Hana: So. I screwed that promise up from last week.
Allen: Yes. You did.
Hana: Not helping, Moyashi. Seriously, it just didn't click that it was even Wednesday...AGAIN. I bet it's because I've been thinking of my History paper I hadn't even started yet...
Allen: -rolls his eyes- Neither Hanashi nor XavierForest own D. Gray-man.
Hana: Not in the slightest, otherwise, why are we here? Enjoy the story~!
... ... ... ...
+ - Chapter 24 - +
The days that followed, proved to be fruitless. Allen growled at his papers, not having an ounce of a lead on the AKUMA killer...and he didn't even want to get started on how many dead ends he and Eliade somehow crashed into. Sighing, Allen slammed his head on the library table he was using. Fou was giving him a weird look.
"Okay, I'll bite. I know for a fact the school work here isn't getting ta ya, kiddo. So, what gives?"
"Life. Kanda. The wedding I have yet to plan? Take your pick." Allen smoothly lied. Actually, it wasn't technically a lie...he fiddled with the engagement ring around his left finger. The metal was warm from his constantly fumbling with it for the past ten minutes.
"I can see how that's hard...ever try for a wedding planner? I hear they can be pretty helpful when you already have a ton of stuff to do." Lo Fa spoke up. "Maybe that can lighten some of the load for you?"
"I pity the people who have to pay the extra cash for those penny pinchers." Fou grumbled. "Seriously, the hell is with them?"
Allen chuckled, "Thanks for that, but I think I'd pass...I feel like this should be something Yu and I should do to really make it our own thing..."
"O-Oh..." Fou rolled her eyes, Lo Fa was only trying to help...but even she could tell Allen wasn't really worried about most of what he said. She wouldn't push him for anything. That would only leave a less likely chance of getting information out of her younger friend. "Ah! I promised my parents I'd help them set up for my grandparents' anniversary!"
"How long were they married?" Allen asked, genuinely curious.
"Tomorrow marks their fiftieth wedding anniversary." Lo Fa stated with pride. "I think it's romantic how long they've been together...my father often said they fought like rapid dogs when they first met...he was barely five back then..."
"Ah, yeah." Fou absentmindly stated, "I remember that your gramps had a child from a failed marriage of four years you told me."
"Mm-hmm." After another look at her watch, Lo Fa quickly rushed out, leaving Fou and Allen behind.
"Welp. Just you and me, kiddo. Spill, what's really on your mind?"
"Sorry, Fou...I have things I need to do myself...see you later though!" Allen said, as he gathered his own stuff, and headed off.
Unimpressed, Fou mentally cursed. What was with the secrets Allen had these days?
Ever since he'd started with them, he's been considerably less happy, the smiles on his face rarer, and although he still talked with everyone, he was a lot more guarded now. Fou'd noticed how stiff the kid had been, and how every now and then, he would look over the people surrounding him warily, like they had something to hide.
It was freaking her out.
She'd have to get to the bottom of it, otherwise her name wasn't Fou Chang. Her first order of business would be to see what Kanda was up to. Packing everything up, she grabbed her things, and exited the library herself.
. . - * - . .
Allen sighed, combing his hand through his hair. Things...weren't going as smoothly as he hoped. Kanda still didn't know what he was up to, and that was an amazing feat on all its own. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize there was another person near him, until he crashed into them. "Ah!"
"Allen?" That voice...THAT VOICE!
"Wisely!" The ex-NOAH backed away slightly, uncertain of Allen's sudden excitement. Wisely hadn't heard Allen before, having been listening to music when the younger bumped into him, and in turn knocking out his earbuds. "You just might be my saving grace!"
The other male narrowed his eyes, already hearing Allen's recent thoughts. "Kanda doesn't know."
"Eh...no...he doesn't..."
"You want me to help you out in figuring out who's been killing off ex-AKUMA." A nod. Not that he'd be able to deny it. Wisely crossed his arms. "I doubt I'll be able to get out of it...fine, fine. I'll do it. However."
"However?"
"You are not to question where I get any information from. It will be completely classified." He did need to get Tyki to work more. This would help greatly.
But it would also mean he was secretly working for both Allen and Kanda, while keeping the fact that the both of them were basically on the same case a secret.
Did that make him a double agent?
