The Tendencies of Humans (D.Gray-man, Allen...at first...) - Part 5/5 complete!

[alias]

Title: The Tendencies of Humans

Fandom: D.Gray-man

Disclaimer: I wish I owned all these adorable characters. But I don't. I just torment them.

Summary: Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee have been sent to investigate a set of "strange and concerning phenomena" that likely involves Innocence. Seems a pretty standard task... even if the past few days without sufficient rest have been wearing Allen thin...

A/N: Hi anime fans! I'm very excited, and very nervous, to say that this is my first multi-chapter fic! I had soooo much fun writing it, so I am eager to share it with you. D.Gray-man stole my heart with all of its lovely characters, and I hope there are some fellow fans out there.

If you are unfamiliar with the show or haven't seen much of it, I did my best to accommodate. A general knowledge of the premise is really all you need. This takes place sometime after episode 12 in the anime, so there will be no spoilers beyond the info that is revealed by then.

Oh, and you may be interested to know that, although I only mentioned Allen in the header, there mayyy definitely certainly without a doubt absolutely be contagion. However, in order to maintain the element of surprise, I have neglected to tag whom it will be.

Here's our cast of characters:

From the left: Lavi, Allen, Lenalee, and Kanda (who, regrettably, is not actually in this story)

This first part is a little long because of that pesky thing called plot development, but I tried to pepper in (heh heh) plenty of... ya know... stuff of interest... to hold you out until the next chapter.

So then... away we go! Comments are always welcomed. Hope you enjoy!

*****

The Tendencies of Humans

PART ONE: Strange and Concerning Phenomena

This platform. No… that platform. Wait… how many platforms are there!?!

Allen Walker spun around, and the signs in the train station seemed to spin with him. He squinted at the numbers in desperate attempt to read them, but none of the squiggling figures complied enough to settle in his vision, or when they did they just became obscured by the flap of golden, feathered wings.

Timcanpy! Allen swatted at the golem hovering in his face, but the obdurate creature only beat its wings more furiously, its feathers rendering him blind and teasing his nose. The train blew its whistle. If he didn’t get on it now, he’d never find his way. But which one was it?

WOOOOOO!

Allen took a step toward the noise, and the ground gave out beneath him.

His stomach leapt, and then the rest of his body jolted awake, tenuously clinging to the train whistle’s denouement. A crick trailed down his neck as he pried it from his cramped hand, which he’d been using as a pillow against the compartment window. Another dream about being lost. It was hardly a restful slumber, but given how much shut-eye he had missed out on lately, at least it was sleep. He swallowed, wincing as the motion scaled the dryness of his throat, and then, still emerging from unconsciousness, he wafted a hand in front of his face as if to shoo away the Timcanpy that wasn’t really there, the remnants of the dream leaving an itch in his nose.

“Hey, you’re awake!” the voice across from him cheered. “Finally! This has been the longest train ride ever, and Lenalee said I wasn’t allowed to wake you.”

Allen blinked away the rest of his sleepiness and ran a finger under his nose, trying to assuage the annoyance. The redheaded companion lounged with his hands propped behind his head, his one eye that wasn’t concealed by an eyepatch beaming in all its verdancy. “I’m surprised you listened to her, Lavi.”

Lavi shrugged, his smile blameless. “Yeah, well, she might have said something about whacking me over the head with her dark boots if I didn’t comply.”

Allen stretched into a yawn, one that filled his lungs completely and still didn’t seem to replenish them, and he stared absently out the window, where the scenery was slowing to a halt. “Where is Lenalee, anyway?”

“She went to talk to the conductor. Seeing if she can gather any extra information on this little town before we—”

“Lavi! I told you to let him sleep!” The fuming interruption made Lavi twitch, his arm whipping up over his face in case he needed a shield from those aforementioned dark boots, and the new arrival loomed over him in a commanding posture that belied her slim frame and pigtails.

“I mean she’s right outside the compartment, waiting ominously to cave my skull in,” the young Bookman corrected.

Lenalee’s violet eyes flared as she folded her arms across her chest.

“It’s okay, Lenalee,” Allen appeased her, and gave a smile for proof. “It was the train whistle that woke me up. Thanks for letting me get a bit of rest.”

Lenalee let out a sigh—and so did Lavi, once the threat level of getting a concussion went down—and joined the exorcists in the compartment. “I was hoping you’d get more,” she said wistfully. “You’ve been fighting so hard lately with so little reprieve. I’m sure your body could use a break.”

“Oh come on, he’s fine! Allen’s a pro now,” Lavi argued, desperate to keep his companions present and conscious. Now that Allen was awake, he was certain Lavi would never let him drift back off. The redhead jabbed a sidelong thumb at their female friend. “She was all worried about your health and whatn—”

“Hhuh’iTCHHih!!!”

“Whoa!” Lavi flinched backward, barely avoiding the line of fire as Allen raised a knuckle to his nose much too late. “Hey, watch where you point that thing!”

Allen sniffed, rubbing his forefinger along his septum. “Unhh. Sorry. It snuck up on me.”

“Ohhh, I knew you were falling under the weather,” Lenalee groaned, her face twisted into a knot of guilt and regret. Lavi put up no objection this time, Allen’s sneeze having killed his argument, and he scrutinized his friend with the same uncertainty. “Maybe we should stay a night or two at an inn to rest up before we investigate this house.”

Allen waved up his hands to interject before she could go any further. “Hey, hey, who said anything about being under the weather? It was just a little chill from the draft in here, I’m perfectly fine. We don’t need to waste any time with extra rest. If Innocence is involved with whatever problem this house is having, we’ll need to get to it before it attracts any akuma or puts the townspeople at risk.”

Lenalee pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to object, but even she could accept that the longer it took to get to the bottom of this case, the higher the probability of running into trouble. This still didn’t seem to mollify her though, and he could see her wavering between accepting his word and pushing the issue further. He would just need to appease her paranoia. After all, one little sneeze couldn’t even be considered an issue.

“Tell you what, how about I promise not to overexert myself.” Allen held up hand of solemnity, and tried to encourage her with another smile.

Lenalee was not quick to concede, but eventually she matched his grin back. “Alright. But if you start feeling worse do you promise you’ll give yourself a break?”

“Cross my heart,” he complied, barely listening to his own words. Whatever it took to get the attention off him.

“This is us,” said Lavi, leaping to his feet as the train finally came to a full stop. “Let’s see what we’ve got then, shall we?”

The three exorcists exited the compartment—Lavi especially anxious to leave it behind—and stepped out into the day’s brisk end. The early autumn breeze was nothing intolerable, but as it snaked between the layers of his clothes and nipped at his skin, Allen instinctively clutched his coat closer to himself and buttoned it up to his throat. His hood flopped over his hair a moment later, and at first he thought it was the work of the wind, until a pat on the head and a wink told him the assistance was provided by his jovial comrade. Once Lavi looked away, Allen pinched the fabric more tightly around his face.

Beyond the path ahead, the darkening sky softened over the outline of the urban village, and Allen was grateful for the short voyage it promised. Even the few steps off the train platform had already awoken the soreness in his muscles, overexerted from the past few days, and with each stride the ache pulsed up his legs, through his abdomen, and down his arms—especially his left arm. It was fine though, he was perfectly fine. He knew from the moment he joined the Black Order and became an exorcist that he would face strenuous challenges on a regular basis, and he was hardly the hapless newbie anymore, so he shouldn’t need to be cut any slack when hopping from assignment to assignment. In any case, this was nothing compared to some of the ordeals his master had put him through back in his youth; he shuddered at the thought… or maybe at the wind.

“So,” he spoke up, and with the sudden vocalization the cold air seemed to punch him in the chest, wrenching him into a cough. Lenalee stopped in her tracks, her big eyes sharpening in the dying light as they slanted toward Allen, but he cleared his throat and continued as if he’d merely choked on his saliva. “What exactly are we headed into?”

“Oh yeah,” Lavi laughed. “I guess we never did brief you. The Black Order was contacted by the current owners of the town’s most historical house. I guess it’s a local landmark of sorts, known for the different roles it’s had over the past few centuries. They’ve reported some ‘strange and concerning phenomena’ going on of late, and the chief thinks there is a possibility that Innocence could be the cause.”

“Really? I can’t think of the last time Innocence was responsible for ‘strange and concerning phenomena,’” Allen joked, and was sure to direct his grin at Lenalee, who was still eyeing him with scrutiny. At this rate, he was going to end up overexerting his facial muscles too if he had to keep reassuring her that he was fine. Which he was.

“I don’t think it’s much farther…” mused Lavi, craning his neck to check addresses and street signs. “Ah! Yep, here we are. Lucien Manor.”

Allen’s head clicked up another notch, and he could practically feel his pupil’s widen to absorb the entirety of the structure before them. They had said house, right? He had been expecting something charming and cozy, barely standing on its foundation, with old bricks crumbling away at the sides. But the building towering over them now was without a doubt the tallest one in the town. And the widest. And the longest. Hell, it could have been its own town! Their job was to search that for Innocence?

“It’s… a mansion!” Allen exclaimed.

“Impressive, huh?” said Lavi. “They’re expecting us, so… I guess we just go on in?”

As they proceeded onto the property Allen’s gaze jumped all over the place. Stone awnings curled over an array of windows so numerous that he wouldn’t have been able to finish counting them all before they made it to the doors. The ruddy brick of the building’s visage was a testament to its age, and the fact that the manor was still towering without so much as a kink in its foundation proved its historical resilience. His eyes crawled up the exterior to the top, where its ancient brick tapered off into spires that pierced the clouds. As the structure’s shade swallowed them, his eyes crossed to catch one last second of architecture, and he thought he saw the gothic outline of a gargoyle before Lavi dragged him through the massive pair of double doors.

The mansion digested them into the foyer and the doors slammed shut, slicing off the sound of outside that Allen hadn’t even noticed until it was severed. A new kind of hollow quiet cradled their footsteps, amplifying each tap to an echo that reached the golden dome overhead, so high up it could have been its own sky. All three exorcists blinked at the silent brilliance and held their breaths, as even the smallest of exhales would have reverberated like a scream.

Allen didn’t hold his breath for long though; his awe was interrupted when it gave a sharp and sudden hitch.

“Hh!-ihhtCHHhih!!” The sneeze bent him forward like a quick kick to the gut, and bewildered again by its sneaky appearance, he only barely managed to scrunch his hand to his nose in time to cover it. He sniffed as he blinked away the brief vertigo, only to find both of his companions staring at him—though wearing decidedly different faces—and Allen felt his cheeks flush as the sound carried throughout the great hall.

“Nice acoustics,” Lavi mused, cracking a smirk. “Good thinking, Allen. We should alert the caretaker of our arrival.”

“No need.” The three whipped their heads around, searching for the owner of the new voice. Allen finally settled on a regal figure, descending a stairwell that curled around the foyer like a giant tail. The woman, clad in deep violet, approached with an elegant stride, and seemed as much a part of the pristine interior as the golden trim and stained glass windows. “Thank you for coming, exorcists. Welcome to Lucien Manor. I can’t tell you how relieved my staff will be to know that you’ve arrived. My name is Evangeline Werger, and I am the overseer of this historical site. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting anyone from the Black Order in person. I must say, I was not expecting a group of such shining… youth.”

Allen only caught the first half of her speech, as during the latter half his attention was preoccupied with subduing the itch that still hadn’t abated. Bowing his head in a meager attempt to remain discreet, he smothered his face into his sleeve and pinched his nose, trying in vain to quash the outburst before it could occur. He squeezed his eyes shut and refused to take another breath, but the tickle proved to have no need for oxygen.

“Heh’KSHHhuh!!” He jolted forward again, stopped from tumbling over only by Lavi’s quick reflex to grip his shoulder and haul him upright.

“Shining, more or less,” Lavi chuckled, giving Allen a teasing nudge.

Allen let out a sheepish laugh, bracing his fist under his septum as a precaution. “Excuse me.”

The woman offered a smile of good humor. “Dear me, I hope our little town hasn’t taken a toll on you already. There has been a touch of the flu going around.”

Lenalee laughed as well, giving him a soft smile, but he couldn’t help but notice her eyes linger on him for an extra moment before she turned back to their host. “It’s nice to meet you too, Frau Werger. We’re happy to be here to help. It’s true, we are a little younger than it seems may be required for the job, but we’ve certainly had our fair share of experience.”

“Oh, please don’t misunderstand, I don’t doubt your competence.” The warden beamed back warmly. “On the contrary, I think a young eye might be just what it takes to diagnose whatever is ailing this old building. Heaven knows I haven’t been able to figure it out.”

“Well, that’s why we’re here,” Lenalee chimed. “Could you tell us a bit about what has been going on lately?”

Frau Werger nodded. “How about I give you a little tour, and I’ll explain on the way. Follow me.”

The woman twirled around, her gown rippling in silky rivulets, and glided onward, leading them down one of the many branching hallways. Everything they passed was mesmerizing, and as the awe of the whole place ceased to settle, he had no trouble believing that a substance as pure as Innocence could be hiding somewhere within the gilded walls. He only hoped they would find it before any akuma showed up. The idea of another fight tightened a grip on his lungs, and it wasn’t until he emerged from his own thoughts that he realized he was lagging behind and had to jog to catch up.

“I don’t know if you have already made plans for your lodgings, but you are more than welcome to keep residence here for as long as it takes to solve this mystery. We have plenty of open bedrooms that are not being used. Though whether you choose to spend your nights here or not, I will have to ask that whenever you enter a room, you do not close the door under any circumstances.”

The three exorcists halted, sharing puzzled glances. Exactly what did she think they were going to be doing in those rooms? Sure, they were just a group of teenagers, and yeah, their group was comprised of both male and female, but that didn’t mean they were going to do anything…well…teenager-y. Lavi and Allen met Lenalee’s eyes simultaneously, as if the assumption registered in their minds all at once, and the two boys cracked into a nervous laugh that drew beads of sweat to their foreheads. They ripped away eye contact with a spastic fervency, and Lenalee seemed to be the only one successful at keeping her composure through their awkward attempts to act casual.

