Don't even ask me what my posting schedule is because I certainly don't know! Didn't expect to knock this out this weekend but hey, I fell behind on a different task. We have an estimated...six...chapters left, which I'm hoping to get done over winter break. oh well! let's watch me fail that deadline too

The apprentice reconsidered everything that had led him here when they finally got where they were going, proving that any curious speculation he made up was going to end in a frustrating pile of false premises.

This was it?

The apprentice kept his smile casual as they came to a stop by the tumbledown shack. Their guest of honour was waiting for them in the dead light of a cloudy afternoon. Two posts and a slanted lintel framed him in the doorway, two firs and a slanted roof framed the structure of the house. All in all, the apprentice was looking at a disappointment.

A person? Not even anyone good-looking. This was where a week of Yuu's ominous deflections led? Somebody had got to be kidding.

The man—the boy, the apprentice thought—they'd come all this way to meet stepped out from the door with a grin. Strike one. From Yuu's secrecy he had already guessed there was something important about this unknown exorcist whose name was, apparently, so classified that it couldn't be written down.

"Did you get lost again?" The boy asked without an introduction. His eyes darted towards the apprentice and took their time watching even so, but he didn't make a move to ask who he was. His attention went back to Yuu. "I thought I'd have to come out and get you if you were any later."

Stalking forward over the forest litter, the new exorcist had a spring in his step as he pulled up on Yuu's other side.

"Couldn't read the damn map," the apprentice heard Yuu mutter.

"Hah, that's your fault. I should've asked for someone smarter."

"Tch."

Anyone who wasn't listening for it wouldn't have noticed how his voice drifted lower. Whoever this guy was, he didn't want him eavesdropping. One shoulder slumped in, forcing Yuu's head sideways to keep him in sight, one hand gestured to huddle up together. Yuu was drifting forward into the exorcist's space while the apprentice was left on the outside.

So maybe there was something worthwhile here. He strained his ears to hear...

Nothing. The exorcist just shared a look with Yuu and nodded. Friends, then. Yuu hadn't mentioned that.

"New guy—" The boy called out. "What's your name, huh?"

"Lavi, I don't think I heard yours. Yuu here isn't much of a talker," the apprentice said easily.

"Lavi. You came in from out east?"

Now that was interesting. This boy had dodged the question as neat as the apprentice could do himself. Not to mention there was a tightening in his face—the face he could see, the exorcist was bandaged up like a leper—that had more in common with a grimace than a grin.

"There's a lot that's east of here, but I've been travelling for a while," he answered.

That apparently wasn't enough to satisfy this exorcist. He'd retreated to stand by the door while they were chatting, away from Yuu, arms akimbo to block anyone from going in. Lavi wondered if he'd have any luck going around to the back door.

"Sounds like the names that I heard when I was growing up, not Kanda or Lenalee's. You know Lenalee?"

"Well yeah, of course! She's sweet, isn't she?"

At least the exorcist laughed at that one. It wasn't even meant to be a joke. The apprentice watched him turn to Yuu and make a face.

"And you never told him about me?"

Now that he thought about it, Yuu was being more lenient on this guy than he ever was on him. He'd just shrugged his shoulders instead of making an argument, while the boy ignored him and turned back.

"You can call me Daisya, 'Lavi.' Where'd you get that name?"

The apprentice stayed smiling like he'd heard a good joke. "My gramps gave it to me, you'd have to ask him."

That got him another laugh. "That's too much work. C'mon. I'm getting bored of standing around."

Daisya stood aside with a comical bow, leg extended all the way out in front of him as a tripping hazard, then straightened up like a jack-in-the-box. He was waiting for the apprentice to go in first to the tilting cottage.

Still being careful, was he? It wasn't a trap? Whatever game this exorcist was playing at, there was no reason why that should be getting under his skin like this. The apprentice had more experience with people than this giggling cultist.

"Don't mind me," the apprentice said. "You don't have to bow like that."

"Nope!" Daisya popped the word mockingly.

The apprentice grit his teeth and stepped lightly up the porch stairs that seemed like they were only days from collapsing. The plaster walls filling in the wood frame had been whitewashed sometime in the last year or so. It wasn't completely abandoned. It didn't look lived-in either.

Then he passed under the doorframe. It was a dark day out, so there wasn't any shadow that fell on him as he entered the front room. It felt like Daisya was trying to play a joke on him. Whatever it was, he had the feeling it'd be lame. These people made it easy not to get too attached.

He took his time looking around while Daisya and Yuu fell into step behind him. The earlier judgment was right. This place did need upkeep on the joists, but he could tell at a glance that it was stable. The sagging around the ceiling would only be a warning sign for anyone who came by two months from now.

