Exception

By: Aviantei

72. Lenalee Protection Squad (Pending Title)

"Lil' Sis, how the hell do you know that?"

No one in the room could deny their interest in the answer to that question (though Kanda's display of said interest was closer to a glare than anything else, but it got the job done, so hey). In an instant, Ari had become the center of attention, and she gave a puzzled blink to the others. "Did you…actually all not know?"

Lavi gave in to his baser instincts and shook Ari by the shoulders. "Why are you implying that you did know this whole time? Why else would we be having this meeting?!" You knew Lavi was frazzled if he couldn't even refer to it as an emergency conference.

"I thought it was part of the bit!" Ari said, and the sad part was that her protest did make some sense. Lavi was known to make a big deal about anything and everything, and it wasn't beyond him to pull more elaborate pranks. "Like, we all knew, but it would be much more convincing for Komui if we acted like we didn't, and this was just taking that to an extreme?"

"You're putting way too much faith in my acting skills there, Ariii!"

"Enough," Kanda said, having stood up so he could tug Lavi off his sister. "I'm out of patience for this comedy routine you seem so interested in doing. That doesn't answer the first question." That being how the hell did Ari know where Lenalee had been this whole frickin' time?

Having been freed from Lavi's grip, Ari patted out any potential wrinkles from her top. "I know 'cause Lenalee told me where she was staying," Ari said, not having any interest in pretending like she didn't understand what Kanda was getting at. She crossed her arms, pouting in Lavi's general direction. "And before you comment on anything, she knows it's risky. But Road's been behaving, all things considered, and if something goes wrong, then I can go in for backup. You know, stealing kneecaps? Are we still doing that joke?"

Ari was so flippant about the whole situation that it kinda left the others wondering why they'd gotten so worked up in the first place. "So, she's alright?" Allen asked, and Ari gave a firm nod. "That's good to know. Sure, she could be in a better place, but I think Road will take care of her if she knows other people are aware of where Lenalee is."

Lavi let out a squawk. "You sure about that, Brit? I think you'd know firsthand what Road's capable of, not to mention she's a Noah…"

"Aren't you the one who's dating a Noah?" Ari asked in complete and utter deadpan.

"I wouldn't say…dating per se?" Lavi balked under Kanda's very unimpressed stare, while Ivy had a thoughtful look on her face, as if she was trying to figure out. "Point being is that we already know Road is dangerous, so that's what I'm worried about! Not to mention what you just said, Ari—why did she bother to tell you and not the rest of us?"

"Gee, I can't possibly imagine why she'd want to keep it secret," Ivy said, sarcasm slipping into her words. She wasn't all that bothered by the possibility that she hadn't been trusted or something. "There are times when it's better to keep your head down and not go overboard. The less people that know, the less likely it is someone will spill the beans if Komui starts interrogating us. And can you imagine Ari giving in to that?" The scary part was that, no, no one could. It was a damn good thing she was on their side, now wasn't it? "Exactly. Besides, if I'm understanding what you all shared about why Lenalee's been upset, isn't this whole thing about the fact that Komui doesn't trust her enough to make her own choices? We can't just hover over her, too." Even if Ivy could very much see all the ways that this course of action was kind of stupid, she was still going to take her friend's side, no matter what.

The rest of the group fell into thought, leaving a looming sense of silence hanging over the garage. Contrary to everyone's expectations, Kanda was the one to break it. "I agree with Ivy. I think we all know that Lenalee's way tougher than she looks. And while this is a little usual for her, she's still smart enough to know to call for help whenever she needs it. We don't need to be breathing down her neck."

Not to mention that having Lenalee be pissed off at him was not something that Kanda felt like dealing with in the slightest; he'd learned that lesson back in elementary school when he'd insulted the mascot character on his lunchbox, and he had no desire to repeat the experience.

"Can't we do something to help, though?" Allen asked, still feeling concerned, because he was a good boy like that. Ivy gave him a look questioning if he'd even heard what she just said, and Allen held up his hands in surrender. "I know, I know. I'm not saying that we need to change her mind or anything, just that maybe we can give her a backup plan in case things don't work out with Road." Of course, the ideal situation would be that Lenalee would be ready to return to her normal life by then, but it was always best to plan for worst case scenarios!

Dealing with Cross for long enough kind of embedded that into your instincts.

"You mean like somewhere else to stay?" Lavi asked, and Allen nodded. It wasn't like they could expect Lenalee to pay for lodgings for an infinite amount of time, so providing a roof over her head seemed like the best bet. "Well, normally I'd volunteer for that role, but our house is kinda…" A disaster would be putting it lightly, what with all the books everywhere. Sure, a sleepover wasn't that big a deal, but anything longer than that would be a strain on the sanity of anyone who didn't live there already."