“Of course, we will respect all of your regulations,” she said modestly. “I would like to assure you though, that you can trust we will conduct all of our business professionally and with integrity.”

Frau Werger looked back at them as she walked, casting an amused smile. “Thank you. I appreciate your dedication. But I should tell you that this rule does not apply solely to you. It is imperative for everyone in the house to follow. And in essence, it is the reason I have called you here.”

As they strode further down the hallway, the rooms caught Allen’s attention now, and he noticed more obviously that each door, every single one they passed, was wide open. Some were even propped open by a dresser or something heavy, and a few had been removed from their hinges entirely.

“It doesn’t happen every time,” Werger continued, “but for about three weeks now, we’ve had trouble with some doors… sticking. That is, once the door closes, it won’t even budge, trapping the room’s occupant inside.”

“I don’t mean to sound unhelpful,” said Lavi, “but that sounds like a job for a carpenter more than an exorcist.”

“Our thoughts at first, too,” the warden went on. “But I’m afraid it’s a little more complicated than that. You see, when a door shuts and gets stuck, the problem isn’t simply a jammed lock. When it happens, we lose contact with the other room completely.”

Allen felt a chill rattle down his spine, and he crept more cautiously as they passed each room, peering in almost as if expecting a ghostly hand to stretch out and drag him in. He shivered again, this time throughout his whole body, and he preferred to attribute it to the suspense rather than anything else.

“It’s almost as if some invisible shield seals off the doorjamb. We can touch the door, but it won’t so much as shift on its hinges, no matter how much force is applied. When the phenomenon first occurred, it happened to one of our maids. She went in to tidy up a room, and after an hour we began to wonder why she hadn’t yet come out. So, in checking up on her we tried to enter the room, only to find that we could not. Bertha, the maid, was pregnant at the time, and when we called to her we heard no answer back. Worried she might have passed out or been having complications with her pregnancy, we brought an assortment of tools to bash the door in. Everything from a screwdriver to an axe.”

“You couldn’t even get in with an axe?” Allen spoke up for the first time, and was nettled by the twinge in his throat that accompanied the use of his voice. He swallowed to try to alleviate it, but that only aggravated the sting. Probably just another effect of the cold air, or maybe the dust in this old building.

“The axe was about as effective as trying to knock down a brick wall with a twig. One swing, and it snapped in half. When it became evident we were making no progress, we tried to write a note to pass under the door to let Bertha know we were working on getting her out. But even as we tried to slip the scrap of paper along the floor, it met resistance.”

They made their way to another staircase, which she led them up briskly for a woman of her age. Allen gripped the rail discreetly as they ascended, his sore leg muscles screaming at him with every step.

“What happened in the end?” Lavi asked anxiously. “How did you get her out? …You did get her out, right?”

Frau Werger nodded. “After we had exhausted all of our ideas, many of us just sat there for a while thinking, some trying to shout messages through the wall in vain hopes she might hear us. And then, after a few hours since the door had shut, it simply opened.”

“It opened?” said Lenalee. “You mean it just swung open on its own accord?”

“That’s right,” Werger confirmed. “We found Bertha right inside, in a state of panic upon seeing us, but otherwise fit as a fiddle. She was unharmed, and the baby is still growing well and on its way. We had no explanation for what had occurred, and so the only thing I could think to do was to forbid access to that room, unsure of the potential dangers it posed. That tactic ended up being futile, however. Three days later, it happened again, in another room, to a different person.”

Allen tried to fit the pieces together in his head, but they throbbed back at him, pounding an ache between his eyes the harder he tried to focus. He had a feeling this was not going to be the quick-assignment-before-finally-heading-back-to-Order-headquarters he had been hoping for.

“Since the first occurrence three weeks ago, it has happened five more times, all with the same basic details, but without any perceivable pattern on which room it will be. Fortunately, all who have been stuck thus far have emerged safely. Though there is one more unexplainable detail that has been recounted by each of the victims.”

Werger stopped, and for the first time seemed to have difficulty saying the next part, as if she was still trying to come to terms with how to believe it. “Although from the outside, the person is ever only confined to the room for a few hours, when they are freed, they claim to have been stuck for days.”

“What???” Allen was unsure who actually said it, as the three of them shared the same medley of awe and intrigue.

“Stuck in one room for days, and they were fine when they came out?” voiced Lavi. “What about food? Water? Or even a bathroom?”

“They all had access to those things. I’m afraid I can’t explain how. But they were never left without their needs fulfilled. It’s almost as if the room was accommodating them at the same time as imprisoning them. You can see how we face quite a conundrum. Our only successful tactic thus far has been to keep all the doors open at all times.”

Frau Werger came to a stop at the end of the corridor, motioning her hand to guide the exorcists through a predictably open doorway. An oak table stretched across the center of the room, and beyond it the far wall opened up to a window. As they entered, the low sun pierced a bright orange into Allen’s eyes, and he squinted against the irritation that flooded back into his nose. Turning away from the light, he blinked through speckled vision to be amazed once more, as the other wall was comprised of nothing but books.

“This is our library,” Werger narrated. “I thought it might be a good place for you to start. These shelves contain a complete history of Lucien Manor, and the multiple roles it has played since its inception. In times of war and peace, wealth and famine, this building has always been a pillar of good things for this town. It pains me now to fear that it may become a harm. Maybe this is just a hunch, or perhaps my own personal bias speaking, but I don’t think you will be able to solve this problem without first knowing and appreciating what this building really is, and what it has been.” She gave a soft sigh. “I’ll leave you now to do what you do best. Please feel free to explore as you see fit. And know that the kitchen is always open for when you should need it.” She turned to leave, and before disappearing into the hallway, added, “Just remember, don’t close the doors.”

Her footsteps disappeared down the corridor, and suddenly it felt as if the three of them were alone in the quiet mansion. The exorcists gawked at the wall of books, Allen scanning each spine, tracing the gold calligraphies from the floor to the ceiling. Just looking at the writing made him sleepy, and he had to shake his head to stay alert.

“Well,” said Lenalee, taking a hesitant step toward the library. “I guess we better get started.”

“Are we really gonna do this?” Lavi picked out a book, stared at it with a glazed over look for a few seconds, then put it back. “Man, history is so much more interesting when you’re the one documenting it. Can’t we just go search the mansion?”

Lenalee gave a sigh. None of them were used to this approach to an assignment. More often than not, they were thrust into action before even crossing the border of a town. The idea of sitting down to do research somehow seemed even more tiring than facing off against a whole flock of level two akuma.

“I think we’d be wise to take Frau Werger’s advice,” she said. “She knows more about this mansion than anyone, and it’s clear that the Innocence has bonded with the building somehow.” Her fingers bumped along the spines and she began to pull out books, flipping through the pages and piling up the ones she deemed useful. “At least for now. If we don’t dig up anything relevant, we can change our strategy.”

Lavi groaned and looked longingly out the window, as if wishing to spot the meteoric mass of an akuma soaring in from the distance. Allen followed Lenalee’s lead, though no more enthusiastic to start reading than his redheaded compatriot. The work wasn’t ideal, but he had to agree with Lenalee; there was a chance equipping themselves with more knowledge on the building could be the key they needed to find the Innocence. To get this done efficiently and effectively, he would have to triple his focus. Disregarding any fatigue that his nap on the train failed to ameliorate, he filled his arms with books.

Only when the stack began to teeter did he finally decide to take them to the table. He turned around slowly, careful to balance the tower, but his movement was not slow enough. Before he could remember the open window, the light prodded his face again. He promptly slammed his eyes shut, tilting his head down to try to find shade behind the books in his arms, but his breath had already begun to hitch.

“Heh-hh!… heh’tSHHhiuh!” His body convulsed, forcing him to stumble back, and the stack of books trembled, but he managed to keep them upright… for the first one. “Hah-gkISHHu!!”

Unprepared for the second attack, Allen careened backward, colliding with Lenalee, and with a responding “oomf!” both of their piles cascaded to the floor in a mess of open pages.

Allen groaned and rubbed furiously at his nose, angry at the mutinous feature. “Nnuh… S-Sorry,” he sniffed sheepishly, then bent down to pick up the clutter. Lenalee didn’t appear offended, kneeling down to aid him, but he had once again attracted her scrutiny.

“Allen,” she said, the name drawn out in uncertainty, “are you sure you're up for this?”

“Of course!” he effused, though the effort in trying to sound jovial cracked his voice. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh come on, Allen!” she chastised, almost angry at him for the facade. “Your health has been dwindling ever since we got off the train. And don’t think I haven’t noticed you trying to hide it, either.”

“I…” Allen instinctively went to protest, but the look she blazed him made him falter. He looked to Lavi for help, but the young Bookman watched only from the corner of his eye, distancing himself from taking a side. Allen smiled and tried to laugh, a sound that came out more nervous than sincere. “You’re exaggerating, Lenalee. It’s nothing, really. I’m perfectly fine.” He picked up his stack and carried it to a spot on the table, taking a seat near his friend, who was now making himself look busy by burying his face in a book. “Besides,” Allen went on, “it doesn’t take much energy to sit and read, anyway.”

“I beg to differ,” complained Lavi, screwing up his eyes at the text. “This is excruciating.”

“Really, Bookman?” Allen jabbed playfully, seizing the opportunity to change the subject. “You shouldn’t be so petulant. It’s your job to keep track of details.”

“Riiiiiiight,” Lavi moaned, and he flipped the page dramatically and pressed his nose in even closer. Allen opened the cover of his own book and read a few sentences before glancing quickly back up to Lenalee. She remained standing firm, her arms crossed in frustration, and Allen could feel her burning gaze even as he looked away. He held his breath, until finally, the girl sat down.

They worked quietly, the tension palpable to all… for about a minute. Allen barely made it past the first page when the itch that was becoming all too familiar returned to his nose. There was no way Lenalee would let him get away with another sneeze. He would have to stifle it, suppress it completely if he could. As if in incorrigible response to his thought, the itch flared infernally, and he pressed his tongue into the roof of his mouth to try to douse it. He knew this wasn’t going to be enough to stop it, so, trying his best to go unnoticed, he propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his fist, then bobbed his head down to smother his nose.

But the effort failed.

“H’NGXKishh!!!”

It was anything but discreet, imploding with an uncomfortable sound that drew even more attention than a normal sneeze. His eyelids sank as he was dazed from the force of it. That didn’t work out as smoothly as he’d anticipated. And it hurt, slicing a new ache throughout his head. Lavi blinked wide-eyed at him, biting his lips as if suppressing a laugh. Allen winced, chagrinned, and he was even more loath to look at Lenalee…

He knew she was staring at him, and as much as he wanted to he couldn’t ignore her. Hesitantly, he picked his eyes up to meet her hard frown.

“That was… a hiccup,” he lied miserably.

Lavi lost it, exploding into a snort. “Keep digging, Allen, I don’t think you’re in deep enough.”

“It’s not funny, Lavi,” Lenalee snapped. Lavi shrugged, innocently conveying his disagreement, chest still shaking with laughter. Allen gave a small chuckle along with him, but worried about what fire might erupt from Lenalee if he went any further. Her frown was very rapidly turning into a scowl.

“Okay, okay,” Allen held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to patronize you. But honestly, Lenalee, I’m fine. I promise! You’re much too paranoid. It’s probably just a little chill from the walk in. Nothing to worry about.”

Lenalee kept her unwavering gaze, eyes narrowing as if waiting for him to crack, but Allen maintained his insistence. At long last, the glower washed away, and Lenalee turned her nose up at them. “Fine,” she said, her voice calm, but high. “I won’t worry then.”

Without another word or glance, she turned studiously back to her book and paid them no more attention. Allen’s eyes lingered on her, then looked to Lavi in silent question, which the Bookman junior seemed equally unable to answer. Their gaze rolled back to Lenalee, and then once more back to each other, sharing complete incomprehension about anything related to the female species.

Was it really that easy? She certainly seemed to have given up the fight, but something cold still burned in her eyes that left him unconvinced.

“Trust me,” he added, but she didn’t look at him. “I’ve never felt better.”

*****

TO BE CONTINUED...

Edited December 15, 2014 by alias

[Sass]

This is really great! Love the premise so far! Have you read the comics? They are amazing and you can read them online. There is a beautiful story arc about Kanda and his long lost friend Alma. Broke my heart!

[weepy]

Yesss this is so cute! And you wrote them so well, too! I love D.Gray-man (if you can see my current profile picture~) and Allen is so adorable! I look forward to reading more <3

[JQLovesSneezes]

This is coming along SO well!!! Usually on SFF people (including myself lol) tend to neglect plot sometimes, but this is turning out to be FREAKIN AMAZING and I am so psyched for you to update!!!!

[alias]

@S.S.Smithington - Thanks! I'm glad you like it so far! I started reading the manga after finishing the last episode of the anime, and, with devastation, realizing the show was cancelled before they finished the story. Though it would appear even the manga is on indefinite hiatus, sadly.

@MissSys - Thank you thank you! I love finding fellow fans. LOVE the profile pic. Allen is such a cutie.

@JQLovesSneezes - I'm so happy you are enjoying it! I was worried this first part would turn people away with its potty-ness. Thank you for your kind words!

Alright then, away we go with part two!

*****

PART TWO: Nothing to Worry About

“HAHhh’ghISHHUU!!!”

The sneeze tore through Allen’s throat like it wanted to rip a new hole in his respiratory system. That one, and the dozen that preceded it, had grown so forceful that his body had to be breaking some law of physics in order to harness enough energy to produce them. He couldn’t remember anything he’d read in the document in front of him, or the last time he had even finished a page without any interruption, and with no better use for the pages at the moment, he let his head collapse over the book to use as a pillow.

“Still feeling better than ever?” Lenalee called knowingly from the end of the table.

“Mm-hmm,” he moaned.

Lavi smirked over his own pile of books. “Are you sure, because that was your thirty-sixth sneeze in less than two hours.”

Allen picked his head up, eyes squinting blearily at his friend. “I’b… have you beed counti’g?”

The redhead gave a smug wink. “I’m a Bookman. It’s my job to keep track of details.”

Allen groaned and pressed his knuckles into his forehead. There was no way he could deny it now. Well, not that he was having much success denying it before, but trying to pretend he was healthy at this point not only would fail dismally to convince either of his comrades, it would make him look like a complete idiot. He rubbed his eyes, which stung from the light and left imprints of the text behind his lids. Every inch of him felt awful, from the pressure in his head, to the rawness of his throat and the cramp of his lungs; even his skin was starting to ache with what was likely the beginnings of a fever.

“Huh’IhGSHhu!!”

Ah yes, and then there was that.

Allen buried his face back in his arms and sniffed, to little effect. His chest seemed to take advantage of this moment’s rest and rattled him with fit of rib-shattering coughing that served only to remind him again of all the places he was sore. A small whine escaped him when he finished. “This came on so fast,” he mumbled into his sleeve.

“Good thing it’s nothing to worry about,” Lenalee spouted. She refrained from turning her attention away from reading.

“Heh. Y-yeah…” Allen tried to agree, wondering if she was on her way to making him regret his words. At least she wasn’t chiding him anymore. Maybe she has come to her senses, he thought. After all, it’s just a cold. I’m sure she realized she was overreacting.

Allen picked his head up and turned his half-lidded eyes back to the book he couldn’t remember the title of. It was just a cold, so it was certainly no excuse to slack off. They needed him to contribute as much as he could if they were going to recover the Innocence before anything else caught scent of it.

Of course, he had to ignore the fact that reading spun him into vertigo.

“Nn’TCHhhih! Hh… heh—…Huh’tSHHuh’hih!!” …And he lost his place again.

“You know what,” Lavi flopped his book shut, enervated, “how about we take a dinner break? I’m going to need another eyepatch if I have to stare at one more word.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” concurred Lenalee, gathering a few books to put away as she stood up. Lavi stretched as he rose, and they both pushed in their chairs. “Come on, Allen. I’m sure we can find you some soup.”

Allen pressed the back of his hand against his septum, trying to decide whether or not he needed to sneeze again. Mercifully, he managed to elude the symptom this time, and he sniffed, turning his fragile focus back to the book at hand. He flipped the page, though not entirely certain he had finished reading it. “You guys go od without me. I’m dot hungry.”

SLAM!

His heart leapt up into his throat, and he almost let out a yelp as Lenalee’s books smacked down onto the table. Even Lavi’s hair seemed to be standing on end in reaction to the clamor. Allen’s tired eyes—now wide with the fright—gaped at Lenalee, and his heart fell back into his stomach when he noticed that she was trembling.

“You’re not hungry? You, who can’t go three hours without your stomach grumbling, who at every meal eats enough food to satisfy half the Order, and who I know hasn’t eaten so much as a crumb since at least this morning, have no appetite!?” Her voice rose with each item, and by the end she was almost shouting. “That’s it, Allen. I don’t care how ‘fine’ you insist you are. I want you to walk down that hall, find the nearest bed, and lie down in it, now!” She whipped a finger toward the door, and Allen flinched. “And don’t get out of it until tomorrow.”

“Led-…Lenalee, th-that’s…” he stammered, his voice coming out higher than he knew was possible. “That’s dot ndecessary. I slept od the train. I don’t need—”

“Your arm is a parasitic type anti-akuma weapon, correct?” she asserted more than asked. He swallowed and nodded. “That means your Innocence is bonded with your body. Even hosting it on a daily basis expends twice as much energy as a normal person, and I’m not even taking into account all of the fighting you’ve done lately with it activated. You eat in exorbitance because you need the extra fuel. It’s only logical that you need extra rest, too. Your body can’t recover when it’s using up what little energy you have left to host your Innocence.”

Allen opened his mouth to speak, then snapped it shut again. When he found something else to say, his body reeled him into a spasm of coughing that crackled painfully in his lungs, effectively invalidating any argument he had been about to make. Lenalee smoldered at him, her eyebrows heavy and cross, though he could see clearly now that the worry she had carried from the train never really left her.

“I can sleep,” he panted, regaining his breath, “whed we get back to headquarters. Right dow you need me to help with the assignment so we can find—”

“No, we need you healthy. You can’t work in this condition, and you certainly won’t be able to fight in this condition. What if we get attacked? Look at yourself, Allen! Carrying on like this not only puts yourself at risk, it puts us at risk. We are a team, and we can’t count on you to have our backs if you are useless. You need to sleep.”

This time Allen had no protest. He looked to Lavi, who offered back a look of sympathy, but didn't contest any of Lenalee’s statements. The words lanced him like a sword, stinging with a whole new pain to add to the list, though for the moment this one dulled all the others, and his head dropped in defeated, penitent shame.

“Alright,” he said huskily. “I’ll go.”

He stood up, pushing the heavy chair back with a screech that still couldn’t cut the tension between them. Leaving the book open on the table, he turned away without bearing another glance toward his comrades, bangs cast over his eyes as he crossed the room. As he stepped into the hallway he thought he heard the halted noise of Lenalee’s voice, but he didn’t return to see what she might have been about to say.

***

Lenalee and Lavi dropped back into their seats simultaneously, their appetites also now fleeting after the harsh departure of their friend, but they didn’t resume their research. The young Bookman turned to his fellow exorcist, but her gaze was fixed on the knots and lines in the wood, each of her features sunken into a contagious frown.

“That was heavy,” he commented somberly. “Having to guilt trip him like that.”

“I know,” Lenalee sighed. “The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him. But it was the only way to get him to listen to me. He won’t do anything if it’s just for his own good.”

“He’s stubborn like that,” Lavi supported, hoping to lift her spirits. “Typical Allen. Always forgetting he’s only human.” He shook his head at the thought of his friend. He hadn’t known Allen Walker for very long, but even in the short time they had spent together, he knew that there were few people in the whole world who could match the young exorcist for bravery. There was more than passion that drove him when he fought; Lavi could see it in his eyes, all the time, even when they were heavy with fatigue and fever. It was as if there was some sense of responsibility coursing through his blood, something that perhaps even his closest friends couldn’t fully understand. Whatever it was, Lavi knew that nothing Allen did was for himself. He would do everything in and beyond his power to protect his friends, even when it meant charging toward certain death. It was no wonder that Lenalee citing their safety stopped all of Allen’s arguments in an instant.

Lenalee glanced toward the door, as if semi-hoping their white-haired friend would reappear. “I hope I didn’t just make things worse.”

“Hey, cheer up,” Lavi tried, giving her a warm smile. “Allen will take care of himself. He just needed a little push. He’s lucky to have a friend like you who will give him the tough love when he needs it.”

Lenalee looked at him this time, but she still didn’t seem consoled.

“You just wait,” he went on. “the short-stack will pass out the second his head hits the pillow, and tomorrow he’ll be fresh as a daisy.”

***

Allen braced his hand along the trim of the wall as he traversed the corridor, not trusting his own coordination to lead him upright down the long hallway, with the open doors floating past the edges of his vision in an unending cadence that made the walk feel infinite. Congestion clawed his chest, and he doubled over at the mercy of another deep coughing fit, which let up only enough to give him a breath of air before wracking his lungs again. He hated the dramatics his body was forced into, though now that he was absent of an audience, there was no point in expending extra effort trying to subdue symptoms.

He had walked past dozens of bedrooms by now, each as sufficient as the next to crash in for the night, but his sore legs carried him onward anyway, hoping to put more space between himself and the library. With each step he tried to pedal Lenalee’s words out of his head, but her voice kept crashing back to him on resounding repeat. There was anger, and there was worry, both of those he didn’t care for, but worse than that, the sound he could not filter from his memory was the pain; he had hurt her again. All because he was stupid and selfish.

“Heh…Hh!—huh…” his breath hitched torturously, the infernal itch that burned in his nose showing no sympathy for his pity party. He brought his wrist to his face and groaned, tired of being subjected to the ridiculous sneezing. “Hih’KSSHHu! ih’SHHhuh!” He snapped forward with the double, certain another would have sent him to the floor. The irritation was by no means alleviated, and as he clenched the banister on the wall for support he found his querulous thoughts challenging what the biological need for even having a nose was anyway.

He had reached the end of the corridor, and the last open door beckoned him with the promise of a warm bed. Maybe if he could manage to get some shut-eye he would be reprieved from this torment, if only for a little while. The idea of lying down idle to sleep while he could be aiding Lenalee and Lavi in finding the Innocence sent a tense ache to the core of his bones; though Lenalee probably would have told him that that was the fever.

He stood facing the room, still dithering about giving himself rest, no matter how needed it was. The bed could have fit a whole family, fluffy with layers of blankets and plush pillows. He couldn’t deny that it looked very, very welcoming. As if his own body was trying to convince him, his eyelids fluttered while his breath hitched once more.

“Hah’ihhTSHHhiu!!!”

The sneeze carried him through the doorway and he stumbled into the room, burying his face in his elbow. He would have liked to have just fallen into the bed right then and there to be embraced by sleep. Fortunately, the bed was just a few more agonizing steps away. He lifted his head.

No… the bed was gone…

Everything was gone. The lighting had dimmed, making his surroundings harder to discern, and as he blinked heavily through his already dazed head, he realized that this was definitely not the room he had stepped into. But trying to decipher how a phenomenon like that could occur was too much for his brain to wrestle.

A strange and concerning phenomenon…

Allen whipped around, faced with a solid wall, one that didn’t match anything in the rest of the building. But, I didn’t close the door! This shouldn’t have happened! I left the door open just like I was supposed to!

Something wasn’t sitting right with him. His first thoughts went to the sealed rooms that Frau Werger had described, but this didn’t add up. The door wasn’t stuck; it was gone. He was somewhere else entirely.

He pounded a palm against the wall, which was patterned in a diamond criss-cross of stale yellow and green, like the design of something that would be used as tacky gift wrap. It was unappealing… and familiar.

I’ve been here before.

Allen’s blood beat cold as he whipped around, and he squinted at the rest of the room where it dissolved into a black fog, rendering its dimensions impossible to estimate, but it wasn’t quite as empty as he had first perceived. There were objects sprinkled about, bobbing above him as if on an ocean current. Among them, teddy bears and other ominous looking stuffed animals floated in midair, but the items most prevalent in number were the dozens of flickering candles, each one spiraled with pastel shades of pink and purple and narrowed to a dangerous point. Allen’s left eye twitched in memory, knowing that those points were a hell of a lot more sharp than real wax.

“Aaaaallen Waaaaalker.”

The girlish voice crooned from somewhere overhead, and Allen found himself bent in a ready stance, his left arm up and prepared to activate.

“The Lord Millennium told me that I might run into exorcists, but he didn’t tell me it would be you.” A cheshire-cat smile sliced through the darkness. “Lucky me.”

The girl’s outline floated toward him, her grey skin a shadow in the fog, and she swung playfully in the air on her pink umbrella, the jack-o-lantern head of which was smiling just as treacherously. She cocked her head down, narrowing her lamp-like yellow eyes in a fitted gesture that displayed with pride the scarred crosses of stigmata crowning her forehead. Allen clenched his teeth and bristled with a fire that had nothing to do with his illness.

“Road Kamelot.”

*****

TO BE CONTINUED...

A/N: If there is anyone out there reading who hasn't watched a lot of the show and isn't familiar with Road Kamelot, fear not! I'll give a quick bio of the basics when I post the next chapter. Hope you stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

[Emily]

OH my LORD I literally will read anything you write. holy god this is so beautiful. The progression is perfect, and the little exchange between Lenalee and Lavi was just so ARGHHH MY HEART HURTS AND ALLEN BEATING HIMSELF UP FOR BEING SELFISH EVEN THOUGH HIS FRIENDS LITERALLY JUST SAID HE WAS THE MOST SELFLESS PERSON EVER

And then he's basically about to collapse which is my other favorite thing and he gets thrust into the worst possible situation? COUPLED WITH THE FACT THAT HE'S DISORIENTED, HACKING UP A LUNG, AND FEVERISH? //ded

Your writing is entirely masterful and I just can't praise it enough and I swear I might have something worthwhile to point out about it if I could string together coherent sentences. Lord have mercy on me as I wait with the rest of the masses for the next chapter. You're amazing

[snuffles]

OMG. I'm seriously... hyperventil...ating here....

That was... like OMG...

No... really...

And Road??? Wow!

[JQLovesSneezes]

Aw, poor Allen!!!! He is so miserable and guilty and sick... and I love it THE CLIFFHANGER IS KILLING ME THOUGH! I can't wait for you to update. This amazing story just keeps getting better and better! Keep up the great work, alias!

[AnteatersOnParade]

I love this, it's absolutely wonderful!

[weepy]

ROAD YAS! Omg the lead-up to this was amazing! Everything fell into place so nicely! -snuggles Allen- Mmmmm precious child. Why must you suffer so? Why do we love it when you suffer~? This was so lovely, I'm on my toes with excitement!

[alias]

Oh my goodness you guys, I can't tell you how much all of your kind words mean to me. You guys are awesome. I give each and every one of you a massive cyber-hug! I have such a passion for these characters, and it makes me so unendingly happy that you are enjoying the story. I don't even know what to say I'm so touched by your responses. Thank you.

Away we go with part 3! I must admit, I had a devilishly good time writing this chapter.

A/N: For those of you who may not be familiar with Road Kamelot, here she is in all her glory:

Road is a member of the family of Noah, a group of humans who inherited the genes of "mankind's greatest apostle," giving them seeming invulnerability and a few other special powers. They are aligned with the Millennium Earl, and they are out to fulfill his apocalyptic plan and destroy Innocence. Road has the ability to pull people into her own dream world, where she loves to torment and torture them. A handy power for a sadist. She is often accompanied by an animate pink umbrella with a jack-o-lantern for a head, named Lero, whom she smuggles from the Millennium Earl and who has a tendency of saying his own name at the end of exclamations.

*****

PART THREE: Playing Doctor

Allen’s hands clenched into fists as he looked up at the Noah, remembering all too well the last time she trapped him in this freak show for her own amusement. And now, just as before, she had plucked him into it again before he could even see it coming. Road hummed a low laugh, her smile menacing, and as she bobbed in the air she kicked her legs in delight.

“Have you found the Innocence yet? Because it would be so much easier if I could just take it from you. Then we’d have more time to play.”

His left arm buzzed with agitation, knowing that her version of ‘play’ would involve activating his own Innocence. His chest tightened at the thought, and suddenly even his human limbs felt too heavy to bear. Was he even capable of activating his anti-akuma weapon at this point? Lenalee was right, his body was using every ounce of energy he had left just to host his Innocence. But actually activating it would take much, much more, and even if he did manage to do it, he had no idea if he would be able to manage much else.

“I’m not here to play your twisted games, Road,” Allen snarled.

“Oh, but that’s exactly why you’re here. Why so glum? This will be fun! It seems like it’s been forever since I brought you into one of my dreams.”

Allen winced. “No nearly long enough.”

“But we should catch up first. How have you been, little exorcist? I gotta say, you look like you could use a holiday. I hope the Black Order isn’t running you ragged.”

She inched closer, and Allen took a step back. “If you’re trying to get information about our assignments, forget it,” he spat. “I don’t cater to the enemy.”

“Always so serious. You really need to lighten up a bit.” Road sunk from where she floated until her feet touch the ground, and she twirled the umbrella in her wrist like a fan, much to its unacknowledged displeasure (“Road! Please stop! You should torment the exorcist and not me Lero!”). The Noah’s smile widened over her sharp, white teeth. “I have just the warm-up for you.”

She pointed a finger straight up into the air, and then cast it down toward him. Allen sprang on his knees, prepared to leap aside and dodge the barrage of candles that threatened to impale him. But the flickering flames remained floating on their waves, and instead the threat came soaring in from the black and blue fog. Allen recognized the massive figure even before it became clear. The boulder-shaped monster flew forward, each of its elongated cannons swiveling to point directly at his head, its mannequin face streaming black tears.

“EXORCIST!” cried the akuma’s curdled voice. “YOU’RE MINE!”

Light exploded from the nozzles of its weapons, and Allen dove to the side just in time as the passing attack singed the edges of his coat. He landed hard on the floor, arms only catching him halfway, and the collision knocked a harsh cough from his chest. The fall was enough to split his head in pain, but he knew he didn’t have the luxury of taking a second to recover; he could hear the rush of the akuma’s next attack roar behind him. His arms quavered violently as he pushed himself up, and he grunted as he willed some burst of adrenaline to kick in. “Dammit!” He could almost feel the colossal demon hovering over him, locking him in its sights to savor the incinerating shot. You have to move. NOW!

Allen threw himself from the floor as a line of white fire sliced through the ground where he had been lying. He hauled himself onward, sprinting as hard as he could to put space between him and the monster and give himself time—if only a second—to recuperate. Think, Allen, he commanded himself. Focus! You have to think faster than things are happening around you.

His eyes darted around in a quick scan of the game board. All was completely desolate. The back wall seemed to be the only barrier, while the rest of the parameters extended somewhere beyond the fog. Nothing to take shelter under. Nothing to hide behind. There was just him, the monster, and the open arena; and, of course, the queen that watched it all from center stage. Allen had no choice. He would have to fight.

He spun around to face the akuma, balling his left hand into a fist. “Innocence, activate!”

The cross-haired etching on the back of his hand burst with a green light, and in an instant the crimson shell of his left arm flexed into an armored, silver claw. Just as his weapon took shape, the joint between his shoulder and his Innocence erupted with an incendiary pain, which blazed down every tendon of his arm into his fingertips. He clenched his teeth, battling his body’s protest. He knew he didn’t have the energy for this. It was pushing his limits.

But he had pushed himself harder than this before. He could do it. He had to do it. Fighting wasn’t just an option to preserve his own life. He had to defeat the akuma, so that he could save it.

The monster wailed as it soared toward him, and he summoned up all the strength he could find, then in one fluid motion whirled around, hurled his clawed weapon over the demon, and severed it in two.

Allen heaved one breath… but only one. From the semi-sphere halves of the crumbling behemoth, a geyser of light erupted into the air. Like a phoenix regenerating from its own ashes, the akuma pieced itself back together and soared above Allen with a sinister gape before he even had a chance to raise his arm again. Its canon clicked into place, and Allen darted just as it fired another explosive missile.

The strain of his panting overpowered the sound of his footsteps as he ran around, trying to secure another position to attack. The akuma was fast, but it wasn’t smart. With a quick fake-out, he slid beneath it and plunged the spears of his weapon up into its core. It gave a whine of grief at the wound before Allen struck his claw across its center, and it exploded to pieces once more. This time Allen didn’t let his guard down; he jumped out of the way.

True to his fear, the fragments of the akuma reassembled themselves until it loomed over him without a scratch.

How is it regenerating? It’s just a level one akuma, it should be easy to defeat! Allen was on the move, he and the akuma dancing the same waltz again, and again. He’d position himself, strike, then catch his breath just long enough for the creature to reemerge. Continuing on like this was doing no good, it was only going to wear him down, rapidly. What was that saying? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting something different. He needed to change his tactic. But what else was there to do? It was all he could muster just to keep his Innocence activated and avoid getting hit. If his anti-akuma weapon didn’t work, what other way was there to free the creature’s soul?

Wait a minute…

How could he not have noticed? He blinked, as if to confirm his eyesight was still functioning in the normal, human way. Then he looked at the “akuma.” His left eye—his cursed eye, the one that could detect akuma and see their souls even when hidden in their human forms—had never responded. As he watched the monster zoom toward him, its cannons taking aim, he saw nothing of the pitiful creature’s soul.

It’s an illusion.

He had less than a second to make his decision, and he already knew what would happen if he tried to strike the monster down again. It was a gamble, and if he was wrong, it could mean the end. But even if he didn’t try it, the end was not far off anyway. Allen dug his feet into the floor, holding as strong a stance as he could, and closed his eyes.

His hair and the trailings of his coat whipped back as he was hit with a cold gust of wind, but nothing more. The whirl passed, and the limbo fell quiet again. Allen opened his eyes. The akuma was gone, and Road was giggling.

“Very good!” she cheered. “I didn’t expect you to figure it out that fast. I almost forgot how clever you are.”

Allen’s knees buckled, and his Innocence retracted back into a regular arm before his palms hit the ground. He wheezed, caring less about remaining upright and more about just getting a breath. The fight sucked all the air from him, and even though he could feel his thick lungs expanding and shriveling, the effort didn’t seem to replenish his oxygen. Clouds speckled the edges of his vision, and he wondered if he would have to add keeping conscious to his list of things to focus on along with inhaling and exhaling.

Road perched on the umbrella like it was a swing, floating only a few feet in front of him. She cocked her head to the side. “So tired already? And I thought you were supposed to be one of the formidable opponents. What a shame. Is it because you’re fighting alone?” The shadows over her eyes sharpened. “We can bring in one of your little friends if you want. They’re just right down the hall, are they not?”

“STOP IT!” Allen barked, eliciting no more than a blink from his captor. He glared at her, anger overwhelming him even more than fatigue. “Leave them out of this!”

The outburst seized his lungs, cinching his abdomen as he convulsed into a violent coughing fit. His chest crackled as he hacked, and choked, and gasped, but the harder he tried to calm his breath, the harder the attack retaliated. He muffled his face into his sleeve to steady himself as he succumbed to the spasm, and when it finally gave him reprieve he was panting again.

Road pursed her lips, looking on him with intrigue. “Poor Allen. Sounds like you’ve come down with something.”

He lifted himself up, then propped himself against the back wall, trying to look stronger by sitting upright, but utilizing the solid for support. He was ready to put on the facade of denial again, none too eager to clue Road in on any other weakness. Unfortunately, his body had another reply in mind, and just as soon as he leaned against the wall, he snapped forward.

“Hihh’KSSHHHh!!”

Allen smothered the sneeze into his sleeve, his eyes shut tight in the hopes of staving off any more. A ripple of laughter rang through his ears.

“OH! That was hilarious!” She clapped her hands together, swinging delightedly on Lero. “Do it again!”

Allen sniffed into his wrist, glaring up at her with part-annoyance, part-disbelief. He was nothing more than a toy with a pull string. “Sorry,” he scoffed. “Much as I’d like to defer to your every crooked whim, it’s not exactly a voluntary reaction.”

“Hmmm,” she mused, a smile widening across her dark face. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”

The devilish girl flicked her finger up in the air again and cast it down at him theatrically, and again Allen prepared himself for the onslaught of her knife-like candles. The wax cones pulsed, but their dangerous ends remained pointed toward the floor, while the flames that danced on their wicks gyrated and stretched upward. The beating light mesmerized Allen, but the trance broke when he noticed the thin streams of smoke slithering from the candle heads. They wove toward him like serpents tasting the air for their prey, and he knew he was the hunted. As the rivers advanced he expected everything from them burning like acid on his skin, to winding around his neck to strangle him, but when the lead wisp of smoke approached it did nothing more than lick his face.

As harmless as the smoke appeared, it still wasn’t quite normal. As the remaining tributaries encapsulated him, the air grew redolent with incense. The trace of the scent was not entirely unpleasant, but the increasing density of it made the smell strong and sickly, and Allen’s eyes began to flutter as it burned his nose. The effect did not go unnoticed by the ringleader, and she leered at him with anticipation as he buried his face in the sleeve of his wrist, desperately attempting to filter out the odiferous assault. He was not going to buckle to her command. He had danced for her enough, and had too much dignity to continue being a monkey in this circus. But reflex was not cooperating with his will. His breath hitched in sharply, and he pressed his wrist against his nose so hard that it hurt, but despite his valiant efforts, the urge overwhelmed him.

“Huh—Hh!… Nnhh… hih’iSHHhuh!! Hah’tTCSHHih!!” He clamped his hand over his nose, pinching it shut, but to no avail. He had had more success fighting the undying akuma. “Hhn’gISSHh! Nn’tSHHhiUH!!—nuhh… Hh—heh… Huh’ESHHhih!! Eh’tTSCHhu! Huh— HA’kHSHHhuh!!! Uhhhn….”

His whole body seized mercilessly with each sneeze, and the groan that followed escaped him just as involuntarily. When the fit finally relinquished him, he slumped back against the wall, throat burning, abdomen sore, and he sniffled miserably. He could have given in to sleep right there on the hard ground, were it not for the childish cackling that erupted in front of him.

“KYAH HA HA HA HA HAAA!!!” Road reeled with laughter, clapping her hands ardently and swinging on Lero with pure mirth. She beamed at Allen, smile curling wide over her pearly teeth, and her citrine eyes sparkled. “You are so adorable, Allen Walker. I just can’t get over how cute you are.”

Allen lifted his collar over his nose, hoping to hide from the dastardly scent, and pierced Road with a loathsome glare. Her guffaw dripped with psychosis, and he stared at her with a chaotic conglomeration of disbelief, vexation, and utter confusion. For so many reasons, no matter how long he studied her crazed face, he failed to comprehend anything about this human who was so very inhuman.

“What’s the matter?” she trilled. “You don’t like playing doctor?”

Allen wrinkled his nose, speaking through the fabric. “I—heh… d-don’t know if you’ve ever actually been to a doctor, but—hih’kSHH!!—you’re definitely doi’g it wrong.”

Road took great amusement from this and giggled. “Hmm-hmm, my game, MY rules.”

Allen tried to scoff but it came out as a groan. He had a feeling that any of her games were going to be strongly skewed to favor their creator. He coughed as the smoke began to seep under his hood.

“Alright,” she said still laughing. “I suppose that’s enough of that.” She waved her hand, and Allen watched her hair sway as a breeze wafted in around him, chasing away the choking smoke. The clean air relieved his tortured lungs, but he was far from amnesty, as one torment was just exchanged for the next. The wind hit him like ice, penetrating the thick layers of his uniform as if it were intangible. The cold stung his face, swiftly making its way to his core, and he drew his legs in tight to his chest, his burning fury not enough to thaw the wintery draft.

Road’s feet touched the ground, and her shoes clopped in an insouciant cadence as she strode toward him. The wind subsided when she approached, but its frostbite stayed in his marrow, possessing him with a restive tremor. He clamped his mouth shut to prevent his teeth from chattering, but there was nothing he could do to stop shivering. Road bent down in front of him, resting her hands on her knees like she was playing with a puppy, and Allen couldn’t remember the last time he felt more pathetic and vulnerable.

“Awww,” she cooed, in a voice that was a semblance of soothing. “You’re sick as a dog, aren’t you?” She sighed in sympathy, though the sound was not absent of her evident enjoyment. “That’s one of the tendencies of you sub-humans. You’re so weak even your own body can defeat you.”

Allen ignored her, still trying, in vain, to mitigate his quaking core. How long was this carnival going to continue? There seemed to be no end to her torment, but she had to get bored with him eventually. What were her plans for him then? Allen thought of any toy that became worn out and useless; you threw it in the trash.

“Look at you,” she said, inching so close she was practically in his face. “Such tired eyes. Flushed cheeks. You’re falling apart at the seams. Even your nose is pink.” She tapped her finger playfully over the tip of his nose, and the light touch was enough to incite the oversensitive feature to betrayal. He gasped, and on instinct quickly turned away from Road and buried his face in his elbow.

“HihSHHHmmf!!” Even the force of the small sneeze rattled his head, and he scrunched his brow in disorientation.

Road giggled. “And still so polite.” She ogled at him, smiling, and gave a low laugh under her breath. “I know what will make you feel better.”

He could only imagine what twisted torture she was going to shower him with this time, and he picked his head up to be alert for it, wondering if he would have to fight again. The attack came sooner than he was prepared for… and it was not what he expected.

Road nestled in next to him, curling up to his side, and she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. Allen stopped shivering for only a moment as his muscles seized in shock, and even though the body hugging him was warm and snug, he felt as affronted as if he were in the slimy coils of a snake. Too close! Too close! He flinched as she rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling in even tighter as he quaked, and he couldn’t decide if she was genuinely trying to warm him, or just more intimately enjoying his misery.

As aghast as her action rendered him, her umbrella proved to be even more appalled, and its jack-o-lantern head went ballistic.

“ROAD!!!” Its squeaky voice screamed to the side of her face, writhing and squirming and flailing about the air with uncontainable outrage. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING LERO!?! YOU CAN’T GET THAT CLOSE TO AN EXORCIST! GET AWAY FROM HIM RIGHT NOW WHAT ARE YOU THINKING YOU CAN’T LET YOURSELF HAVE A CRUSH ON SOMEONE LIKE HIM LERO!!!”

Road’s eyes lowered to an irritated scowl. “Lero, you need to relax, you’re being a buzzkill.”

Allen’s shoulders tensed as she hugged him tighter. He agreed with the flying umbrella. “H-he’s right, th-though,” he stammered through the chill. “You really shouldn’t b-be so close t-…to me. This is p-probably con-…contagious.”

“Ah ha ha HA!!!” Her giggle pierced his eardrum, and he jerked his head away as she continued to laugh. He was beginning to wonder if there was anything he could do or say that she wouldn’t delight in. Lero went on thrashing in the air, crying and blathering in barely coherent complaints, and Road ignored him as she propped her chin on Allen’s shoulder. “How many times do I have to tell you? We in the family of Noah are superior in every way to you weak sub-humans. I’m evolved, and there is nothing you can do to even hurt me, especially not by something as pathetic as illness. Your condition poses no threat to me.”

Allen knew all this, remembering her speech well when she had first given it, and how she had cast his anti-akuma claw over her own face to kill herself, just so he could watch her body knit itself back together in a matter of seconds. The family of Noah were super-humans. But her logic now was full of hubris. “S-still,” Allen argued. “You’re s-so convinced in your superiority th-that you think you are immune to all illness? Even if you are an evolved v-version of humans, viruses evolve way f-faster than humans d-d-do. You c-can’t honestly think—”

“You don’t believe me?” Road interrupted, sitting up with a spring. “How about I prove it to you?”

Allen blinked, and he really shouldn’t have. In the fraction of a second it took for him to close his eyes, Road reached out and latched a hand behind his head, and before he could even begin to predict what she was doing, she cocked his head up and pressed her lips into his.

The kiss paralyzed him, stopping all but his ceaseless trembling, and he felt like he could have exploded… or maybe fainted. GAH! Stop it! This is… GYAHH! He couldn’t even string together thoughts of protest, though even if he could his mouth was much too occupied to voice them. Lero burst into an earsplitting wail that seemed to represent Allen’s feelings quite accurately until Road finally came up for air.

She grinned childishly at him, her eyes alight with a twinkle, and never before had Allen seen such an innocent looking devil.

“See?” she bragged, fitting her arms back around his neck to snuggle him. “I’m not afraid of your little sickness.”

Allen suddenly felt much more sick than he had all day.

***

“Nnnnngggmmmfffghh.”

Lavi groaned directly into the open binding of his book, the pages doing little to censor his evident rancor. Lenalee could hardly blame him. They’d been at the tedious research for hours, and so far had turned up no leads that would point them in one direction over another. At this rate, it would almost be just as productive to simply start at one end and inspect every little inch of the house until they spotted something glowing. Though even in this continental mansion, she knew locating Innocence was never actually as simple as a game of hide-and-seek.

“Maybe we’re not thinking about this right,” she conjectured. “All we’ve been doing is trying to gather a comprehensive history of the manor. But its history is so full and diverse that we just have a surfeit of seemingly unrelated facts. We need to find some kind of connection between what we know about the house and what we know about the Innocence phenomena.”

Lavi stretched his arms over his head, tipping his chair back onto two legs, and looked at the ceiling as he rocked and thought. “Do you think time is really passing at different rates on either side of the door? Or could it just be an illusion?”

Lenalee pressed a fist to her lips in consideration. “It’s hard to say for certain. Allen and I have seen Innocence do strange things with time before.” She thought back to only a short time ago, when her and Allen were sent to the rewinding town that repeated the same day over and over, never reaching tomorrow. The Innocence there ended up having the power to create a time lock, a perk that saved their lives during the eventual battle, as it constantly reverted their bodies back to the healthy state that was prior to their injuries. It was Allen who solved the puzzle that time. She wondered—guiltily—if they would be making a lot more progress if he were still with them. Once the white-haired boy materialized in her head, her thoughts failed to diverge anywhere else.

“He’s alright,” Lavi encouraged, as if reading her thoughts on her forehead. She looked up at him with uncertainty, and he proffered a confident smile. “He hasn’t made a peep since you sent him to bed. That means he’s finally getting the rest he needed.”

Lenalee allowed her mouth to curl into a small grin, but it was difficult to be truly happy when she knew Allen was still unwell. “Desperately needed,” she amended.

Lavi nodded, then chuckled. “Poor guy was so miserable. Of course, he probably spent half his energy just trying to hide his misery, which undoubtedly made him more miserable.” He shook his head in reminiscence. “And how loud his sneezes got at the end. As if trying to concentrate through all this dense text wasn’t hard enough.” Lavi laughed, bringing a levity to the room in attempt to raise their spirits. But his effort was transient. His jocular manner fizzled away until it dissolved into one of uncertainty, and he cast a pensive glance toward the open door.

“What is it?” said Lenalee, her smile vanishing.

Lavi’s jaw made a ruminating movement. “It’s just… we really haven’t heard a peep out of him. He couldn’t go a minute without sneezing, or coughing, or sniffling, or something. It almost seems that, with all the doors open, even in his sleep we’d be able to hear him. That is, assuming all the doors are open.”

Lenalee felt her breath jump into her lungs as her eyes widened. “You don’t think…”

Before she could finish her sentence, they were both out of their seats and heading toward the corridor.

***

Allen wanted to fall asleep.

Fatigue was hitting him so hard at this point it might as well have been an akuma, and at times his mind felt so fuzzy he wasn’t entirely certain he was still awake. Despite the fact that he lay—very literally—within the clutches of his enemy, Allen couldn’t deny that Road’s embrace was warm, and the dreamy world she trapped him in could have easily lulled him if let it, had Lero not been shredding every second of quiet with his spastic fury. Part of him wanted nothing more than to give in to unconsciousness.

But he would sooner challenge Kanda to a sword fight than let himself fall asleep at the mercy of Road Kamelot.

Without warning, the Noah lifted her head, and Allen fully expected her to berate Lero for the noise, but he realized her attention was somewhere else, on something he couldn’t see. She looked off for a moment, and then her face melted into a disappointed frown. “Your friends are looking for you,” she said apathetically. Allen’s heartbeat kicked up a gear, and just as he was about to struggle out of her arms, she released him, and the sudden lack of support slumped him into the ground. “I suppose I better be getting back, anyway. After all, you still have to find that Innocence for me.”

He shivered more violently without the accompaniment of her body heat, but the absence of her breath on his neck brought him relief, if only a little; she may have been leaving for now, but she wouldn’t be leaving for long—not when there was still Innocence to destroy. Road capered toward a gaudy-looking wardrobe that had appeared as she stood up, and its door flung open as she approached, revealing within a sickeningly violet suspension of what looked like fog and light and lava all at once. Her stone-gray hand snatched Lero around the neck of the umbrella just bellow his pumpkin head, effectively curtailing his shrill litany. Allen watched the jack-o-lantern face wince and twitch in discomfort, failing to voice a protest through its choking, and he supposed that was likely a faithful picture of how Road treated all of her playthings.

When she reached the vortex she turned over her shoulder, smiling at him as she fluttered her wide eyelids. “Chop chop. You exorcists really need to learn how to do your job. If you don’t find the Innocence soon I’ll have to come back and do it myself. And that wouldn’t be fun for any of us.”

Road cocked her shoulder in a coquettish gesture and stepped through her door, eyes twinkling at Allen the whole time until she faded into the swirling light.

The door slammed shut behind her, and the walls immediately began to crumble

***

Lenalee and Lavi were both sprinting by the time they reached the end of the corridor, finding empty room after empty room. It wasn’t until they reached the very last chamber that they found the sickly exorcist, though their fears were hardly quelled to behold him sprawled on the floor.

“Allen!” Lenalee skidded into the room and dropped to Allen’s side, and his head perked up at the call of her voice. His glossy eyes blinked, as if she had pulled him from a dream and he needed a moment to piece together his new surroundings. She put her hands over his shoulders to steady him.

“Lenalee… Lavi… You’re okay…” He swallowed hard and then winced, as if the effort of just those few words raked his throat. Beneath her grip his unsteady frame refused to be still, every inch of him quaking violently, despite the heat that radiated through even his thick overcoat. He looked more than miserable; he looked terrible. But his obvious sickness only occupied half her worries. As she searched his wan face for an answer his husky voice or vague words couldn’t give her quickly enough, her gaze zeroed in on the scratches that buffed his cheeks.

“Why aren’t you okay?” she questioned. “You’re on the floor, and you look injured! What happened?”

Allen’s chest pumped in and out as he tried to make his voice work again. “I got… She trapped me in—ih’tSSHHhih!!!” The sneeze claimed him out of nowhere, snapping his head toward the floor between them before the rest of his body could even think about moving to cover. Lenalee was far less concerned about germs than she was about the pressing matter at hand, but the slip seemed to kill whatever sentence Allen had been trying to express, and instead his pale cheeks flooded redder than his nose as his eyes widened in horror. “I’M SORRY!” he sputtered, clamping his hands over his mouth as if not to let so much as carbon dioxide escape it.

Lenalee’s eyebrows steepened as she fought to keep him focused, and her grip on his shoulders firmed. “I’m not that squeamish, Allen. Now tell me what happened. Did you fight? Was there an akuma?”

Allen nodded his head, then shook it, and Lenalee was not sure which gesture to take. “Yeah… Well, no. I fought… it was an akuma but not technically…”

Lavi moved in beside them, the young Bookman’s usually exuberant face now sober. “He’s delirious.”

“No!” Allen snapped, taking them both aback more than the sneeze had. His hand strayed to his head and he squinted his eyes shut for a moment, then emerged with a more resilient consciousness. “I’m not delirious. It was Road Kamelot. She was here. And she’ll be back.”

“Road…” Lenalee gasped. She was not close to forgetting their last encounter with the balefully gifted girl, and neither were they memories she ever preferred to revisit. Road was more than dangerous; she was cruel. She was psychotic. Lenalee shuddered to imagine what tribulation she must have put Allen through, all while they thought he was silent in peaceful slumber.

“Does that mean that the Noah clan knows about the Innocence here?” Lavi voiced.

“Yes,” said Allen, and he shifted to his knees. “Which is why we need to find it and get out of here before any of them can return.”

With instantaneous resolve, Allen swallowed his fatigue, and the look of sheer determination that took its place was one that Lenalee recognized, and she knew it meant he was not going to listen to her if her words contradicted what he’d already set out to do. It was a kind of certainty that made him seem like he was walking on his own plane, and he wouldn’t drop back to their reality until he accomplished his charge—despite the fact that he could hardly walk without teetering. The moment he pushed himself onto his feet, he swayed so dramatically that he almost reeled right back into the floor. Lavi perceived the stubborn boy’s portentous balance immediately, and with quick reflexes he slipped under his friend’s shoulder, taking his arm around his neck to hold him up.

“Easy, Allen,” he urged. “Don’t be too hasty. Let’s just regroup for a second.”

“We don’t have a second. We don’t have any more time to waste. The Noahs are probably peeking in on us as it is. Our only hope is to recover the Innocence as soon as possible and hightail it back to headquarters before they can catch up to us.”

Lenalee bit her lip. Despite how much she wanted to just ship Allen back to the infirmary, she knew he was right. If the Noahs were on the case, then even if the exorcists did recover the Innocence right away, it would take all of their skill and luck and a miracle to keep it out of the Earl’s clutches and make it back to the Order unscathed. With all of that at stake, Allen was far from crawling into bed. He made that evident as he lead them onward, his resolve masking the severity of his condition, though he made no attempt to free himself from Lavi’s aid.

“Allen,” Lenalee pressed calmly as they proceeded gingerly down the corridor. “I need you to think about this rationally. If the Noahs come back, like you know they will, how do you expect to put up a fight? I know you’re not so thick-headed that you’re completely blind to the state you’re in.”

“I know, but that doesn’t make a difference anymore,” he argued. “I can’t just take a catnap when I know that Road or someone else might drop in at any second. I don’t care what you say this time, I’m not leaving you two on your own.”

Neither Lenalee nor Lavi had a counterargument. Allen made it very clear that a guilt trip wasn’t going to work. That didn’t change the fact that he was failing miserably at viewing the situation from a realistic perspective. How was he going to fight akuma when he could barely traverse a corridor on his own? If she pointed that out he would only tear himself away from the crutch. His feet were clumsy even with Lavi’s support, and in the short amount of time they had stopped talking his head had begun to lull. Allen needed sleep. But he wasn’t going to take it willingly.

When they returned to the library Allen peeled his arm off Lavi’s shoulder, though Lenalee did not fail to notice how he discreetly braced the doorjamb before entering the room. “Right,” he said, seemingly having won the argument. “Now let’s hurry up and get—”

His sentence cut off as he beheld the table. Where each of their spots had only housed a small pile of books before he left, the entire surface was now laden from end to end with half of the library, some books spread out chronologically, others splayed out and open to a specific page, and more yet towering over each other. The only open spots at the table were the workplaces Lenalee and Lavi had been utilizing.

“Wow, you guys were really thorough…” he commented, his tired voice both surprised and impressed. “I guess I’ll clear off a spot.”

“No,” Lenalee stopped him, her tone practical rather than worried. “We grouped everything into categories that might help us analyze the Innocence in terms of the building’s history and point us to an answer. If you move it, you’ll disrupt the organization.”

Allen’s eyes sunk into an annoyed expression. “I’ve already told you, I’m going to help—”

“I know that, Allen. You’ve made it perfectly clear that you aren’t going to take my advice, so I’m done trying to argue. If you’re going to help, you’ll have to find a place on the couch to work.”

Lenalee felt Lavi’s suspicious eye on the side of her face, but she ignored it, thrusting a heavy anthology into Allen’s hands and pointing toward the sofa. The book sank like lead in his arms, but he held onto it, looking back at her with minor disbelief. She merely returned to her own spot at the table, flipping open a book and resuming where she left off.

“Th-thanks…” said Allen, his confusion evident, and he did as he was told and sat down on the couch. Lenalee watched from the corner of her eye as he sank into the cushions, and he struggled to get into a position to hold the lofty book upright. His eyes squinted at the text as he scaled the page, and as the seconds droned on they got heavier and heavier, until all she could see of his irises were two thin slits of silver. At last, before he had even turned the first page, the book slipped from his grasp and fell to his chest, where it moved with the slow cadence of his breathing.

Lenalee rose from her seat and carefully plucked the book from the sleeping Allen. Then she unfolded the decorative blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over him.

Lavi smirked, uttering a quiet laugh. “That was very sly.”

Lenalee returned an appreciative smile. She cast a final glance back to Allen before sitting down, then pulled her book closer to her. “Alright,” she said in a quiet, but determined voice. “Now let’s solve this mystery before he wakes up, shall we?”

*****

TO BE CONTINUED...

[Emily]

“You are so adorable, Allen Walker. I just can’t get over how cute you are.”

Yeah honestly, me neither. I'm totally floored.

My other favorite part of the adorable Allen Walker is that he's saved by Lavi's magical lightning reflexes every single time before he falls flat on his face. And also his outburst when they thought he was delirious. He's so fricking adorable as I already knew through tiny clips I've watched of D. Gray Man but like this, this is beyond cute/heart throbbing. And team effort caretaking is just perfect.

I also noticed how this is becoming an epicly epic fic of epic proportions and if I remember correctly, the last time one of those reeled me in, I actually joined the fandom and became fatally addicted. You may or may not become the reason I get into D. Gray Man.

[JQLovesSneezes]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaw the ending of that third part really was just the cutest thing!!! This was such an intense part, oh my goodness!!! I have wanted to watch this series for so long, and this story has just pushed me into looking it up!!!!!

[Sass]

Yay another instalment! This is so spot on with all the characters. I love Road and Allen's weird relationship! She's such a unique character.

[weepy]

UGH that was great! Torturous Road is the best, and what she did to Allen! I ship it Their cuddling was so cute even if he was uncomfortable, I love it~ And ah, yes, sly, sly Lenalee. Nice writing, good job!

[Malarkey]

Uwaaaaa~!! This is too cute for words oh my gosh~~and the characterization is wonderful! Lenalee sure is a sneaky one, isn't she? It's awesome to see new fic for dgm--the characters are all so precious they're just perfect for this particular kind of affection, haha.

Thanks for writing! Looking forward to the next installment!!

[VividBubbles!]

I haven't gotten around to watching D. Gray-man yet, but your story is just so good, I have to read it. Really, really great job, alias. I love everything about this and you've got the perfect mixture of cute and plot. I can't wait to read the next part!

[nolongeractive]

I haven't read this series since high school, but this fic was really fun to read! Everyone was very in character, and you wrote a fun plot along with it. Very nicely done!!!

[alias]

You guys are so nice to me! Thank you thank you thank you for all of your kind words! I'm so happy you are still enjoying the story.

@Emily - Oh boy, the pressure is on! I will do my bestest to rope you in to the fandom. The anime is marvelous. This fanfic was partially inspired by the first story arc with Road, which is fantastic. Allen even sneezes once in it (though not from illness). Episode nine, I believe it is.

@JQLovesSneezes - Yay!!! *crosses fingers for another convert*

@S.S.Smithington and @MissSys - Much as I love all our exorcist heroes, Road is my FAVORITE character in the series, and probably one of my favorite anime characters of all time. I don't know why, but I think I have a thing for sadistic, psychotic villains. Making her torment Allen was too much fun.

@malarkey and @The Cracked Egg - Yay! More DGM fans! I'm so happy you liked it. Thank you!

@VividBubbles! - Thank you! It makes me so happy you've enjoyed it, and I hope you check out the anime! It's a beautiful show.

A/N: Alright, on to part four! The stunningly sexy Tyki Mikk plays a minor roll here, so if you haven't met him, he looks like this:

Tyki is also in the family of Noah, and he and Road are basically brother and sister. While Road is technically the oldest, their relationship seems to be one of a big brother and little sister type. He possesses the same nigh-invulnerabilities as Road, and his special power is the ability to phase through solids.

*****

PART FOUR: Closed Doors and Turned Tables

A.W. <3 ALLEN WALKER. <3 AW + RK

Road doodled the script in the margins of her history homework, filling in all the open space except for the answer area. The writing got progressively smaller as she scribbled, searching for new places to flood with the pink pen and further procrastinate the actual work. She sighed, growing bored with her own cursive handwriting. Everyone was out on some mission or another—or more likely just out goofing off somewhere—leaving no one to pawn the lame schoolwork off to. She rocked back in her chair, glazing over to the dark hall and tracing paths through the maze of portraiture. The extravagance of the Earl’s dining room met no end. True, its luxury well suited someone of her import, and anything short of its vastness would never suffice as a host for her dwelling. But the vastness was also empty, and so she sighed again, this time just to bounce her own echo off the ceiling. Lero fluttered down from where he hovered and stuck his face in her paper.

“Are you finished with your homework now, Master Road?”

Road ignored the question entirely, standing up in her chair and leaping over the table to sit on the umbrella. She kicked her legs as they bobbed in the air. “Tell me a story or something, Lero. I’m soooo bored.”

Lero’s triangular eyes bulged. “Road! Don’t you think it’s time to stop playing around??? It’s been almost two days and you still haven’t destroyed the Innocence! And you were supposed to have recovered it before you even got back Lero!”

Road scoffed and stood up, riding the umbrella like a hoverboard into the living room. “Uhhhhggghh. If all you’re going to do is nag, then you may as well just shut up. I’ve already told you that my way is more efficient. As soon as the exorcists find it, I’ll step in and take it right out of their hands. It’ll be easy as—”

Road’s breath caught, jumping back into her throat before she could finish the sentence. She blinked, rapidly, trying to sort out the confusion, and then the blinking gave way to fluttering as her breath hitched again. Something was happening. Something felt… off. Her eyebrows crinkled when she found the source of the problem; a strange feeling—a tickle—somewhere high in her respiratory tract. It was odd, foreign, but it was also familiar. It—Hh!—was…

“HehEhtSCHHew!!—nhh…huh??”

She sneezed openly, managing to keep her balance on Lero, and she gave her head a little shake to clear it from the daze that followed. Still not entirely sure what just happened, she rubbed her nose and sniffed, which felt almost as strange as the sneeze.

Lero was quick to overreact. “Lero! You sneezed and you never do that! It’s because you were so close to that little exorcist! I told you not to and you did it anyway and now you’ve caught his malady!!!”

Road moved her shoe over the pumpkin’s face. “Don’t be ridiculous, Lero, that’s not possible. I probably just kicked up some pollen from your canopy when I stepped on you.”

She hopped off and strode to the fireplace, Lero close at her shoulder. “But— but you don’t have allergies! And it’s autumn!”

“Oh, will you can it already?” She waved her hand to shut him up and planted herself cross-legged on the heated floor. Lero was getting on her nerves. And he was wrong. It wasn’t that she never sneezed. She was human, after all, and sneezing was a natural reflex, albeit a disgusting one. The feeling was awkward and uncomfortable, and she was definitely glad it was not something that occurred frequently. Though truth be told, she couldn’t actually recall the last time it had happened. She would have ventured that it was sometime before her Noah genes manifested; so a long, long time ago. It was definitely unusual for it to happen randomly now… But that didn’t mean it signified anything!

It was, however, going to happen again.

“Heh—uhh… Huh’ISSHHiew!!” Her voice carried up the chimney, reverberating the sound as if to mock her. The force of that one surpassed the first, and it threw her forward at the waste so that her hands caught the ground for support. One was weird enough. But two? That was… weirder. She tried to ignore the fact that the itch was still buzzing around in the back of her nose.

Lero seemed to be suppressing a conniption. “I told you not to and you wouldn’t listen and now we’re going to get in trouble because you are sick Lero! What should I do??? Should I find Master Tyki?”

“Of course not.” Road scowled. “Tyki would only be a bother. Just because I sneezed t—Hh!—two… HIH’ckSHHhoo!… or th-three times doesn’t automatically make me sick.”

It did make her tired though. Convulsing her whole body from the inside out, they seemed to expend a lot of energy, and with the warmth of the fire beating against her face, she easily became drowsy. A nap wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Maybe by the time she awoke there would be something fun to do.

She crawled onto the couch and curled into a ball, her head sinking into the pillow. It wasn’t as warm farther away from the flames, and her body gave a small shiver as she reached for a blanket. The last five minutes had rendered her more than a little irritated, and she could only hope that sleeping would set things right again. Fix this nonsense of shivering and sniffling… and sneezing.

Lero flew over and poked her with his handle just as her eyes were falling shut. “Umm… Master Road? Are you okay Lero?”

Road frowned, then she reached for Lero and pulled him in like a teddy bear. “I’m taking a nap. So stop talking.”

Road sniffed. Then she groaned. Then she fell asleep.

***

“Road? Road. Wake up.”

Someone was wrestling her shoulder, rudely yanking her from a sound slumber. The fireplace spat dying sparks into the chimney, its heat long gone. Reflexively, she reached to draw her blanket in tighter, but it was already hugging her like a cocoon. Vexation trembled her bones as much as the lack of warmth did, and anger flooded her aching body—ughh, when did it start aching?—as she turned to see the unsympathetic intruder who woke her up.

“What do you want, Tyki?” she whined. “Can’t you see I was sleeping?”

“You have no reason to sleep. Have you still not extracted the Innocence from the Lucien Manor?”

Road rolled back over onto her side and closed her eyes. “Ask me about it later.” She buried herself in the back cushions, trying desperately to slip back into sleep. The nap was supposed to fix things, but now that she was awake she felt a hundred times worse. Pressure hammered against the inside of her skull, and now her throat even burned with a rawness that wasn’t there earlier. Not to mention the longer she was awake, the more that irksome feeling that lead up to a sneeze returned. What the hell? This is STUPID. How could I be… Am I seriously… sick!?!

Tyki swiped the pillow out from under her, leaving her head to bounce uncomfortably against the couch cushion.

“HEY!” she complained, springing up to seize it back.

“You were supposed to be done with it before yesterday. Are you just going to leave it there for the exorcists to find and run away with, so they can make another weapon to attack us with? You’re being lazy, Road. You need to— What’s wrong with you?”

There must have been something off about the way she looked, for Tyki stopped his lecture mid-sentence to study her. She took the question as an insult and scowled at him, but didn’t maintain the look for long before throwing her arms over her face with a moan. “I feel gross, just let me sleeeeeep.”

She writhed petulantly under the covers, trying to mitigate the cold soreness in her muscles that was becoming more and more evident. With another whine, she threw her arms back down, and just as she cracked her eyes open, a hand swooped in and planted itself under her short bangs, making her flinch.

Tyki raised an eyebrow, and then brandished a smile that seemed to be lifted by both mild concern and dry amusement. “You’re actually feverish. How did you manage to go and get yourself sick?”

She groaned and flipped back to her side, hugging Lero to her core. “Unnggh. I don’t knoooow.” Well, she pretended she didn’t know. The answer she avoided was far too stupid to be true. “This can’t be happening. We can’t get sick, it’s impossible!”

Tyki chuckled under his breath. “You’re overestimating yourself if you think it’s impossible. Shall I write you a note to get out of school?”

“Don’t tease me.” Her scowl returned, but again only for a second, as the hard lines in her eyebrows soon dissolved into a steeple, and her nose wrinkled with the familiar feeling she was not ready to welcome back.

“Hh—Hehh’tTSSCHhuu!!” Her body shook from the force of the sneeze—which she made no effort to cover—and Lero yelped as he wriggled anxiously in her grasp (“I am an umbrella not a tissue Lero!”). Road sniffed and buried her head in the pillow, ignoring the pleas of the agitated parasol.

“You’re pitiful,” Tyki laughed. Road ignored him too. For a minute, he seemed to have given it up, as she heard nothing from him and almost assumed he had left, but then the flap of his jacket broke the quiet, and he stepped over to the mirror to adjust his hat.

“Alright, pull yourself together now,” he said mercilessly. “Get up and let’s go so we can finish off the Innocence before Lord Millennium returns and I get blamed for your dawdling.”

“What?” Road complained, looking up to see if he was serious. “Why do I have to go? I don’t feel good!”

Tyki tipped his top hat down over one eyebrow. “You should have thought of that when you were wasting time playing around instead of doing your job. It’s your own fault.”

Road coughed, as if to further her complaint, and Lero flinched uncomfortably. “Forget it,” she spat. “You can go on your own if you want it so bad. I’m staying here.”

“Hmh,” Tyki huffed, buttoning his vest as he readied himself to go. “Fine. Be a brat and do what you want, then. Come on, Lero, let’s go.”

“Huh?” Road sat up at this, just as the umbrella squirmed out of her grasp and soared over to the master who wasn’t going to shower him with germs. “Wait!” she screeched, her voice reaching a pitch that alone probably could have combusted the Innocence. “You can’t take Lero! Then I’ll be all be myself! What am I supposed to do all by myself!?!”

Tyki rested the umbrella against his shoulder. “Perhaps nap, like you seem so anxious to do. Or, if you are so loath to be alone and bored, you will just have to come with us.”