Either way, things just got a little more interesting for him. Working on "Crowned Clown", wasn't quite getting him much of anywhere anymore. But...with two different sides, then perhaps he'd finally be able to get somewhere...and work Tyki to the bone to the point he just might become nothing but bone...
He really was sadistic when he chose to be.
"I'm not sure what the whole clas—"
"Classified, Allen." Wisely sternly interrupted the younger male. "Now then. I will be needing what information you did manage, so that means I'll have to pick Eliade's brain as well."
"She's not gonna like that." Allen sighed.
"Which is exactly why I will be out of her range of freaky AKUMA range of sensing, but still be in range where I can pick her brain."
"If I die after she finds out, I will haunt you for the rest of your days."
"She won't find out, nor will you die by her hand."
"I wonder about that..." Allen grumbled under his breath.
Wisely grinned. "You trust me enough to know that she won't."
"Correction," the younger of the two muttered. "I trust your skills enough to know that she won't."
"Fair enough." Wisely shrugged. "Set up the date, and I'll be in super stealth mode. I suppose."
"Fine...it's probably gonna be at a time after she's visited Krory in the hospital..."
"I'll call you when I have a meet up with Eliade. Okay?"
"Fine. I'll just see you then." Wisely stated, as he stretched, "For now, I do have some errands I need to finish."
"Sorry to hold you up then..."
The elder waved him off, before heading in the initial direction he was going. Allen grinned, he could feel the weight he'd been carrying lessen greatly. Finally, some good luck for the otherwise unlucky male. "Ah...I should buy groceries...Kanda's low on soba, I think..."
. . - * - . .
Tyki was reading a book he...'borrowed' from the library the other day. There was a look of nostalgia in his eyes as he read over each of the words. "You seem rather into that child's book, Mikk." Link spoke up, eying the Portuguese male.
"How can I not? Road used to be an innocent child...and she'd always pester me to read this when she was younger." There was a note of longing, a strange thing for the ex-NOAH.
"She wasn't always like that?"
"Honestly, until she was ten, Road had always been kind...believe it or not, I hoped she'd stay that way...but then one day, she changed." Tyki closed the book, and placed it on the stand beside the chair he was occupying. "I was away on business at the time..." The topic was rough with the older male.
He may be a murderer, but family was still family.
"In a world of darkness, and blood, Road was once that light that kept me grounded...you know, I think I saw that in the boy."
"I wouldn't have guessed. You often molested him."
"I was already far too into the darkness. Call me crazy, but when I first saw Allen Walker, I just wanted to grasp some of the purity."
"Hm...Road was innocent huh? Who knew?" Wisely's voice was unexpected, but neither Intel nor ex-NOAH reacted to it. "I don't think you were going around that correctly if you wanted to keep Allen from getting too far into the darkness."
"Wisely."
"I have a job for ya, Mikk. We might actually find more leads on this BS."
"A job?"
Wisely's lips curled, something that rarely happened when he was with this man. "Yep," he said a little too cheerfully. He was still in a good mood after talking to Allen; this could actually set them forward for a change.
"Be ready to move when I say so. There's just some information I need, and then we'll get to work. Oh, and Kanda knows nothing on this, so let's keep it between us, shall we?"
"What are you, a double agent?" Link asked, eyebrow quirked.
"That would make the lot of you the same." Wisely pointed out.
"What's the job?"
The white-haired male waved his hand dismissively.
"What's the job?" Link repeated, steel in his voice.
"Oh, don't get your panties in a twist, twin-mole." Wisely shrugged the other male off. "Listen, I don't have the details just yet, but I should be—"
A ringtone went off.
"You gonna answer that?" Tyki asked, gesturing to where the ringing was coming from.
"I was just about to." The British male muttered, as he unlocked his phone to answer. "Wisely here."
"Who is it?" The older ex-NOAH queried, inspecting his nails.
Wisely glared and brought a finger to his lips, effectively silencing the Portuguese male, who rolled his eyes.
"Uh-huh...yes, I suppose that could work...mm-hmm...seven? Seems rather...oh, in the morning...I see. Saturday at seven. Okay then. I'll be there." He hung up right after, a grin on his face. "After tomorrow we'll have all the details. I hope you boys will be ready to get started by then."
"I get a feeling this won't fare well in the end for some reason." Link sighed. "This better be worth it."
"I'm sure it will." Wisely assured the German born male. "Now! Who wants lunch? I'm in a good mood, I'll pay. But not for you."
Tyki rolled his eyes, "Figures."
"Because I hate you," the younger elaborated. "A lot."
"I'm painfully aware of it." Tyki bluntly stated.
Link only rolled his eyes. "We'll go now, and get it over with, I suppose."
"And we are going where?" The darker-skinned male asked.
Wisely glared, his good mood going sour. "You know what? You're not coming. Link, let's go."
"You're worse than Walker."
"I try."
"Well stop trying," Tyki muttered. "All I did was ask a question."
"And you've annoyed me nonetheless. Good job." Link could only groan in annoyance. Why was he working with these people? He wasn't getting paid enough for this.
Actually, was he even getting paid at all?
The higher-ups didn't know anything about this, so...
No. He wasn't getting paid for this. Maybe he could get a raise...Link recalled he was overdue for one. "You little—"
"Ah, ah, ah~" Wisely's teasing voice, "you can just stay put, and twin mole and I will get lunch."
"You're not crushing on him, are you?" That got both Link and Wisely to nearly choke on spit.
"You son of a fucking bitch! I can't bloody believe you would think that at all!"
"OKAY! ENOUGH!" Link scolded at the bickering duo. "Honestly, I hate to be the bearer of bad news to your...fantasies, Mikk, but I believe you've overstepped your boundaries."
"Boundaries? What boundaries?"
Wisely glowered at the Portuguese male. "I vote we kill him," he muttered, then glanced at Link. "We could always tell Kanda that it was an accident."
"Friendly fire, perhaps?" Link suggested.
"Mm...would he buy it though?" Wisely muttered. "Enough though. I suppose we could leave him here...maybe tied to that chair."
"Tempting." The German born male was tempted. "Kanda never said we had to take the best of care of him after all."
Deciding he had enough of their shenanigans, Tyki decided to speak up again, "I will point out, that I could strike you both down where you stand if I so desired."
"Let's...just go get lunch already." Wisely sighed.
Link quirked a brow, looking straight at Tyki. "If you're so powerful, how'd you end up in prison in the first place?"
There was a pregnant silence, before the elder of the group sighed. "I underestimated them."
"Believe me. If I ever get a chance like that again, there won't be any underestimating on my part."
The German nodded once. "Then I suggest you don't do so ever again."
Wisely stuffed his hands in his pants' pockets. "But you won't try it against us."
"I don't kill. I stay on the streets." Tyki recited in a bored tone. "I do as I'm told, and I keep my 'freedom'...I use that term rather loosely."
There was a soft buzzing, as Link took out his phone. Glaring at the screen, he could feel a migraine coming on. "I'm taking a raincheck on lunch."
"Why?"
"I've been summoned."
. . - * - . .
Kanda examined the body, feeling bile threatening to crawl up his throat. Just what in the living hell happened to this...person? He couldn't even tell if this once-a-human was even male or female. "Who did this?"
"There's too much left behind for it to haven been Crowned Clown, sir." Moa said, trying to ignore the putrid smell, and the sight of the mangled monstrosity before them. "Neighbors had been calling the station constantly about loud noises."
"For how long?"
"Even after dispatch..." Moa further explained. "This is crime scene one...of four."
"Four?" That wasn't something Kanda was expecting. "What do you mean four?"
"Different people were calling about different noises on different floors of the building. It's too coincidental to not have been staged the way it was."
The palm of Kanda's hand met his forehead, and he closed his eyes. "Shit." This was... well, he could kiss seeing his fiancé for the next few weeks goodbye. He was lucky he'd taken that day off when he had.
"Lead the way." Kanda finally sighed, pulling himself together, and trying to ready himself for whatever was in store.
When they arrived at the next scene, The Japanese man sighed.
It... it wasn't pretty. A lot like the body he'd seen only minutes earlier, he could barely identify this one's... much of anything, really. It didn't even look like a person anymore.
"Are those...teeth marks?" Moa asked after examining the deceased.
"Teeth marks?"
"Ah, yessir, and ma'am." The field forensic personnel told the duo. He turned from the remains, and looked up at the two who came to investigate. "From what we've gathered here...it seems like it was cannibalism."