"I hope we're not staying here for long. Your house looks like shit," he said airily.

"D'you hear that? I even cleaned up the place!" Daisya said to Yuu.

"Doesn't look like it."

If they were letting him lead, the apprentice was going to explore. He peeked into the main-floor kitchen.

A wave of regret swamped over him as soon as he did. The amount of dust in there...Daisya had swept off a small section of the table where he'd put a knife and a tied sack, which meant that he could see how thick it was on every other surface in that room. Eugh. Did nobody know about hygiene here?

"You wouldn't believe it, but Yuu hasn't told me what we're here for yet. Do you know anything about it?" he fished.

"Huh? We're exorcists. We exorcise. You didn't forget that, did you?" asked Daisya.

The apprentice threw a grin at him. "It took a long detour to get here. I thought there might be something a little more interesting than this."

The two exorcists stayed blocking the front doorway while the apprentice wandered around the room. There were spruce needles sprinkled around the corners of the room. The shutters weren't bolted. This place must have been left to the elements for some time before someone came in and cleaned it up. Would it be Daisya? Someone had definitely swept out the debris that must have been here. Needles were just too slim to come away in the broom. Leaving windows open would also mean the dust built up much faster. Maybe it was only "abandoned" for a few weeks.

"Damn right there is, and it's me. The house is just normal. Used to belong to a Finder."

Quickly, the apprentice built a timeline in his head. Something came over the area that forced the residents out of their houses. A windstorm, or something else that knocked them sideways and threw debris everywhere. Later, they returned, and readied the hamlet by nailing down shutters or clearing out the worst damage. Only this house had been opened up. Someone had stayed behind. The Finder then, and when she disappeared for the second time, that was when the dust built up. There were two stages of abandonment.

"Until a few weeks ago?" Lavi asked.

"What? How'd you know that?" asked Daisya.

"Just joking."

The apprentice strolled back the way he came, watching Daisya watching him as he waited until the last second to let him back into the rest of the house. He peered around a corner into the only other room on the small hallway. Just a closet full of junk and a bag of sprouting potatoes.

"You should tell me! Anyway, since Command has it out for me, now I've got to fix it up and go track down whatever akuma blew up the whole village," Daisya complained behind him.

"You were the closest," said Yuu.

"Komui knows I hate this stuff! It's fine going on an adventure to try and find this place, but there's nothing here. I've just gotta count the splinters until an akuma jumps out from under the bed, I guess."

The three of them took the creaking stairs up to the bedrooms. There were more than the apprentice expected out of a small place like this. The huts they'd passed along the way were only big enough for two rooms at most.

"Say, don't akuma hide among humans?" he asked innocently. "I don't think you'll have very good luck looking around here."

"Obviously. I'm looking for what the akuma were looking for. I'm not dumb enough to chase them!" said Daisya.

Yuu snorted. Was that supposed to be a joke? The apprentice took in each room carefully, wandering in while Daisya chattered in the hallway.

"Hell, it took me days to get here! Those things can float fast, no way can I catch up with that. There's got to be something that they missed. If they found whatever it was, they wouldn't still be hanging around like a bunch of kids' balloons. Yuu said you saw them on your way in."

The apprentice paused at the bedroom window. It was utilitarian, open to the breeze for now. Had Daisya opened it? If he were staying here, then he'd want to lock the house down. Could be that he'd only just arrived. Lee had known about his schedule ahead of time, as it turned out, and clandestinely steered Yuu towards him for backup on the suspicion that something would go wrong. Or maybe not.

"I never thought of it like that," the apprentice said cheerily.

"Hah, I bet you didn't," said Daisya. "Don't worry. Kanda didn't, either."

"Shut up."

He turned away from the window. This exorcist wasn't as dumb as he acted, which might make life difficult for the apprentice while he was still making this identity. Gramps hadn't been too clear about what exactly they should be hiding.

Clamming up would only make him more suspicious, if Daisya wanted to chat. But he should have checked his story over before he came out here. Giving out contradictory information could trip him up.

"Then what are we here for, if you've got it all figured out?" the apprentice asked, wincing at the sarcasm he should have hidden. Lavi wasn't supposed to be cutting. Just sharp.

They passed by the second bedroom in short order, stopping under the filthy window at the back of the house. Daisya had clearly taken it over. His pack was half-emptied in the middle of the floor, clothes thrown all over a room in in such bad shape, the apprentice would've thought it was fresh off ransacking. He could see daylight through the plank walls.

"Why'd you think? I don't wanna be stuck here for another week. You guys can help look around out there—" Daisya tapped the window. "—for whatever's out of place."