Road groaned so fiercely it was almost a scream. It would have been an impressive tantrum, had it not tapered out to a coughing spell, and she curled to smother her face in the couch.

Tyki stood idly by and watched, waiting for her to finish, and knowing, with absolute certainty, that she was going to concede.

***

The gray cotton that cloaked the sky made midday look like evening. Allen leaned against the windowsill, his head pressed against the cold glass, and he stared out over the courtyard hoping for an answer to drop out of the heavens. The chill on his skin probably wasn’t good for him, and he could imagine the chiding look Lenalee might be giving him behind his back, but the frosty condensation was a nice shock to keep his mind alert as the buzz from the umpteenth cup of tea wore off.

“So that’s a no for the attic,” he listed, grimacing at the hoarseness that still lingered in his voice. “And nothing in the master bedrooms, any of the basement chambers, or the entire west wing.”

It had been two days since the trio arrived at Lucien Manor, and they still had nothing more to go off of than when they had first stepped into the library. Allen had been none-too-happy to wake up on the couch and discover he had fallen asleep—no, tricked! Tricked into sleep!—and even less pleased to realize he had slept through the night. Though as much as he refused to outwardly admit it, the rest had done him wonders, and while he still wasn’t anywhere near one-hundred percent, he at least felt competent again. Lenalee and Lavi had expended an assiduous effort in drafting a list of places around the house that were likely to be hosting the Innocence. Well, likely was probably too generous a term; the three exorcists had spent the majority of the day combing through each of the locations, double-checking, triple-checking, and having turned up nothing they returned desolately to the library, back to square one.

“There’s gotta be something we’re missing,” Lenalee contemplated. Allen felt it too. Maybe it was just his self-esteem’s desperate attempt to encourage him that they were close, but he had some just-out-of-reach hunch that the information they needed was right under their noses.

“It’s been a week now since anything strange has happened, according to Frau Werger,” said Lavi. “Are we certain that Innocence is really involved? What if everything was some weird fluke caused by something else? It seems to have stopped, whatever it was.”

Allen shook his head. “No. It’s definitely Innocence. Even if we haven’t seen it, the Noah Clan wouldn’t be hunting on a wild goose chase.”

“Plus,” Lenalee added, “the only reason the phenomena have stopped is because Frau Werger has ordered all the doors to be left open.”

“Maybe,” Lavi countered hesitantly, “though I’m not certain anything would happen even if we could close the doors…”

There was something unsaid in his tone, something that sounded slightly guilty. Lenalee and Allen eyed him quizzically. “Why do you say that?”

Lavi donned an innocent grin. “Well, when we were each off searching our sections of the west wing… I shut myself in a room.”

The two of them gasped, eyes bulging in disbelief. “LAVI!” they both bellowed.

Lavi threw his hands up, leaping back at the ferocity of the double censure. “Hey, hey, nothing happened! I just thought that since we weren’t having any success, maybe the best thing would be to look from the inside out. But it didn’t work. I shut the door, then opened it right back up again.”

Allen sighed, not having the energy to rebuke him further. He probably would have done the same thing, if he had thought of it. “Still,” he said, sniffing, “Frau Werger told us that it doesn’t happen every time. Maybe you didn’t meet the criteria for the room’s choosing.”

Lavi scrunched up his face, flipping absently through a book. “What does that even mean?”

Allen’s head flopped to the table. “I really haven’t a clue, I just can’t come up with anything else.” He gave in to another sigh, stealing a quick moment of relaxation, but as if in punitive response to such sloth his breath hitched in and he shot back up, overcome with the irritating sensation he had long since given up trying to suppress. “Hih’CHHih! Uhnn…” He sneezed weakly into the sleeve of his wrist, then rubbed his nose against the itch that never seemed to want to go away.

“Bless you,” said Lenalee. “Do you want to take a break? It might help to try and clear our minds for a bit.”

Allen sniffed, not failing to recognize the hidden insistence behind her voice. Since getting a full night’s sleep, Lenalee had been less averse to letting him work, though that didn’t stop her from placidly trying to convince him to rest more. “Doh, I’b fide. I think we sh-hould j-just—heh’tSHhsh!… just look through our leads in the ndorth wi’g dow.”

Allen stood and the others followed suit, their faith in finding anything waning fast. He was starting to feel like their best bet really was going to be just searching every nook and cranny of the place, though even that seemed like it was going to be a fruitless effort. If it weren’t for the portent of the Noahs’ return that reeked in the back of his mind, he might have been inclined to buy Lavi’s idea that there really was no Innocence here.

They trudged heavily down the corridor, up the stairwell, down another long hallway, still hoping to no effect that some hint would spring down on them from a glimpse of something in a portrait, or a line of remembered text from a history book. Allen straightened his spine as they entered the north wing, trying to approach the venture with as much confidence as he could muster.

“I’ll take these three,” Lavi claimed, gesturing toward the first three rooms on the left. “Holler if you find anything.”

The exorcists divided themselves amongst the many rooms, Allen starting at the first on the right. There wasn’t much in it. Just a bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. It really wouldn’t take long to scour the whole thing, even being meticulous. He had searched so many bedrooms by now, and they all looked so much the same, that this one flooded him with a feeling of deja vu.

A very uncomfortable deja vu.

“Hey Allen.”

The voice whipped him around. She could have been there the whole time, hiding in the crack between the open door and the wall. Or perhaps she had only just stepped through from her own dimension. Her dark figure cut a sinister outline in the shadows, lit by the bulbs of her fulvous irises, and for the first time since he met her she greeted Allen without a smile, but with a look that was much, much more dangerous.

“Road!” he exclaimed, and not a moment later he heard a hustle of feet scampering from the next room.

“Allen!!!” The cry came from Lenalee.

He saw what was going to happen only a millisecond before it did, and he felt like he was moving in slow motion as he tried to stop it. Road’s hand braced the edge of the door, her shoulders hunching as she retracted it slightly, just as Lenalee’s hair whipped into view. The slant in Road’s eyebrows sharpened.

“Wait!” Allen exclaimed, throwing his hand out and dodging forward. “Don’t shut the—”

WHAM!!!

Road slammed the door shut, and the change was so evident that he didn’t even have to test the doorknob to know that it wasn’t going to open again. The room sucked in like a vacuum, making Allen’s eardrums pop, and not only was the sound severed from the corridor beyond, but the clamor of the crashing door itself seemed to choke off without resonance. Even Road noticed the peculiarity, her hardened brow rising in question, and she blinked as if trying to pinpoint what was so strange. Silence froze them both, like the world around them had disappeared, and the claustrophobic feeling wasn’t much different than being trapped in one of Road’s dream worlds. The Noah glared at him suspiciously, then swiped her hand over the door in examination. “What just happened?” she demanded.

Allen’s mouth hung open, his arm still outstretched, paralyzed by the hope that somehow this maybe didn’t just happen. Please. Please. Hesitantly, with complete reluctance to confirm for certain what he already knew, he paced forward and set his hand over the doorknob, then tried to turn his wrist. It was as rigid as solid stone.

“What just happened,” Allen intimated, shock and anger shaking his voice, “is that you closed the door in a house where Innocence is sealing rooms shut. Now we’re stuck inside. And there is no way out.”

Road raised an eyebrow, not remotely amused or interested. She tapped a knuckle against the board, and it made a meek, echoless sound like trying to knock on concrete. She tried the doorknob, blowing out a scoffing breath when it refused to budge.

“Well that’s dumb,” she said, as if insulting the creativity of the Innocence itself. She huffed a short laugh to further mock it. “If this door won’t open, I’ll just make my own.”

Allen took a step back, eager to get space from whatever she was about to unleash, and for once he was actually grateful to be in the presence of the super-human abilities of which she boasted so highly. A confident smirk wedged into Road’s face, and in an elegant swoop she raised her arm to the empty space in front of her, then swung it down. Allen had seen her do this twice before, and both times her own stylized, wardrobe-sized door materialized out of thin air, allowing her to step through and disappear to some location that, for all he knew, could have been anywhere in the world.

This time, however, nothing happened at all.

Allen watched Road’s figure cautiously, half-expecting something to crash in behind him, but when her effort drew no response, he saw her body flinch. She whipped her head around the room, her erratic movement absent of the composure she usually upheld with ease, and then she swooped her arm up again, this time with more vigor. The result—or lack thereof—was the same.

Road’s dark complexion blanched, and as the seconds ticked by without event her breath quickened. She slapped her hands against the door, running her fingers over the lip where it met the wall, then leapt away and spun around to meet Allen, holding him with a desperate look of accusation, and Allen saw something in her face that he didn’t know she was capable of.

Panic.

“It didn’t work…” Allen voiced, and hearing the words widened her eyes. This wasn’t a trick. This was Road without her bag of tricks. She stood in front of him, empty hands at her sides, pupils grasping for some answer to the phenomenon that she had not expected and could not explain. Not even Lero hovered by her side. She had nothing.

Why though? As far as he had experienced, Road was invulnerable. During their previous encounters, she never so much as batted an eyelid when akuma were exploding around her, their attacks flying right and left. The only time he had ever seen her even remotely injured she had healed herself seconds later, and she had inflicted the wound on herself with Allen’s Innocence weapon just to prove that very point, that she was untouchable.

Strange and concerning phenomena…

And then Allen had it. “It’s the Innocence.”

“What does that mean?” snapped Road, her arms crossing in demand. Allen thought he saw a tremor course through her body, and she drew her shoulders up, holding herself tight.

“The Innocence hasn’t just sealed us in this room, it’s swallowed us. We’re encapsulated.” A harsh smile broke out across Allen’s face; he couldn’t help it. It seemed, if only slightly, that the tables had turned. “And the Innocence is suppressing your abilities as a Noah.”

Road didn’t just look panicked now; she looked scared. Allen could see her chest pounding up and down as she tried to maintain collected, and she struggled to hide the fear that she likely wasn’t used to experiencing. There was something else though. Something different that he couldn’t quite pin down, but noticed more and more as he lowered his guard and devoted closer attention to her. She almost looked… wan?

Her eyes hardened as she noticed him studying her, and then a threatening smile found its way back to her face. “I may not be able to do anything while I’m in here, but that also means as long as we’re stuck, you can’t get to the Innocence. I know you, Allen. I know that you don’t want to be trapped in here doing nothing any more than I do.” The smile sharpened. “And I know you don’t want to leave your friends out there with my friends.”

Allen clenched his jaw, trying not to let his expression slip. Could she be bluffing? Last time she had come by herself. The time before that though, she had three akuma following her every command. Lenalee and Lavi could handle akuma without a problem. But if there was another Noah out there…

Allen knew his composure had cracked when Road exhaled in a sinister laugh. “That’s what I thought. Now get us out of here. Unless you want—”

She stopped. Right in the middle of her threat, she just broke off, and Allen didn’t know why. Something had distracted her, and her frustration with it was evident on her face as her brow furrowed. He was almost inclined to ask her what was wrong, but the behavior seemed so foreign to her character that he just watched in bemusement. She wasn’t even looking at him anymore, but rather, squinting off somewhere distant. Her eyes slammed shut as a small grunt of displeasure slipped from her teeth, but before she could put up any more of a fight in her internal struggle, a sharp hitch seized her breath. It was then that empathy from the very immediate past elucidated Allen, and he knew exactly what was going to happen when her eyebrows curled helplessly against her effort.

“Hh—hih!… Hih’tTSCHHEW!!”

Allen jerked back the moment it became evident she had no intention of covering. For someone so small, it was certainly a loud sneeze, and it surprised him even though he had seen it coming. Not just its ferocity, but that it happened at all. Road scrunched her face into her wrist, fighting off another… and then something else clicked.

The snicker burst from him before he could even think to stop it, but once it escaped it took full rein, kicking him into a guffaw that was free from etiquette or sympathy. Oh, the karma! Allen reeled over, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath, but the peals of laughter depleted his lungs again, drawing tears from his eyes.

“I—I told you!” he gloated between gasps. “Y-you—kh’hahaha!—you c-caught…”

“Shut UP!” Road bellowed, and the sheer volume of it did quiet his hysterics. Whatever fear had been exposed on her face vanished behind the fury that smoked from her eyes, and with clenched fists at her sides she stomped her foot to the ground in a manner very much like a child demanding to be taken home. “I’m not joking around! If you don’t get that door open in the next thirty seconds—”

“Save your threats, Road,” Allen sneered back, coughing as he recovered from the fit of laughter. “Trust me, the last thing I want is to be trapped in another room with you. But I can’t get that door open any more than you can, so it looks like we’re going to be here for a while.”

Road’s mouth dropped as if she were about to spit another demand, but her voice faltered and she found nothing to say, struggling to find an alternative to the situation he presented. She just stood, drawing a blank, looking back and forth between Allen and the door. Then when she finally drew a breath, it wasn’t to speak.

Allen took a full step back this time as her eyes fluttered into the telltale expression. “Ihh’tTCHHew! … HuhEH’SHHoo!! ickSHHew!” She jerked forward with the force of each sneeze, and the normally dextrous girl even staggered on her feet. The sight itself seemed just as much of an illusion as being trapped in her dream world; to see the almighty Noah be knocked over so easily by something so simple, and so “sub-human.” She had taken the very notion of her getting sick as preposterous, and watching her succumb to it now seemed as ridiculous as a grown adult quacking like a duck. Allen clamped his hand over his mouth, but another burst of laughter broke through anyway.

His mirth promptly ended when the toe of Road’s boot fired a direct hit into his shin.

“GAHH!” Allen hugged his knee to his chest, hopping crippled on his other foot as his shinbone throbbed. It may not have been the spear of her pointed candles, but it was still quite effective.

***

“It won’t open!!!”

Lenalee wailed on the door, which only seconds before had slammed in her face, and she accomplished little more than bruising her knuckles. “ALLEN!” she called at the top of her lungs, but no reply called back.

“Lenalee, stop,” Lavi urged, pulling her away from the door as gently as he could. “You know it’s not going to open.”