"Cannibalism?"
"Yessir." He pointed a section of what was once an arm, "As you can see, there was one hell of struggle. You can easily tell by the tear in the skin and muscle here. They were literally being eaten alive."
"Oh my god..." Moa breathed. "That's..."
"A messed up way to die." Kanda bluntly finished. "Finish up here, we're going to check the other scenes."
"Right, boss."
Fucking hell. What was wrong with people nowadays? Cannibalism? Really?
He glanced across at Moa, and saw that she was doing everything in her power to look anywhere but at the cannibalized figure by their feet.
"How bad are the other two?" Moa asked, already looking very pale.
"I can't say. I didn't see the other crime scenes yet. But if seeing Buz run out like the devil was at his heals was anything to go by...I'm pretty sure there was hell in one of the rooms. Worse than this."
"How would you be so sure?"
"He's saw this one, and wasn't overly affected by it. For him to run out...almost crying in fear? Heh...yeah, I'd say the final boss is hell up there." Kanda nodded, acknowledging this newfound information. He knew Buz well enough to know it took a lot to get the big guy to crack.
This was just sick. Four in the same building? And to have them like this...
"Let's go see," he muttered.
"I recommend taking a barf bag. Y'know, just in case." The man told them, before going back to his job.
"Let's go." Kanda ordered already heading to the next scene. This one was three floors up from where they were. He wasn't looking forward to any of this.
And judging from the way Moa was meekly following him, the woman wasn't too pleased about having to go up there either.
The trek to the next crime scene turned out to be worse one yet. Entrails, lungs, liver, everything was where it shouldn't be. Including something that made it pretty obvious to Kanda that this vic was once a male. "Shit."
"Is that a—"
"A dick? Yes." Kanda affirmed. "And that..." he gestured to the other side of the room, "Is probably the balls that's supposed to be attached." If he weren't himself, Kanda would've instinctually guarded his prized possessions at that point...and he didn't mean Mugen in this instance.
"It looks like there are bites here too." Moa very much wanted to change the subject quickly. Not that it'd do her much good. No matter where the eyes traveled, there was gore almost everywhere.
Even worse... Kanda thought as it quickly dawned on him that this poor schmuck probably got his cock torn from him in the worst possible way: cannibal.
Well, the Japanese male wouldn't be letting his Moyashi's mouth anywhere near his dick for the next month or so. At least, if he'd forgotten about this by then...
He...really doubted it though...where was the investigator that was supposed to do their job here? "This is just...horrible..." Moa breathed.
"That's putting it lightly."
"Why would someone do this?"
"Hell if I knew. I get the feeling this isn't the worst of it." Honestly, Kanda was figuring out a pattern here. The first crime scene, that one was actually the final one. Because starting at the second area they visited, there was a body chewed up like a dog's favorite toy. This...man they were looking at now must've actually been the second to be eaten, meaning the first victim was in the final crime scene.
He truly feared what would be revealed.
This was just... Urg. Why the fuck was his job so messed up sometimes?
It smelled foul in here... He wanted to leave.
Moa stepped back, lips pressed together in a thin line. They still had one more to go, and she didn't think she'd be able to hold up much longer with how things were going...
Leaving the current scene, the two made their way to the fourth and final murder scene. Cobalt eyes widened at the sight before them. Words couldn't begin to describe the nightmare that had befallen within the walls of the room.
"O-oh my god..." Kanda heard Moa whisper, before she inevitably ran out, he could still hear her releasing the lunch she ate before being sent out with him to investigate. He was glad he missed out on eating for today...had his stomach been full, he was more than certain he'd be in a worse state than Moa currently was.
"The fuck is this?" Was all the Japanese male was able to get out before someone else entered.
"You can say that again..." Kanda looked over his shoulder seeing that another FBI agent had entered. What was her name again? "I thought they were kidding when they said it looked like a brutal scene from a horror film. Whoever did this, went a bit overboard."
"Did you see the other three?"
"I did...oh, excuse me, I was recently transferred here. I'm Brigitte Fey, and I presume you're Yu Kanda?" The bob-cut woman looked up at the male, expecting a confirmation.
"Yeah." Relented the Japanese male. "Kanda to you."
"Understood." She was too formal to be a field agent, Kanda skeptically noted.
"First time in the field?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"To a trained eye, painfully so."
"Hm. I see. I was doing deskwork up until now."
That caught Kanda's attention. "Only paperwork? Then how is it that you're not upchucking right now?"
Raising a brow at the question, the woman shrugged. "I expected it."
"Che." Expected it, had she? "No one can take things that calmly even when expecting a scene at its worst. Even my first case, I was at least feeling ill. You seem to act...like an emotionless machine."
"Am I now?" Something was really rubbing Kanda the wrong way with this chick. He didn't like it. "Perhaps...it's because I've seen this before."
"What the fuck?"
"Do you remember the case of '03? The Man-Eater, I believe they called it?"
"I've heard of the case, yes. You saying that's the same son of a bitch?"
"Sons of bitches, in actuality." Brigitte corrected. "All the victims were always male, the youngest victim was only nine."
Nine? Fuck, and he thought these S-O-B's had it bad.
First it was the Crowned Clown impersonator, now this; why the fuck was it all happening here? Where were all the nice normal murder cases? Or the breaking-and-entering ones?
Sighing in annoyance, he decided there was no use in complaining. Either way, he still got paid keeping citizens safe from psychopaths. His phone rang, and he quickly picked up. "Kanda here. what do you have?"
"You're not going to like what I've just found out.", Link's voice sounded. "Seems Apocryphos was up to no good."
Oh right...he'd forgotten about that one..."Don't tell me...you found a victim that matches his normal MO?"
"Depends, are you at a crime scene of another killer?"
"I've seen all four of them, yes."
"Well, the killer was found."
"Is something the matter?" Brigitte asked, quirking a brow.
"The bastard behind this slaughter was found." Kanda said hanging up the phone, and already heading out. "Finish up here. I'm going to check out the new crime scene."
"Yessir."
How the hell... Just as he was beginning to wrap his mind around this whole thing, the killer turns up found? What's up with that?
Kanda rubbed his temples with his thumb and his forefinger. Such a headache...
(* - *)
Link stared at the man who was dead on the floor. It was obvious he had a quick death. Either that, or he was left to slowly die in agonizing pain, and he just ended it himself. The last one seemed to make more sense. After all, a slow painful death was the Apocryphos' way of doing things.
The German male checked his watch, frowning. "He's late..."
"Who the fuck are you calling late, two-mole?" Kanda growled as he made his way to the newest scene. "Che. So that's how it was."
"Indeed. Care to tell me about these four scenes you've found?"
"Cannibalism," the darker-haired male answered. "One with barely anything left. One with pieces left everywhere. One slightly showing signs of being eaten. One hardly touched.
"Sounds like they were getting full as they progressed." Link muttered, "Most of this blood I can already tell isn't his."
"Obviously."
"I already sent the birds out to collect more information. Anything they can find from the shadows."
"Good. You seem okay with the idea of Crow being your codename."
"If we could get a few more people, perhaps we...wait..."
"What?"
Link seemed to have gotten a plan. "We need more manpower, don't we?"
"You know some people?"
"I do, actually. But finding them may take a while." Link quickly explained. "They were AKUMA, but not quite, from what I recall. When their mission went south, Rouvelier basically fired them."
"Son of a bitch. Sounds like something he would do if pawns didn't work the way he wanted them to."
"Speaking of...I hadn't heard nor seen much of him in recent weeks." Link seemed troubled by this. "I'm sure it doesn't matter at the moment. I'll try and find these people, and we'll see if they're up for some shady business."
"I fucking hope they are. We can't do much with only you, me, and those two idiots."
Link sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Those two are a handful... Especially Mikk."
"For now, let's finish up here, and all that shit."
"Very well."
The Japanese male scowled, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to see his fiancé tonight. It pissed him off when that happened.
Maybe when all of this was said and done, he'd celebrate the case finally being closed with one hell of a night with the British male. To make up for everything.
. . - * - . .
Lavi stared at the TV long after the program had ended. Bookman, knowing that look, had decided to leave him to his devices, knowing that once the red-headed male was in that state of thinking, there wasn't much even he could do to snap him out of it.
Imagine his shock when Lavi suddenly spoke up before he even left the living room. "Hey, gramps?"
"What do you want?"
"It's...amazing what kind of people are in this world, y'know? Sick...twisted...humanity is...I dunno...what would that word be?
Instead of answering, the elder of the two nodded. "I understand."
They'd both seen and heard things in what short time they'd lived that most never saw or heard in their entire lifetimes, so, frankly, Bookman couldn't blame Lavi for thinking that way.
This particular reaction from his grandson had occurred when the news brought up a recent case. About four people whom were eaten alive, and apparently, the killer was found dead just blocks away. It was strange, to say the least. The old man was honestly finding much to be out of place with it. He'd heard of the original case that man had once been a part of.
"And yet..." Lavi suddenly continued, turning to face his grandfather, "despite all that...I still somehow want to know there's some good on the world...even just a tiny little bit..."
The old man watched his grandson through world-weary eyes, catching the small pained smile tugging at his lips, and the overall tiredness in his expression. "Miss Lee," he began, seeing the red-head perk up when he did so, "is what you're looking for." Bookman moved to leave the room, and glanced back at the confused younger. "As is Allen Walker and Yu Kanda. They're good people. A little naïve at times, but still good."
Lavi chuckled. "Yu and Moyashi-chan...seriously, who would've thought?"
"I could say the same for you dating miss Lenalee Lee. Despite how her brother can be, you still beat the odds and managed to court her." If Lavi didn't know better, he was pretty sure his grandfather was...teasing him? Was the world going to end? "Of course, I suppose only an idiot could really go after a girl with a brother like that."
"Now you're just poking fun at me, old man! OW!"
"How many times have I told you cease calling me old?!"
"If it's as hard as you kick, then it's a lot, damn panda! OW! Stop kicking me!"
"THAT WAS A SLAP, YOU FOOL! LEARN THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN KICKING AND SLAPPING! AND FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME, DO NOT CALL ME A PANDA!"
"I ONLY CALL YOU A PANDA BECAUSE Y- OWWW!"
Bookman yanked harshly on the young man's ear, glaring. "Don't. You. Dare finish that sentence."
"OW! OW! OW! OW! LEGGO! LEGGO! UNCLE! UNCLE! UNCLE, DAMMIT!"
The elder released Lavi's ear with a roll of his eyes.
"Jeez, you were totally trying to tear of my fu—"
"Lavi? Bookman?" Both stood to attention at the sound of a familiar female voice. "I heard you a moment ago, where are you?"
"In the back, Lena-lady!" Lavi called out. "I thought you were working today." He continued as the Chinese woman entered.
"I was. But some dummy thought it'd be funny to drop a stink bomb into the baths." Lenalee sighed, placing her bag on the chair. "We're going to be closed for close to two weeks with how bad the stench is."
"Who in their right mind would do something like that?"
"I believe the term is a 'childish fool'." Bookman said. "I believe I've breaked enough, I'm going to open the store back up. By the way, Miss Lee, did Komui find the book useful?"
"I couldn't really tell you, he's never so much as let me see it since I brought it to him. What's in there anyway?"
"Cases past." The elderly man told her. "I had a call from him saying there was something familiar about the case as a whole. I'm sure you'll be the first know, knowing how Komui is."
"Huh. Is it about how killers are found blocks away from their crimes?"
"Yes."
"Huh. I know Yu's on the Impersonator case...you don't think he's taking two at the same time, do ya?"
"Knowing Kanda..." Lenalee sighed not even needing to finish that thought. All three knew the Japanese male would take any case he could to prove himself.
Bookman decided to take his leave to tend to the shop. "Do not make a mess of anything."
"Will do~" Lavi sing-sung. The second Bookman was out of sight, Lavi slung an arm around Lenalee's shoulder, grinning widely. "Ha. Thought he'd never leave."
Lenalee only rolled her eyes, before tapping his nose. "You just say that because he almost pulled off your ear."
"Hey, I'll have ya know, I'm really damn fond of having both of 'em."
"Mm-hmm."
"Alright, alright. What's ailing ya?" Lavi asked, seating them both on the couch. "And don't say 'nothing', 'cos I know better."
The Chinese woman bit her lip, before finally relenting, "Have Allen and Kanda...seemed...secretive lately?"
"Secretive?"
"Towards us and towards each other."