"My house has the room, but if Tiedoll comes home, that'll bring up questions," Kanda said. "Plus if Komui found out she was staying with me when no one else was around, that would make a bigger mess than necessary." And, he didn't say out loud but instead squeezed Ivy's hand to let him know he was thinking about her feelings on the matter, he wasn't about to have someone stay over if it would make Ivy uncomfortable.

"My place is out, too," Allen said, looking apologetic. "Sure, Cross and Elizabeth are there, but, well…Cross and Elizabeth are there." Ivy, not having any context for Elizabeth, looked confused, leaving Allen to let out a nervous chuckle. "Elizabeth is someone else Cross was in charge of while I was growing up, and he's…chaotic?" Honestly, it was hard to tell if that word alone could even begin to describe what Elizabeth was capable of, but it was in common human usage, so Allen would have to compromise. "Point being is that having company over isn't a good idea right now."

With the haggard look on his face, Ivy was lowkey wondering if they all should be trying to find Allen a place to stay, but that wasn't the point of the conversation at all. When it came to the issue at hand… "I guess that leaves me then," Ivy said, kind of guessing it would come down to it once the idea had been floated. "Well, it's not like my apartment is super cramped or anything, and Klaud Nine always lets me know when she's stopping by to check on me, so that shouldn't be an issue." Not that Klaud Nine had stopped by at all lately, but the point still stood. "Of course, if Lenalee doesn't want to come over, I'm not going to force her. I'll open my door, but otherwise I don't want to get into this unless it's an emergency."

Waltzing right up to the Noah was just asking for all sorts of trouble, and Ivy didn't want any of that. Having a peaceful (or as peaceful as it could be, considering Black Order High and all) high school life was about all she wanted for the next few months while she could still get it. Still, she couldn't just bring herself to leave a friend stranded. Letting someone she trusted into her apartment for a while couldn't be too bad, could it?

"Well, I think that about covers everything," Ari said, looking pleased with herself—not that she'd done much to be pleased about, Lavi couldn't help but think. "She's not checking stuff too much, but I'll send Lenalee a message to let her know what's up. If anything happens, I'll let you know, Ivy."

"Appreciate it."

"Guess that's the matter settled, then," Lavi said, wondering how they'd gotten from his initial panic to chill resolution within the space of an hour. That just seemed off brand, all things considered. "Alrighty, gang, meeting adjourned!"

Of course, Lavi being Lavi meant that he'd never just kick everyone out of his house because of that, and Ari was always down for more people to drag into games (she was in the middle of developing a hellish version of Uno that involved stitching multiple decks together into a Frankenstein-esque game with several pages of rules, devilish custom wilds, and even video game buffs and debuffs), but Kanda was the type to have no hesitation when he wanted to bail, and, citing that he was her ride, he took Ivy with him.

He could have been concerned that perhaps Ivy was pushing herself too hard, but he knew she wouldn't go out of her way to offer if she weren't comfortable with the whole idea, so he didn't bother to ask. They instead had a quiet drive back to Ivy's apartment, which was just fine with the both of them, though that quiet routine was interrupted whenever Kanda found a parking spot outside of Ivy's apartment building instead of just pulling up close to the entrance.

"You wanna come up?" Ivy asked, tucking a bit of hair back behind her ear.

Kanda nodded. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not, silly." No matter how socially exhausted Ivy could end up being, she felt certain that she'd always have the energy to visit more with Kanda. Permission granted, the two held hands on the walk up Ivy's apartment, and Kanda gave her fingers an extra squeeze. "You're being a bit more affectionate than usual."

"Nn. Problem?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Ivy said while unlocking the door. "I just wanna make sure nothing's bothering you." Which he very much recognized was a bit hypocritical since she was still thinking in circles about the whole Alma thing and still hadn't said a word, but bringing something so silly up in the middle of the much larger concern about Lenalee, so pushing it off farther it was!

Kanda's expression didn't change much at the comment, which Ivy felt safe in assuming she was just projecting. "I wouldn't say I'm bothered, just thinking." Working on pulling off her shoes, Ivy made a questioning sound, though it was interrupted by the sudden presence of Kanda's arms around her waist. "You said that Klaud Nine always lets you know before she's coming, right?"

The sound of Kanda's voice right next to her ear was enough for Ivy to blush, but it wasn't like she minded the close contact. If anything, she was a bit surprised that Kanda was the one taking initiative, but she wasn't about to complain, either. "Should I be concerned by what you're suggesting?" she asked, leaning back into the embrace.

