you, I'm sure the cat will be a lot easier for her to handle," Daisya snickered.

And before Kanda could make any sort of movement towards Mugen, Allen declared with a grin, "You're absolutely right, Daisya! I'm taking him!"

"Happy birthday, Lenalee!" the five boys declared in unison, facing the sleepy girl from outside her doorway.

Lenalee blinked in surprise, staring at all the brightly, and slightly crudely, wrapped gifts, and at the large, swirling chocolate cake Alma held at the center. "I-it's not my birthday," Lenalee stammered, shocked.

"Of course it's not," Lavi chuckled, as he ushered them all inside, before they could be seen by someone and have Komui end up finding out about their little rendezvous.

"But we figured since Komui goes all crazy on your actual birthday," Daisya continued as they all settled on the carpeted floor of her room.

"That we could have our own, little celebration with you," Alma finished off with a beam, as he carefully set the cake at the center.

Lenalee stared at them all with wide, tearful eyes, and when they finally landed on Kanda and Allen, who had yet to speak, Kanda simply grunted a, "What they said."

"Happy early birthday, Lenalee," Allen grinned brightly at her.

"T-thank you," Lenalee finally managed to stutter out, wiping away the little tears that had managed to escape. "I-I really don't know what to say, but I can't describe to you how happy this makes me."

"No need to!" Daisya grinned. "Just open the presents, eat the cake, and look happy!"

"Meooooowwwww," the low whine came, which Allen attempted to muffle by covering the hole-covered box with his coat.

Lenalee startled. "Did you guys hear something?"

"No," came the multiple replies, and in light of what was going on, Lenalee decided to let go of her suspicion. For now.

Shoving a brightly wrapped box into her hands, Lavi exclaimed, "Open mine first, Lenalee!"

"Alright, Lavi, thank you," she grinned, enthusiastically tearing into the box. What came out was a bright, pink bunny-rabbit, complete with its large, floppy ears.

"So you can claim to sleep with the "rabbit", as Kanda so eloquently refers to me, every night," Lavi wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Lavi," they all groan in exasperation, due to his ridiculous innuendo.

Lenalee rolled her eyes, but fortunately took it quite light-heartedly. "You know, he sort of looks like the bunny I painted on Brother's coffee cup. I think I'll name him Yoshi!"

"Here," Kanda muttered, placing his gift for Lenalee into her hands next.

With a knowing grin, Lenalee tugged off the ribbon holding the bag together, and squealed quite loudly once she saw what was in the bag. "Peanut brittle, jelly beans, and toffee?! Oh, thank you, thank you so much Kanda! These are my absolute favorite, and it certainly beats all the fudge you got me last year! You know me so well!"

The rest of the male teens could only gape at Kanda, when they realized that his supposed, "thoughtless" gift, was in actuality, not so thoughtless at all.

"Here ya go, princess," Daisya smirked, handing her the next present. She gave it a cautious glance, suddenly a little leery of his gift, but ripped it open nonetheless. They all stared in horror, as Lenalee carefully lifted the crudely sown plushie with the bare of her fingertips.

"Is that…?"

"It couldn't be…!"

"… God have mercy."

"Is this supposed to be my brother…?" Lenalee finally remarked with an odd expression, as she eyed the sinister expression on Komui-plushie.

"You do realize," Allen slowly began, "That if Komui ever sees this, he'll make sure his "precious little sister" never goes without this Komui-thing?"

"Which is exactly why, that's not your real gift," Daisya smirked, plucking the makeshift plushie from Lenalee's hands and casually tossing it out of her open window. They all gaped at him. "What? Sheesh, it was just a joke!"

"I'm not even going to ask how you found the time to make that thing," Allen shook his head.

"Then I'm not going to tell you," Daisya shrugged with smirk, as he dug into his coat pocket, pulling out a silver, charm bracelet. "Now this is my real gift! See? So you can have us on your wrist all the time! The little sword represent our resident Mr. Stick-up-his-ass; the clown gets to be our own clown, Allen; I'm the bell; Lavi's the idiotic, flopping rabbit; the freaky robot is Komui; and last but not least, the staff represents Alma, since he declared himself our so-called ring leader," Daisya finished off with a grin, as he clasped the silver chain onto Lenalee's wrist. Though his explanation was occasionally interrupted by protests from some of the others, who did not appreciate being called things like "Mr. Stick-up-his-ass".

"It's beautiful, Daisya! Thank you," Lenalee smiled, all teary-eyed.

"Mooooowww. Maaaawwwweeeeeeooooowww."

"Alright! I know I heard it this time," Lenalee glared suspiciously at them.

"I guess the jig is up," Allen admitted with a sheepish smile. Pulling the small box from underneath his coat, he handed it over to an astonished Lenalee.

"It's a kitty!" she squealed as she opened it much more carefully than her previous gifts.

"Definitely not the word I would use," Kanda spoke up with distaste clear in his tone.

"Aww, who's a good kitty?" Lenalee cooed.

"Where did you guys find that thing?" Lavi asked as he leaned over towards them. "A garbage disposal?"

"It certainly not the prettiest kitty I've seen," Alma said with a wince.

But despite Allen's embarrassed smile and the rest of their repulsed glances, Lenalee was utterly enraptured.

"You're so cute aren't you~?" Lenalee fussed over him.

"Meeeeooooooowwww. Moowww."

"Yes you are!"

"Maaaaaoooowwww. Moooooowwwwww, meeeeeeoooooooww, meeeeeewww."

"Is that right?" Lenalee played along.

"Maaaaawww, moooooowwwwww, meeowww."

Quite abruptly, she lifted the kitten up to Kanda's disgruntled face. "Would you like to hold him while I open Alma's present?" Before Kanda could even begin to explain, that no, that was the last thing he wanted to do on earth, she dumped the feline on him.

"Awww, look at the way the thing's sticking to Yuu!" Lavi guffawed.

Daisya chortled along with him. "And they both have the exact same expression too!"

"I say we name the cat, Kandina!" Lavi declared with a grin, while Kanda sent him a murderous glare.

"How about, no," Alma sighed.

"It is pretty funny the way he's sticking to him though," Allen chuckled.

"You're right!" Lenalee grinned. "I say we name him Velcro!"

And once they were all in agreement, Lenalee went on to open Alma's gift for her. Unfortunately, at that very moment, someone kicked the door open with a loud thump.

"So I heard…" the silhouette at the door begin in a sinister voice, "That there were teenage boys infesting my Lenalee's room…"

They all gulped as they glanced nervously at each other.

"Meeooww?"

"PREPARE TO FACE THE WRATH OF MY KOMURIN!"

"RUN!"

A/N: Muahahahaha! Komui is back! :D

By they way, yes, Velcro is very much a real cat, unfortunately… Luckily for him, it's been ten years since he was a kitty, so he's not too ugly now. He's actually pretty cute… kind of. And yes, Velcro never shuts up. And yes, he is a total buttface and is pretty much bipolar. Thankfully, ownership goes to my friend Silvermoontwentyseven. I do not envy her.(x

And sorry if you guys find this chapter fillerish, but I honestly thought that our poor Exorcists very well earned this break. Haha, so anyone want to make any suggestions for Chaoji in the next chapter?(x

So, as someone once said, review, and tell me how you feel about this chapter, so that I can know how I feel!(: