Exception
By: Aviantei
41. Catastrophe Management
Allen didn't get much time to process what was going on at all, because not long after Ivy had swept in to separate him from Road, someone else had grabbed him and was pulling him into the crowd. Allen's initial response was to panic, but the opportunity to escape from Road was too good to pass up. That said, it occurred to him about halfway towards the closest exit from the dance hall that maybe this was a trap, and Road had gotten some Millennium Private High punk to aid in the kidnapping of Allen for whatever the hell it was she wanted from him.
Lucky for Allen, that hypothesis for wrong.
Not so lucky for Allen, the person who had rescued him from the scene was none other than Kanda.
Allen and Kanda had a complicated relationship, to say the least. It wasn't quite as if they hated each other, but they weren't the closest in their little friend group, either. Back when Allen had first transferred, Kanda had been much rougher around the edges, and he'd given an awful first impression. Allen, who was a firm believer in politeness and respect so long as the same was offered in return, had then responded in kind, and the rest, despite Lavi's meddling, was history.
So, yeah, Allen had a pile of complicated feelings directed towards Kanda, and Kanda felt the same in return. So the fact that Kanda was exerting any kind of effort to help Allen out was just a little bit disorienting.
"Ugh, you so aren't fit to be a knight in shining armor."
"Keep talking like that, Bean Sprout, and I'll dump you into even more trouble than what I just saved you from."
"Sorry, but I'm not afraid to admit that I'm way more afraid of a girl in a frilly dress than I am of you, Bakanda."
"Oh, I'll show you something to be afraid of…"
It was all bluster, though, because Kanda kept moving, not even sparing a glance at the other students milling around in the lobby as he made a beeline for the door. Ivy hadn't had time to explain much, but she had asked him to get Allen the fuck out of the ballroom while she created a distraction. And, well, Kanda didn't need any words to be able to tell from a glance that Road Kamelot was someone who was way more trouble than she was worth.
If nothing else, Ivy held true to her promises, and she considered Allen a friend. And as much as Kanda was in the middle of wishing that he had just tried a bit harder to convince Ivy to leave this place behind when they'd had the chance, he still wasn't going to let Allen get hurt. That just seemed against the good boyfriend code or what the fuck ever.
"Listen," Kanda said, trying to stay on task, "Ivy told me to get you out of that disaster zone when I could, so that's what I'm doing. So, as much as it fucking pains me to help you, Beansprout, I'm gonna at least make sure you survive Valentine's Day without being murdered, so shut up and come on."
"Wait, wait, Ivy told you to get me out? As in, out of the whole entire dance?" Kanda grunted, glad that Allen seemed to have enough braincells to put that together. The alternative was this whole thing turning into a bloodbath, one that would be all the worse if Ari and Lenalee got involved, and Kanda wanted to deal with their bitching about the whole situation later even less than he wanted to help Allen fucking Walker. "I can't do that. I can't just run away."
As we know by now, Allen was way too good an egg for his own wellbeing, so this wasn't a surprising development in the slightest. That didn't make Kanda hate this conversation any fucking less. "Yes, you can. In fact, you are going to run away, because Ivy is trying her best for you, and I'm not gonna let you put that to waste with your self-sacrificing bullshit."
"Letting other people handle this for me is the last thing I want!" Allen dug in his heels in protest, and Kanda had to give it to him: for a kid that looked so damn skinny, Allen was strong enough to make Kanda at least have to try to pull him along. "I didn't ask for help to get dragged around, and I'm not someone that needs saving at the slightest sign of trouble!" He had handled living with Cross for ages, after all; he could handle some stalker chick, even if she did seem scary as all hell.
Kanda couldn't help but think that it sure would have been nice for the Beansprout to show this much backbone before he'd dragged Kanda's girlfriend into this mess, but too late for that now. "You know what?" Kanda said, his patience so far beyond frayed that it might as well not exist anymore, if it ever had existed in the first place. "Fine!" He stopped trying to pull Allen along, causing the Brit to stumble. "You wanna go make a big mess of things and get yourself stabbed? Go for it!" Kanda hadn't even wanted anything to do with this whole mess in the first place, and he'd already done what Ivy had asked. If Allen was so willing to sign his own death warrant after everyone had gone through the trouble to take care of him, might as well let him. "Just know that if you end up in more trouble, I'm not gonna be there to save your ass, Beansprout."
Allen had already started jogging back towards the dance hall, but he took the time to shout over his shoulder, "It's Allen, Bakanda!" before he was gone, determined to settle this now before it could come much worse. Kanda flipped the bird at Allen's back, though it was a sorry attempt at venting his frustrations.
The Beansprout was going to fucking die without help; no questions there. And while Kanda would never admit to caring, he knew his life would be a hell of a lot worse if something were to happen to Allen. Ari and Lenalee were both vindictive little shits who would never let Kanda's negligence go, and Lavi would be even more obnoxious than usual if he got depressed, and Ivy—
Kanda growled, stomping his way back into the dance hall. There was still no way he was going to swoop in and save the Beansprout from his own dumbassery.
But that didn't mean Kanda had to let Allen be a total dumbass alone.
The first thing that Road noticed about the stranger that had pulled her into a dance was good. Not as skilled as Road's own extensive practice from all the way back in her elementary years, but much better than most people at their age would be. Heck, they were even better than Allen had been, which brought to the forefront another very important issue:
It didn't matter how good this stranger was at dancing, because they had just interrupted Road's long-sought after (no, it did not matter that she'd only known about him for a few months, shut the fuck up) dance with Allen Walker, an act that was unforgivable. Even worse was that the stranger had a gentle but firm grip on Road's hands as they danced, preventing her from making a clean grab for any of her weapons. Even worse, the crowd was loving the sudden dance bomb, with all the wild speculation that only teenagers could come up with, and Road had lost track of Allen in the commotion, which soured her mood all the further.
And then in the midst of all the flashing lights, it at last clicked that the person who had interfered with Road's fairytale dream (and Allen's nightmare) turned reality was the same girl from the mall who'd pulled a screwdriver on her before, which meant that she'd gotten in Road's way twice.
Oh, this bitch is so dead the second I can get away with it without any witnesses.
Road's animosity wasn't lost on Ivy in the slightest, but she didn't flinch whatsoever. Oh, she wasn't underestimating Road, no, no, that would be beyond fucking stupid, but Ivy was confident in her ability to control the situation just long enough for Allen to make a clean escape.
"Well, our Lady Kamelot, ninth of the Noah," Ivy said, at just the right volume for Road to hear and no one else. The blasting music and the frenzy of the crowd made getting eavesdropped on rather difficult. Road's eyes narrowed even further, dangerous golden blades ready to cut at the soonest opportunity. "I'm very impressed with how much of your record you've managed to hide. That Chairman of yours sure does like to dote on his favorites, doesn't he?"
"How the hell do you know that?" Road was a woman of very little patience to start with, and what little she had left was fizzling out like a wick on a stick of dynamite. The explosion was inevitable. "I looked into you. You're just a stupid transfer student. Allen can do way better than you—than all of you. He belongs with us—with me. So you better get out of my way before you end up regretting it."
Funny story, girlie, I'm already very much regretting this, Ivy thought. She knew she was making a dangerous enemy, but there wasn't anything she could do about it; friends protected friends, no matter what. "Well, while we're exchanging warnings, I might as well let you know that you should back the fuck off. Allen belongs wherever he wants to be. If he chooses to go with you, that's his business, but I won't let you harass him like this." Ivy increased the strength of her grip on Road's hands hard enough to hurt, and the fierce look on her face would have been near unrecognizable to any of her current group, Kanda included. "Allen's a caring person, Lady Kamelot. He wouldn't like it at all if you hurt any of us."
The worst part about it was that Ivy was right. Dead men tell no tales was Road's usual modus operandi, but even she had to admit that gutting this girl in front of a crowd would be suspicious. "What's your point?" Road asked, trying very much not to sulk then and there. "If you're trying to blackmail me, you'll have to try harder."
"Um, why is that your first thought? Have you considered seeing a counselor about that?" Road didn't bother to hold back her laugh; there wasn't a single counselor who could withstand more than a handful of sessions with her. The record was three, and even that hadn't accomplished much. "Anyways," Ivy said, "I can convince him to talk to you, but it'll be with supervision. And if he decides that he doesn't want anything to do with you again, you respect that or we're gonna have a problem."
Ivy's expression had been harsh, but then she gave a smile—one that was pleasant enough but had a hint of danger behind it. Road knew because she was pretty experienced in the art herself. No matter how normal this chick pretended to be, she wasn't someone to mess with—not without proper preparations at the very least. "Fine. But just because you're friends with my Allen." I'll figure out how to get rid of you later.
Satisfied, Ivy nodded, noticing the convenient timing of the approaching end of the song. While Ivy would have been happy just stopping and walking away then and there, she went ahead and did a simple finale, letting Road twirl off before she too stepped aside, getting a bit more attention than she'd wanted from the rest of the crowd.
"Did you see that, folks?" Lavi shouted into the mic, having gotten himself back up to the MC stand in the middle of all the mayhem. "First we had a strange couple act, then none other than our Black Order's Minomasu Ivy stole the show! I don't know how we're gonna score that, but lucky for me that's out judges' job. Now, let's see what we've got—"
Not having ever cared about the competition in the first place, Road blocked out the announcements as she tried to keep up a pleasant face to the crowd and brush off her fellow MPHS students and their questions. She might've made a deal, but there was only about a fifty percent chance of her following through on it. Now, if I just circle around and come at her when she's not looking—
"Well, well, did you have fun out there?"
