Hana: We're back! With a new chapter to share with you guys~!
Allen: ...why do I get hit with a—
Hana: No spoilers, Moyashi-chan~ As you guys are aware we, that's XavierForest and myself, don't own D. Gray-man. But the both of us own the story you guys get to read every Wednesday~
Allen: Um, happy readings?
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+ - Chapter 19 - +
As days rolled by, Allen sighed, sitting at his desk. He and Kanda had both been busy as of late, and honestly, he missed waking up next to the older man. The bed felt too cold without him...but work was work, and Allen himself had his part time job and college. It was a constant balancing act as it was.
And to top it off, now he had this whole AKUMA thing to deal with. When would things just settle down and let him get on with his life?
First it was being an orphan, then Mana, then NOAH; why did he always draw the short straw?
Well…he did have Kanda, so that made up for more than half of it, but why was it always him? Why did things always go wrong right after things just seemed to be... perfect?
Sighing for the umpteenth time that hour alone, he was shocked when suddenly an eraser hit him in the face. "MR. WALKER, I WANT TO SEE YOU AFTER CLASS!"
The eraser fell from his face, leaving a vertical rectangle of chalk dust going clear down the center of his face. "Huh?" There were a few snickers from his classmates, one of the more notable ones being from Fou. Allen side-glared at the snickering orange-haired woman, the look clearly asking her 'what the hell?'
'You had it coming.' she mouthed. Sometimes Fou was great to hang out with...but, a little revenge wouldn't hurt.
Aiming an evil grin towards his friend, he raised his hand and said, "Fou was in on it, sir!"
"You little—!"
"I'll be seeing you as well in that case." The professor said evenly. "Back to the lesson."
"You're dead, brat!" She hissed, careful to make sure that the professor couldn't hear her.
With mock shock, Allen put a hand on his chest, looking confused.
"I with make your life hell," Fou mouthed.
Grinning manically, Allen mouthed back, "Sorry~ I've already been there." the dark aura surrounding him made the woman flinch, but only slightly.
. . - * - . .
"An eraser thrown at you?" Lavi asked, picking Allen up from his class. When the boy seated himself with a pouty look on his face, Lavi couldn't help but laugh as he turned the engine on, and started to drive out of the college's parking lot. "Man, I didn't think there were still professors who do that...I bet it was Professor Yeager. Was it professor Yeager? Hey...don't you have a car?"
"Some arse-hats stole my wheels...and the engine." Allen muttered, clicking his seatbelt into place. They were there this morning, honest. When he got back from his last class...he found his poor car had been taken apart. "And...yes, I have Professor Yeager...but not today. Tomorrow."
"Ah...so there's another teacher in there who's old school...back to the car thing, Moyashi-chan...y'do know Yu's gonna have a fit, right?"
"That's the nicer way to put it." Allen sighed.
"And do y'know how he'd gonna take out his stress?
The younger opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and then shrugged. "He's been busy lately, so I don't think he'll find out anytime soon."
"Mm...I wonder." Lavi mused. "How much are you willing to bet he won't find out within the week?"
"Mm..." The younger pretended to think, "How about two Benjamin Franklins?"
"You know, I was kidding about the bet." Lavi could almost feel that sweat drop rolling down his temple.
"Chickening out?"
"In this case? Hell yeah. I need my hard-earned cash!"
"Bookman pays you?"
"I do work with him in the bookshop." After a second thought he included, "Of course, we're both helping out with Krory's antique shop until he's out of the hospital. He's doing better by the way. You visit him recently?"
"Ah... I've talked with Eliade a few times, but no, I haven't visited Krory."
Lavi grinned. "So you visit the babe, but not her husband. Totally understandable."
"Oh please, I'm not you," Allen shot back with a roll of the eyes.
"But you did live with Cross of all people." Lavi pointed out. "Who's to say you didn't pick up a few things here and there?"
"Lavi!"
"And you're a growing young boy with needs th—"
"LAVI!"
"I'm just sayin'," the red-head's grin grew, "that it's only natural for you t—"
"ANOTHER WORD AND I WILL MURDER YOU!"
Silence. Utter, and sudden silence. "You think you can actually kill me off, lil buddy?"
Allen's eyes widened at the red-head's tone. "L-Lavi?" He was...he was going to crack a joke...right? "Lavi if this is a joke, it's not funny..."
"You know. Death is rather unbiased. He doesn't care if you're rich or poor. If you're fortunate or not. Old. Young." Allen noticed how the car was slowing to a stop. "Whether or not you've help his cause...it doesn't matter, now does it?"
"Lavi! I mean it, this isn't funny!"
He continued like he hadn't heard him. "I mean, was it not you who offed all those people? A child was one of the—" A loud crack broke the red-head's train of thought, the slap strong enough to knock his face to the side. "OW! THE HELL, SHORT STACK?! Huh? Hey, what's with—"
"How...how could you s-say those things?"
"What...things...?"
"DAMMIT LAVI! WHAT THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH YOU?! HOW DO YOU GO BACK AS THOUGH NOTHING HAPPE—"
"Shit..."
"Shit? SHITE, you bloody bastard?! What—"
"Deak."
"—on earth...who the bloody hell is Deak?"
Lavi shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "He's... me..."
Glaring, Allen reached for the car door handle. Screw this. It'd be better if he just walked home. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. "Lemme out." His vision was blurring, and he gritted his teeth. He knew that he was a terrible person, but Lavi had never judged him for it before... or at least... he'd never said anything about it... and it hurt to have one of his best friends say it aloud.
"Al—"
"I said lemme out!" His cheeks were wet. His head hurt.
"Allen! Look at me!"
Reluctantly, the boy turned to face Lavi, trying to wipe the tears from face, though he knew the other had already seen them. "D-do you... hate me for what I've done?"
Green eye solemn, Lavi shook his head. "Sorry, Allen." He ran a hand through his hair, giving the younger an apologetic look. "Sometimes... I slip."
"S...lip?
"Slip." Lavi sighed. "When Mikk killed my parents all those years ago, another persona, if you will, emerged from the depths of my subconscious...that's Deak."
"I don't get it." The younger sniffled.
"I never told Yu nor Lena...they don't know of that part of me." Lavi continued, and Allen could hear how tired the normally eccentric red-head was. "He was a coping mechanism...at least, that's what Gramps and I thought...I...hurt some good people I knew as a kid back then...it doesn't matter how many times I'd try to blame it on Deak...in the end. Deak is me, I am him. We're one in the same."
"It's like...Crowned Clown and then me..."
"Kinda is, ain't it?" Lavi humorlessly laughed. "Damn, if we ain't messed up, then tell me who is."
Allen smiled wearily. "M'sorry."
"What for?"
"Getting angry at you," he murmured, "and... I was a part of NOAH, so even if I didn't do it, I'm still partially to bla—"
"No, you're not." Lavi crossed his arms, face showing complete seriousness. "We good?"
"Huh?"
The red-head tried for a smile. "You might wanna stop crying now, or else Yu-chan'll kill me if he finds out."
A grin the white-haired male was familiar with graced the older male's face. "Besides! This was waaayyyyy before all that NOAH BS you ended up with. In my book, you're as innocent as uh...hold on, I can think of something...um...hey, what's innocent enough for this analogy?"
"Shouldn't you know that?" Allen asked, feeling a bead of sweat fall from his temple.
"So mean, moyashi-chan!"
Allen laughed, he was glad the dark moment between him and his friend diminished.
He liked Lavi better this way. Being all serious and dark didn't suit the red-head.
He hoped he'd never have to see that side of Lavi anymore...or ever again, rather. If he thought the NOAH had been scary, seeing his hyperactive best friend doing a complete 180...it made the NOAH seem like child's play. That was saying something.
"I just got a great idea!" Lavi said, before starting his car again.
"Um...should I run for my life?"
"Hey! I mean it! Let's get ice cream, yeah?"
"Ice cream?" Allen asked. "Really?"
"Yeah! And I'll pay~"
Hearing that, the boy's decision was practically made for him. "Sure."
"Two best buddies hanging out~!" Allen couldn't help but laugh. "We'll eat ice cream until we can't stand it anymore~!"
"Hey! How can anyone not stand ice cream?!"
"Well...there's Yu...and I think two-spots doesn't like it too much either...but I can't understand why...I mean you've seen all the sweets he's made haven't you?"
"Sweets...? Oh! I remember when he tried making a pineapple upside down cake once in our school days...it was really delicious~" Allen nearly salivated at the memory, before realizing something, "Now that I think of it...I always wondered why he never went into opening up a bakery..."
"Maybe we should ask him?"
"After ice cream!"
This time, Lavi laughed. "Damn, you really are a kid!"
"I'm not a kid! I'm nineteen!"
"That's still a kid," Lavi reasoned.
"Nope! If it was, then Kanda would've been charged with pedophilia ages ago."
"True... but you're still a kid."
"Lavi!"
"Well, I'm 22, Yu's 22...Lenalee's 20...and then there's you who's 19...yeah, kid."
"I don't know if I wanna eat ice cream with you anymore."
"I'm paying! You'd have no choice anyway." Lavi pointed out, a grin on his face. "C'mon, I know a great place~!" He'd already started to put the car into drive, as he drove off once more.
"Jerk," the boy muttered, pouting.
"You can't call me that! Yu-chan might get jealous!"
"Maybe he'll make rabbit stew."
"...harsh."
"You always walk into it, Lavi."
. . - * - . .
This. Was. Fucking ridiculous at this point. Kanda decided, glaring at the papers before him. Not only was work really pissing him off...but god dammit, the work he had on the side was just as bad. Why hadn't he heard anything from Mikk yet? What was Kamelot doing? And was two-spot even doing his damn job?
Did no one even know the meaning of 'work' anymore?
He'd been working nonstop had hardly seen his fiancé at all these past few... how long had it been? Fuck... Yu Kanda needed a break.
"Kanda?" Said man peeked an eye open, seeing a concerned woman at his desk. "Pardon my intrusion, but—"
"What the fuck do you want?"
"Uh, right then...you see, the Inspector wants to see you..."
"What does that shit head want?"
"I don't know...he said he wanted you in his office yesterday ago." Kanda gritted his teeth, and fought the urge to slap his palm against his face. God, he hated that man.
Kanda pushed himself up from his seat, glaring. How that guy even made it this far in the first place…was a mystery to him. What idiot hired him?
He dimly remembered that Rouvelier's father before him had been in the same position once upon a time. Who had given him that information again? Must've been Link. Grumbling under his breath, he passed by the nameless woman, and headed towards the bastard's office.
This was going to be very unpleasant.
Everything was unpleasant when it had to do with seeing that man. Or just anything to do with Rouvelier in general.
It wasn't long before he made it to the man's office. Fuck, the hell does this ass want from him? Groaning in displeasure, he knocked, and waited for the man to call him in. The sooner this was over with, the better.
"Agent Yu Kanda?"
God, that man's voice alone was enough to make him sick.
"Che." Who else the fuck would it be? "I got word you wanted to see me."
"Enter."
Kanda strode in, not at all bothering to hide his distaste for the man. He crossed his arms and waited, glaring at his superior.
"The hell do you want, sir?"
Rouvelier's eyes narrowed. "I see you still haven't learned how to respect your direct superiors, Yu Kanda."
"I only respect those who deserve it," the oriental male shot back.
"And those above you are those you show it to." The older man shot back. "You're only lucky you're good at what you do, otherwise, you and your faggot lover wouldn't be able to work anywhere for as long as you two live."
"You leave my fiancé out of it, you shit fucking ass." Kanda's voice had lowered dangerously. He grinned to himself when he saw the fearful reaction on the other man's face. It was a split second, but his sharp eyes caught it nonetheless. "Let's get one thing straight, Inspector, I don't give a flying fuck if you call me out, but if you so much as say anything to insult my lover, I can guarantee, you won't be making that, or any mistake. Ever. Again."
"Y-you little—!"
"Tell me what the fuck you want with me, and then I'll be more than fucking happy to be out of your hair. Che. If you actually had any that wasn't fake."
"Agent Kanda, I—"
"Excuse me, Inspector." The bickering duo ceased when the impassive face of Howard Link entered. "Pardon my intrusion, but I do believe you've both been crossing lines not meant to be crossed in any work space. If you are unable to civilly tell Kanda what he needs to know, I shall tell him myself in your stead. That goes without saying, your wife had also called, and she wishes you would mind your blood pressure."
"Fine. Do what you will." Rouvelier grumbled, shoeing the two away. Taking his cue, Link escorted Kanda out. The moment the door closed behind them, Link released a sigh he didn't know he was holding.
"What's with you?" Kanda sneered.
Link was silent for a moment before he answered, "I'm questioning my career choice, honestly."
"It's not the job that's the problem," Kanda muttered darkly.
"I know." Link sighed again. "Next time though, I think it would be best if you didn't threaten him."
"If you were eavesdropping then you know the bastard fired first."
"I wasn't eavesdropping. I was merely there at perhaps the most convenient time ever to hear what was said."
"So. Eavesdropping." Kanda bluntly stated. "What was that SOB going to say?"
"The copycat struck again."
Kanda, after taking a moment to process this, cursed. "Again?! Fuck!"
"Better take your team and head off." Link suggested. "I know what I have to do."
"Che. You go do that." Kanda grumbled. "I need the location."
"I'll send it to you." Link said, before heading off.
Why had things gotten so... urg. Over a year of peace, and now this? What the hell was going on?
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And scene! Yes, Kanda, what is going on?
Another day another dollar...but I don't get paid to do this. R&R ain't for rest and relaxation, even if I don't nearly get enough of it...show this story some love, and leave a review and if you hadn't yet, favorite, follow, and go check out the other party who works on this story. Seriously, go. He's got awesome stuff to read (^w^)V
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