"Nothing too much. Just that I wouldn't mind staying over some time." Considering that Ivy had stayed over at Kanda's for New Years, the concept shouldn't have seemed so enticing—and yet. "…If you're comfortable with it."

"Why wouldn't I want you to stay over?" Ivy didn't think their relationship was at a point where they were about to suddenly become more intimate, but spending more time together was always a win in her book. "Don't tell me you were thinking tonight?"

"I can stay if you want, but I figured you'd want more time to prepare." Ivy could agree, considering that her bedroom was still in a chaotic state. Did Kanda staying over involve sharing the bed? She didn't know, but she'd very much like to not show that off if she could help it. "If you want to just watch something together today, though?" Man, Kanda was glad he'd gone with the hug from behind strategy so that Ivy couldn't see any traces of his own embarrassment, never mind that she had a good idea already.

Still, the invitation to just relax together with everything else that was going on? Whoever was she to refuse an offer like that? But first…

"Hey, Yū-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Twenty points if you kiss me right now."

Kanda earned far more than twenty points that evening, but that was beside the point.

"It sounds like the rest of them figured out where I was," Lenalee said from the desk.

All things considered, she'd been able to make herself quite at home in Road's room, despite the goth atmosphere. Something about the multitude of stuffed toys happened to strike the right balance between adorable and just a bit creepy, and there was no doubt whatsoever that Millennium Private High School students lived in luxury. Their dorms were spacious and private, and even the bed was big enough for the two of them to share it without much issue.

Road herself was lying on her stomach at the moment, legs kicking in the air behind her. She'd been playing with her phone, but she looked up upon Lenalee's pronouncement. "Hate to admit it, but I'm kinda impressed," she said. "Which of them managed to figure it out? The Minomasu girl?"

"Hm? No, it was Lavi." Road took a moment to sort through her internal referrals for the group and connect them to who Lenalee was referring to. Right, the older redhead that Tyki somehow thought was cute. He wasn't wrong per se, but Road had to act grossed out on principle. "Come to think of it, Ari didn't say how he'd figured it out, though…"

"I bet Tyki saw you." Lenalee looked perplexed for a moment, and then she put the pieces together from Lavi's own panic not too long ago. Good, that saved Road the trouble of explaining. "I'll have to have a word with him later about snitching… Wait, your little group of friends isn't going to barge in here and cause trouble, are they?" It wouldn't be all bad, considering that meant she'd be able to see Allen again, but a whole ass Incident on her home turf was just begging for the other Noah to get involved, and Road would have significantly less control over the situation then.

But Lenalee just shook her head, skimming over Ari's latest message on the laptop she'd been using for what little communications she needed to do. Her phone was tucked away in her bag just in case, but it was staying powered down for the time being. "Nah, they're willing to keep their space so long as they know I'm safe. Though it sounds like Ivy's offered her place to stay at if I need it." It was a sweet offer, and the main reason that Lenalee hadn't just gone there from the start was because skipping school that Monday had been a spur of the moment decision, and it was only thanks to Road that things had spiraled so far.

Road rolled over, lying on her back and looking at Lenalee upside down. "You gonna take the offer, then? I don't mind you staying here—" Road found the whole situation quite hilarious, after all "—but not staying in the middle of enemy territory has gotta be the safer bet."

The logical part of Lenalee was inclined to agree. The main caveat to that was that the logical part of Lenalee had been drowned out by the impulsive part of Lenalee ages ago, which was why she was in her current situation in the first place. Having been let out, that impulsivity wasn't about to get back under control any time soon, and so anything that could be considered the safer bet was discarded to the side without mercy.

"If you don't mind me staying here, then I at least wanna be here a few more days," Lenalee said, to which Road had no objections. Now that they'd spent some time together that didn't involve threats to each other's wellbeing, the two of them managed to get along well—not enough that Road would consider Lenalee a friend or anything, but she wasn't boring, and that was always a win in Road's book. "Besides, you said that there's a big party happening this weekend, right?

"That's the sort of thing Nī-san would never let me do, so I wanna try it out while I have the chance!"

[Author's Notes]

I have spent the entire past week in a pure writing haze and it's been wild. More "I'm posting these chapters as they were drafted because I don't have the brain power to do the edits" energy.

[Twelve Shots of Summer] has started up, which is a summer long one shot prompt collection hosted on the fanfiction dot net forms and the Discord (if that's more your jam). For the [Eleventh Hour] session, I will be doing an exploration of one of my The World Ends with You OCs, titled As the Fox. Part two will go up tomorrow, so do check it (and it's main fic Muse) if that's your jam.

Next time: "73. Get In Losers, We're Going Partying." Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[8 June 2024]