"Not now, Tyki." Road had a limited amount of bandwidth to work with, and entertaining her cousin was not on her list of priorities at the moment. "It's come to my attention that there's someone I need to take care of as soon as possible." Road doubted (a correct assumption, even) that Ivy had any romantic feelings for Allen, but it was clear that she was still an obstacle. "You do not want to get in my way right now."
"Yes, funny that, but I don't want to have to cover for you committing a very obvious murder in the middle of a dance. I doubt that you want to get blood all over that dress." Most days, Tyki would be right, but Road was far too much in a capital-M-and-italicized Mood right now to give anything close to a shit. "Not to mention that you were in charge of proposing and coordinating this event. It wouldn't reflect very well on you if someone were to go missing at a party that has your name all over it."
Still stalking through the dance all, Road grumbled, "Bold of you to assume they'll ever find a body."
Tyki exhaled, not liking where this was going in the slightest. Road was a downright pain in the arse to clean up after whenever she got like this. "They may not, but I'm sure whoever you're targeting has friends that will notice that they're missing. It won't be that hard to put a timeline together." That, and, well, Tyki was willing to guess it was the girl who'd interfered with Road and Allen's dance that was in trouble, and she happened to know Red, and Tyki wasn't so sure he could keep it secret that he knew such a grisly fate had befallen one of Lavi's friends. Damn his weakness for a pretty face. Then he had a realization. "Don't tell me you were planning on using the unfortunate death of his classmate to get close to Allen?"
"Your point any day now, Tyki."
Sheesh, what a scary cousin he had to deal with. Too bad for Road that Tyki had grown up with Sheril, and thus his fear scale was skewed beyond recognition. Scientists would have a field day with whatever remained of his amygdala, he was sure. "My point is that I'm not quite in the mood to help you clean up after murder tonight." This was already cutting into his valuable time with Lavi, but the redhead had been way too cute when he asked for help. "Have you ever considered not being so creepy? I know you know how to be a decent person, and I don't think your little crush here is ready to deal with you on full blast."
"Being a decent person is boring. And this isn't a crush; it's love," Road said, snapping, but her pace was already slowing down. Good for whoever had inspired her wrath, then. She hated to admit it, but Tyki was speaking some sense. Allen was cute, but way too much of a gentleman. That might have been part of the appeal for her, sure, but he wasn't quite ready to dive headfirst into her world just yet. "Maybe," she continued, trying not to gag, "you have a point. So then, what can I do that won't scare him off just yet?" Because Road would chase him down forever if she had to, but there was the possibility that she might not have to.
Tyki had about twenty different suggestions for Road (half of them involving therapy she wasn't likely to get and another percentage including give up on the poor boy, which also wasn't about to happen, not by a long shot), though he had to prioritize the one or two that would have the biggest chance of success. "Well, how about—"
"Hey."
Road and Tyki paused, not expecting such a sudden interruption to their conversation. Most Black Order kids wouldn't bother, and no other Millennium Private High School student would dare talk to one of the Noah like that. But there was one person who didn't care about such things, because he was on a mission, after all, and it was almost time to make this long mess come to a conclusion, even if said conclusion had to come kicking and screaming.
"Allen!" Road's demeanor performed a one-eighty in an instant, going from cold-blooded near murderer to lovestruck girl in a matter of seconds. Tyki gaped, recalculating every strategy he had considered, because nothing Lavi had told him would have made Tyki guess that this boy was unhinged enough to come to Road of his own free will. Giddy, Road skipped over to him, for once seeming as sweet as her appearance would suggest. "I didn't know what to do whenever that girl interrupted our dance. I've been so looking forward to it that I almost lost myself. But you're here now, so we can make up for it now. I'll go have the DJ put on something romantic and—"
"Ah, can we slow down a moment?" Allen asked, trying to gain some control of the situation. To Tyki's great surprise, Road complied, her mouth closing, though she still had that excited light sparkling in her eyes. "It seems like you know me, but I don't know much about you. So why don't we have a proper introduction. My name is Allen Walker—"
—and he was going to put an end to this, right here and now.
[Author's Notes]
The end of this arc sure is coming kicking and screaming, without a doubt.
Thanks to Koala Moau for the favorite! Thanks much for your support.
Haha, it sure is the anniversary of Exception and my fanfic posting career in general. That's, uh, thirteen years? It's wild every single time. But, hey, we're almost through this arc! I'm going to count that as reason enough to celebrate. I also did manage to pull together an outline for the larger arc ideas and plot line for the rest of this story. Considering I was uncertain on that all this time, I'm glad to have that in one piece. Let's see what progress we can make in 2022!
As per usual for this time of year, I encourage you to check out the next handful of days of fanfiction updates as I go ahead and make sure all my active fics get a new chapter. Plus walk steady on this cruel world's path will be heading into its second year of updates and Muse will be entering its final season starting this Saturday.
As for the next update here, I'll see you once [SOSS] season is done. Please look forward to it!
-Avi
[12.23.2021]