The apprentice smiled. "You got it, boss!"

"Yeah! Hear that? I'm leading this one!"

Daisya elbowed Yuu happily in the ribs.

No reaction. The apprentice glanced to Yuu's hands for what he wouldn't show on his face.

Not even a twitch.

Yuu was letting Daisya talk it out with the apprentice, like he was waiting for a cue to step in. Getting pulled off-course just because some exorcist was too lazy to search the cottage himself didn't seem like something Yuu would let slide.

The apprentice thought it over. There hadn't even been an order from HQ. A Finder passing by had rendezvoused with them at one of the Order's safehouses and passed on a note that Yuu turned around several times before, apparently, finding the right way up. He'd taken them out here without another word.

Without the official sanction, it may be that the Order was trying to hide something here.

"So, can I unpack now? It doesn't look like I'll be needing all this today," he said casually.

The apprentice shrugged the overstuffed backpack he carried to give weight to that argument. Gramps didn't wanted him leaving vital records at HQ in case somebody was snooping around, which mean that he had to carry it all this way! Thank goodness Yuu took it off his shoulders when he wanted them to move faster, though the apprentice usually wasn't in the mood to appreciate it when they did, since that meant running.

"Yeah, yeah," said Daisya. "Kanda's the only one here who can search outside in the dark. How d'you guys want to split up the rooms? I've got mine already."

"I'm sure Yuu and I can share," the apprentice volunteered. "We're getting used to each other."

"Huh, Kanda? What are you talking about? He didn't stop growling at me for years!" Again, Yuu just shrugged at the provocation as Daisya grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side. "You can get the guest room. I can't have you guys killing each other and sticking me with this dumb scavenger hunt."

"You're sure?" the apprentice asked in disbelief.

"Of course! Hah, I know I can do better. Anyway, I've got to get some stuff together, meet us downstairs once you're moved-in," said Daisya.

The exorcist sent him a lazy salute, releasing Yuu's arm before sauntering down the fragile stairs.

Three, two, one…

When the tip of Daisya's hood was out of sight, the apprentice almost sagged in relief. Yuu ruined it by glaring back. What was that guy's problem?

Never mind that, what was his problem with him? Clearly he didn't care if somebody else got familiar.

"So, Yuu—"

A kick sent him sailing through the first bedroom's door, which was slammed shut behind him. So, it wasn't Yuu's mood that changed.

The apprentice dropped his luggage with a sigh. Whatever. He had a mattress to get acquainted with.

Daisya led them out the door, upwind of the outhouse. It was far enough away that that new guy wasn't going to hear them talking, even if he wanted to spy, and clear of the house so they could see him coming. Something about him just put Daisya's barely-there hair on end. He asked too many dumb questions, that, and he gave too many dumb answers.

"Where'd Lavi come from?" he asked, jumping a fir-bole that blocked the way.

"Huh?"

"He's too smart," Daisya explained. "Not a lot of people want to join up with his kind of choices. What'd he get offered? If the Order's paying him, it's a lot."

They pulled up on the other side of a stand of saplings, grown up from whatever seeds were scattered in the storm that visited. The messy woods were something new to Daisya. The way the trees had fallen, there were some points where it was like a boardwalk had formed over the forest floor. Made it fun to hop along over it.

"Don't know," Kanda answered. "They're librarians, or something."

"Huh? 'They?'"

Arms crossed, Kanda managed to lounge against the thin trunks. He could look cool no matter what. But Daisya? Little kids asked him in the street if he was a clown. The world wasn't fair sometimes.

"He showed up with his old man. Both accommodators."

"Volunteers? You think he's spying, or something?"

Kanda's eyes didn't flicker. "No."

Fine. If Kanda trusted him, Daisya trusted him, even if this Lavi was sketchy as anything. Maybe he just liked to play games. Daisya definitely didn't tell him anything when they were talking. He'd still keep an eye on him. Whatever happened to the Order, he didn't really care, but…

"And why does he call you Yuu anyway?"

"It's my name," said Kanda.

"No way, you're Kanda. Feels weird to say 'Yuu.'"

Daisya huffed. Darn, he'd left his coat back in the cottage. He'd just been wanting to get away from the Lavi. He could see his breath fog the air.

Not just his.

"What're you laughing at?" he demanded, pointing up into the stream of smoke out of Kanda's mouth.

"You don't like him," Kanda said simply.

Daisya settled in for an argument, shifting his weight from one leg to the other while he looked Kanda up and down.

"Yeah, what about it? Maybe he's not lying now, but he's sure as hell hiding something," he said.

He sidled closer to Kanda and found a spot to brace himself against the precariously-leaning stand. They shouldn't let their voices carry across this deserted glade. Obviously, that meant they had to huddle closer.

"You want to know," said Kanda.

"Of course I want to know!"

There it was. Kanda laughed again, so quietly Daisya still couldn't hear it. He would never know if he didn't see the fog.

Ah, goddamn it.

"You couldn't have come sooner? It's been months they kept me out here," he complained. "I swear Komui's trying to make me quit this stupid job."

"You didn't ask," said Kanda.

"Yeah, yeah."

Daisya hoped like hell that Lavi wasn't going to be quick about unpacking.

"Hey," he said lamely. "I missed you."

A grunt was all Kanda had for that.

"Give me a break. C'mon, tell me, how'd it feel? Did you even notice I was gone."

"Shut up," Kanda ground out.

"I bet it sucked."

No response. The only thing that came out of Kanda's mouth was the curling mist.

It felt kind of weird each time they did this.

Daisya loved to talk, sure, but actually saying things straight out made it no fun at all. There wasn't anything he was trying to convey to Kanda, not wrapped up in two or three different layers of obfuscation to disguise his interest in a different kind of interest and then play it off as casual fun. It felt like he was letting Kanda down to just tell him that without anything to go with it. Especially when Kanda held enough back on his mysteries to let Daisya figure them out. He owed him some kind of effort to make this interesting.

There just wasn't anything he could think of right now.

Still, he was smart. He remembered every other time he felt this kind of fresh confusion buzzing through him. The next person who moved, it wasn't going to be him. He knew that much.

Twigs biting into his back, Daisya waited until the cold set in. It crept up his arms under his cloak and pooled in the dips in his collarbone.

Just this once, he could be patient.

Then Kanda shifted inward.

With his shoulders bowed like this, it gave his throat a hollow cavity that Daisya needed to fill in.

He took a part of Kanda's collar in each hand and held on tight. As he stepped up, Kanda's arms uncrossed and let him into that space he'd seen. Daisya almost let his head fall, there and then into Kanda's neck. It would be easy to.

But it was his turn. There was something Kanda wanted and now, he'd give it to him.

So Daisya tipped his jaw and kissed him.

The apprentice had carefully checked his footsteps as he looked for the other two exorcists.

Whatever they were doing, he didn't think they would go far without giving instructions. Daisya was too suspicious of him to let him go like that. He was sure of it.

Having cleared the house, he padded silently out on to the porch. There were six thick beams holding up a shelter over it that gave him some cover. He also stayed in the shadow of the door as he looked around.

Nope, nothing.

He hopped off the step and crept around the side of the house. The next corner was clear, so he ventured further. Where the hell were they? He couldn't believe Yuu dumped him like this. They were starting to bond.

With that in his head, the apprentice was distracted when he peered around the back side of the house.

He didn't realize what he was seeing until it was too late, and he'd already stepped out into the open.

He froze on the spot like a prey animal. Quick. What was his exit strategy? Was there anything he could pretend to have been looking at? Could he even rip his eyes away from whatever the hell he was watching?

Heart trilling in his ears, the apprentice lifted one leg up as quietly as he could, and sidled silently one pace back toward the house. He was sure he was dead meat if he cracked one branch underfoot.

Then he took the next step. Then the next.

At least…at least they weren't looking at him?

Finally, the trance broke, and he raced back into the house as quietly as his feet could carry him. If he was in here, he'd swear up and down he'd never left.

That was it, then?

His head spun. The apprentice had to break it down for the signs he was seeing to make any sense. Yuu's long hair had been tangled up in the branches of a young tree. He'd leaned with his weight on the back foot. Daisya's hands were clenched into fists around his coat. And he had his tongue down the throat of a boy whose cold skin couldn't belong to any living human. Any living human.

He'd seen the mark on Yuu's chest.

The apprentice ran up the stairs and shut the bedroom door behind him. Geez. Well, Daisya could do whatever he wanted, but he didn't even want to think about what Yuu'd do if he caught him.

Now that the initial panic had faded, something else occurred to the apprentice.

Yuu wasn't so bad-looking.

Lavi and Lenalee are two characters I love and can't write to save my life. Slippery little eels. This chapter might seem a bit out-of-place, but I wanted to have an outsider perspective on the Daisya-and-Kanda comedy routine AND my friend and only reader very helpfully pointed out to me that Daisya shows up in the faceless masses of Lavi's personal connections in the Road dream so (((;

I feel like Daisya and Lavi would be a bit like a dog that looks at itself in the mirror. They're not similar at all, but they recognize a certain je-ne-sais-quoi in one another and they don't know if they like it