Lavi thought on it for a moment, then nodded. "I guess? Allen's been really focused on something lately..." He paused. "I think Fou's noticed it, too." The red-head smiled, pulling his girlfriend closer. "But Yu-chan's the same as ever."
"I'm worried, to be perfectly honest."
"Hey, hey, no worries! I think I have an idea to soothe your nerves. You. Me. and that really cool movie you've been talkin' about, I'll even treat ya to a 3 star meal, 'cos I can't afford 5 star."
She couldn't help herself. She laughed. "You always make me laugh, Lavi. Payment accepted. You got yourself a date."
"Yes!" Lavi cheered with his free arm. "I'll pick ya up at your place 'round five~"
. . - * - . .
"You're certain?" Tyki asked the ex-AKUMA before him.
"More than I ever could be." He said. "It was Apocryphos that made the deal with that son of a bitch."
"I see...Wisely?"
"He's telling the truth." The younger ex-NOAH stated. "Seems our friend has been pretty busy with convicts and 'sinners' alike."
Tyki groaned, his hand automatically searching for the box of cigarettes he kept with him at all times. If he had to deal with this, he may as well use a nicotine boost to get him through it.
"I should start getting paid for this BS." Tyki muttered, finding his cancer sticks. "And then, I can go around saying 'they're not paying me enough for this.', or something."
"Indeed." About twenty-four hours had passed since they got word on the case Link and Kanda were working on. Meaning, two days ago the agents were still working on the crime, and the next day they were called to find information in the shadows. "Where do you keep getting those?"
"I stole them, obviously." Tyki said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm never caught."
"Uh...there's something else I think you sirs may wanna know." The former AKUMA spoke up.
Golden eyes flickered up, landing on the person before them. "And that is...?"
"You know a guy named Rouvelier? I heard from a reliable source he was seen with that creep."
That name did ring a bell to Tyki, but he couldn't place...ah, now he remembered. "Why would he be hanging around with Apocryphos?"
"We could snoop around more. But I get the feeling they're both connected to the mess that's been happenin' as of late."
They bid the third party goodbye, before walking back into the busy night streets. "We're going to have to tell him." Wisely stated.
"I'm not going to object." Tyki answered, "After all, I knew that guy was trouble the moment I first saw him."
This confused Wisely, "When did you meet him?"
"It was before you came along." The elder began, "Malcom C. Rouvelier came along long before even Road was born. Cyril and I were barely in our teens at the time, and he wanted an audience with the Earl."
"Kanda's always complaining about him..." Wisely mumbled. "So he's actually working with Apocryphos... Link and Kanda will have to be on guard around him."
"Wisely, can you handle things while I do a little snooping myself?" This, of all things to hear Tyki Mikk say, wasn't one to which Wisely expected to ever hear.
Henceforth, it was of no surprise when the younger male nearly tripped from the surprise. "P-pardon?!"
"Rouvelier is a character I'm more than worried about." Tyki explained, already writing something down on what seemed to be a piece of his cigarette box. He handed it to Wisely. "Meet me at this place in two weeks time. I should have all the information I'll need by then."
"You can't just go off by yourself!"
"Someone's going to have to keep those two from knowing about this." Tyki pointed out. "Here, you can even hold on to this."
Wisely was handed a watch of sorts. Ancient, almost. There was an incarnate decoration engraved within the golden lid, making something that resembled a cross. "What...is it?"
"An heirloom I'm rather fond of. I wouldn't even let death separate me from it. It's an old music box type thing. Don't damage it in anyway when I come back for it in two weeks." Tyki warned before disappearing into the night.
Wisely was left alone, the small music pocket watch resting in the palm of his hand. "I'm so dead if Kanda finds out about this."
And he would find out. That's just how these things went.
... ... ... ...
And thus we're back to the serious shit. Looks like there's a lot we've yet to know about the case...I wonder what Tyki found out...
Welp! As you know, R&R ain't for rest and relaxation, but by now, we all know I probably need it. Leave a review and let us know how we're doing! Give the story some love and favorite if you hadn't already, and seriously, follow this thing if you wanna keep up to date with what's going on. Check out XavierForest's works too, 'cos seriously. He's the other author who works on this fic xD
We'll see you next time on, Fade to Gray!