“Lavi, we have to DO something! Allen is stuck in there with Road Kamelot! We have to get him out. Every second we are out here, even more time is passing in there! He could have been in there for hours by now!”

Lavi dug his fingers under his headband. Allen had been right. The phenomenon was certainly still occurring. But why did the room take Allen and Road instead of him? “Damn,” he cursed, scratching at his hair for some answer. “This is the worst way this could have happened.”

“Allen is not in the condition to deal with this,” said Lenalee, her voice stricken with horror. “He’s still sick. He won’t be able to fight her.”

She was right. Allen might have thought he was in tip top shape right now, but he was blind to himself by his stubbornness. The room trapped him at a time when he was most vulnerable. It was horrible luck.

Unless… unless it wasn’t luck at all…

“He’s sick…” Lavi repeated quietly. “Holy crap, that’s it. Gah! We’ve been so stupid! That’s it!”

“What is?” Lenalee clamped down on Lavi’s shoulders, demanding he cut to the chase. “Lavi, talk!”

“We’ve been so focused on finding the answer hidden in the pages of history that we didn’t even stop to think about what we know in the present. We never even considered what all of the people who got trapped in these rooms have in common.”

Lenalee snapped her head back to the door, impatient. “But Frau Werger didn’t tell us who they were. We don’t know anything about them.”

“Do you remember what she told us about the maid who got stuck in a room? She said the woman was pregnant. I don’t know much about… woman things like that… but I know that when women are pregnant they can experience symptoms of being ill.”

Lenalee contemplated his words, eyes narrowing in thought. “You think the Innocence is choosing sick people?”

“Exactly. What if each of the victims it took captive were ill in some way? Frau Werger even told us there was a flu going around! And then there is the time thing. They’re in there for days, locked away from everyone else. What if… what if the Innocence is trying to nurse them back to health or something?”

Lenalee moved around anxiously, needing more to go off of, and she tried the door again, though Lavi was sure she didn’t actually expect it to open. “It’s possible,” she agreed, though still hesitant. “It’s a good theory, but why? Why would the Innocence suddenly start doing something like this?”

Lavi was ready with an answer. “Winter of 1673. A plague was sweeping the whole countryside. It was in one of the books. Lucien Manor was a hospital at the time, and it served as a quarantine unit, preventing the spread of sickness and saving lives. If my theory is correct, then the Innocence must have bonded with that aspect of the estate’s history. It’s making its own quarantine, and releasing its patients when they are well again.”

Lenalee’s hand slid over the face of the door, the other clenched into a determined fist. “If that is the case, then if we can secure the Innocence, it should release its hold on the room and let Allen out. But we still don’t know where to find it.”

Despite the dire circumstances, Lavi couldn’t stop the smirk that seized the side of his face, and without thinking he slid his hand to his side and drew his hammer from his belt, twirling it in his palm. “The book also mentioned a monument that was erected to commemorate the mansion’s service of stopping the spread of the disease. If I recall correctly, it’s stationed in the back courtyard.”

Lenalee’s eyes widened, but only for a moment. In the next moment, she was sprinting off down the hall, Lavi quick on her heels.

*****

TO BE CONTINUED... One part left! Bring forth salvation to this tormented akuma's soul!

Heh heh, sorry, couldn't resist.

Edited December 6, 2014 by alias

[Thespian Jaybird]

Oh gosh, this is perfect! I'm in love with this series, and now I'm in love with this fic. You write the characters extremely well. I'm going to be honest, when I saw the 'at first...' part of the title, I was hoping for Lavi, but then... Road?!? You just gave me something I didn't even know I was craving. And now her and Allen are stuck in a room together? I'll definitely be waiting anxiously for the next update!

[VividBubbles!]

Ooooh, sick Road and Allen stuck in a room together. Even though I haven't seen the anime, you've done such a great job with their characterization that I can assume that this is going to be a very amusing experience. I can't wait to read it.

[Emily]

I want to say I saw that coming but I totally didn't and I dig this hard. SPIRIT THINGY THAT JUST WANTS TO TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE AND MAKE 'EM BETTER I LITERALLY CAN'T GET OVER THE AMOUNT OF CUTE

"I'm locking you in this other dimension and you can't leave until you're better now sit the hell down and accept my caretaking and sleep"

I love this muchly hooohohooo

I can't wait to be fully converted into D. Graymanism xD I'll let you know if/when I am!

[Sass]

I enjoy your story so much I had a shot at drawing a scene from it. Hope you don't mind. http://fav.me/d892c0i

[Emily]

I enjoy your story so much I had a shot at drawing a scene from it. Hope you don't mind. http://fav.me/d892c0i

that's actually perfect.

[alias]

Hey guys! Sorry it has been so long since I've updated! That pesky thing that pulls me away from my computer called "real life" kept getting in my way. I mean come on, doesn't it know I have fanfiction to finish!?!

Anyway, thank you again for all your kind words! I'm happy you've enjoyed the story thus far, and I hope you like this conclusion. Thank you so much for reading and indulging in the fandom with me!

@S.S.Smithington: OH MY GOD THAT IS AMAZING!!!! I'm just... I mean... WOW!!! That is so absolutely gorgeous! You captured the scene and the characters so perfectly! I can't believe I'm looking at a scene from right out of my head! This is seriously one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Thank you so much for drawing that and sharing it. That is amazing! It makes me so so happy!!!

Alright, I present to you the concluding chapter of The Tendencies of Humans. Thanks again to everyone who made it this far! Hope you like it!

*****

PART FIVE: Noah Defeat

“How long has it been now?”

Allen looked at his watch. “About seven hours.”

Road let out the mother of all groans, shaking the mattress behind Allen’s head. They had both parked themselves on the floor, the large bed stationed as a barrier between them—though one that was decidedly much too thin. The first hour of their captivity had been spent scrambling around the room and searching for some loophole, any scrap of information he could find, anything that would get them out. When that venture turned up dry, he dedicated the next few hours to wracking his brains in a desperate—albeit stationary—attempt to analyze the situation and find an escape. But that effort proved useless too. And so the remaining hours were spent sitting right here. Waiting.

“Hyeh’NtSHHiew!—UGGHH!!!”

And listening to that.

She screamed after every sneeze, which only became harsher as she became angrier, and she only became angrier as time passed and they increased in frequency. Allen had found it rather amusing at first. But that was seven hours ago.

“I don’t know why you’re so indignant,” he said, his back still to the bed. “It’s your own fault. You’re the one who kissed me.”

The springs screeched as she climbed over the mattress, and before he could shake his inertia and move, her head hung from above him. “No!” she said too loudly into his ear. “This is your fault. They’re your stupid germs. And if you had found the Innocence by now like you were supposed to, we never would have gotten locked in here.”

Allen sprang up from the ground, gaping at her, but she merely crawled away and stuck her nose up at him. “You can’t be serious!” Allen exclaimed. “You’re the one who closed the door!”

Road snapped her head away further with a “hmph!” and refused to take even a semblance of responsibility for everything that was absolutely her doing. “You could at least play with me to pass the time in here,” she complained. “I’m soooo bored.”

Allen sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping as much distance from her as its length would allow. “I’m not very fond of the type of games you like to play. I think I’ll abstain.”

He felt the mattress give with movement as she crawled back toward him, much too close for his comfort. “Come on.” She wrapped her arms around his elbow, tugging him toward the center of the bed. “I don’t have Lero, or any of my dolls, and I hate playing by myself. You can even pick the game for all I care, just do something fun. I feel like I’m gonna die.”

Allen jerked his arm out of her grasp. “Go ahead and die then! It would certainly make my life a lot easier. I’m not going to entertain you, Road. I don’t give a crap about how you feel, and I want nothing to do with you. How ignorant and childish are you that you would actually think I’d willfully do anything with you? You repulse me. And on top of your monstrosity, you’re a brat. So do me a favor and shut up. I’m through listening to you whine, and I don’t even want to share the same air as you, let alone talk to you.”

Allen found himself panting when he finished his diatribe, and his hands quivered from the pent up anger finally expelled. It almost felt satisfying to say it all. Almost. But the words did no good. He expected to hear another whine from the girl, or maybe a snappy remark and another entreaty…

But he only heard silence.

A moment passed, and no sound came from Road. For the first time in seven hours, she was completely, unexplainably, silent. Even when she wasn’t whining, she had always made some kind of noise, whether it was a sigh, a huff, or an impatient tapping. But now, he heard nothing from her at all. And it made his stomach shrink with unease. Unable to endure the tension, Allen turned around to make sure she was still there.

Road hadn’t moved. She was sitting only inches behind him, and as he turned toward her she whipped her head away, but not before Allen caught sight of her face. The glance was quick, lasting no longer than half a second, but it seized his insides like the clench of a cold glove. The boredom that had washed her with an apathetic scowl had vanished, and the visage he glimpsed now looked like that of a child who had been lanced through the back. Her features twisted with the sting, buffing out the edge of all her other expressions and leaving her face raw. It was a look of utter dejection, and though her eyes were shaded by heavy lids, their glossy surface caught the light as she spun away.

Allen’s throat suddenly felt very dry. He had upset her. The possibility hadn’t even crossed his mind. She had always exalted herself so highly above him that it was hard to imagine she would ever care what he said or thought. But seeing that look on her face, the look she immediately tried to hide from him, he knew his words had caused her pain, and his chest burned with guilt.

No. Stop it, Allen! What are you thinking? How could you possibly feel sorry for her? After all that she has done? She is a terrible person, and she deserves everything she gets! She deserves to feel bored. She deserves to feel sick. She deserves to feel… pain?

Allen winced as he let himself think it, and then he hung his head.

Does anyone really deserve to feel pain?

“Heh-uh’tSHHhew! Uhhp’SHHHiuh! —ugggh…” Road ducked her head into her arms, groaning weakly into her knees as she buried her face. Even the effort of her complaint had diminished, and she sniffed under her fortress.

“Bless you…” Allen said it before he could think about it, and he almost clapped a hand over his mouth. But she heard it, and she snapped her head up with as much confusion on her face as he felt. He wasn’t supposed to feel bad for her. But as much as he wanted to keep laughing at her, and as much as he wanted to enjoy her misery just like she enjoyed his, all he felt was pity.

Road looked like she was about to say something. Allen would have been even more surprised if it were a “thank you,” but he never got to find out. As she took a breath to speak, her voice snagged and she was seized by a fit of harsh, merciless coughing.

Whatever humor he had found in her ailment before, what he watched now was anything but funny. The convulsion bent her over so tightly that it looked like it hurt her abdomen as much as it hurt her chest, and she smothered a fist over her lips as she choked, sucking in a gasp for air in a short reprieve just to start again. When she finally stopped, her shoulders collapsed with exhaustion, her breath quavering as it inhaled carefully, and the effort in her eyes looked like she was not only trying not to cough, but trying very, very hard not to cry.

Allen didn’t know what to do. Or rather, he didn’t know what he should do. She was finally leaving him alone, and if he went on ignoring her she would continue to leave him alone until the door opened, however many days that took. All he had to do was turn his back to her. But he couldn’t. His eyes were stuck, and there was something he noticed about her now that he couldn’t shake even if he turned away; for the first time since he had met her, he could look at her and easily believe that she was human. Not a super-human. Not a sub-human. Just a true, unadulterated, vulnerable human being.

“Are… are you alright?” he offered, too quietly to be sure of himself.

Road swallowed, and then winced, a hand straying to her throat. “This is awful.”

“Heh. Yeah, I know,” said Allen. “Especially when you’re stuck in a sadist’s torture circus.”

Road’s lips twitched into a weak smile, and Allen grimaced. Seriously? THAT cheered her up? I really shouldn’t be surprised.

Her smirk fell right back into a frown when a shiver wracked her body, and she drew her legs in closer, eyes furrowing with discomfort.

“Maybe you should lie down. You’ll probably feel better if you—What’s that?”

Allen glanced unthinkingly up at the pillow, about to make the suggestion that Road get some sleep, when something distracted him. The nightstand. There was something on it that wasn’t there before. At first Allen thought maybe he just might have missed it, but that was preposterous; they had searched this whole room ten times over. He would have noticed such an object sitting in plain sight. And plus, it was steaming.

“What’s what?” Road questioned, crawling to the head of the bed.

“There. It’s… a teapot.” In fact, it was a teapot accompanied by two fine porcelain mugs. Allen approached it cautiously, then peaked inside. “And there’s tea in it.”

Road raised an eyebrow as Allen began to pour. “Where did it come from?”

He handed her a mug, and she wrinkled her nose in suspicion before accepting it. Then he poured one for himself. “I think… I think it’s from the room.” Something that Frau Werger had said a few days ago rang in his mind. Something about the people who got trapped in the rooms. It’s almost as if the room was accommodating them at the same time as imprisoning them. Allen knew that the rooms had met the basic needs of their detainees, but this went beyond basic needs.

Was the room trying to doctor them?

***

“You do it.”

“What? You’re the one with the hammer. You do it.”

Lavi and Lenalee stood beneath the gray sky in the courtyard, the crisp wind ruffling their hair as they both gazed straight ahead at the marble monument. The statue exceeded life-size, portraying a valiant looking man in doctor garb, his hands filled with what looked like herbs and medicines. The inscription read

1673

IN MEMORY OF LUCIEN MANOR’S SERVICE AND MIRACULOUS EFFORTS DURING A TIME OF GREAT SICKNESS. MAY THIS ESTATE ALWAYS STAND AS A PILLAR OF SUPPORT AND PROTECTION.

“The Innocence probably nested in there,” Lenalee said.

“It had to have,” Lavi agreed.

“That would explain the personality it took on in the house, and the phenomena that occurred as a result. If we shatter the marble, we’ll be able to retrieve it.”

“And if we’re wrong, we’ll only be destroying a two-hundred year old monument that this town reveres as a pillar of support and protection…”

“Lavi!” Lenalee threw her hands in the air, then anchored them into her bangs. “What other choice do we have??? We don’t have time to double-check the theory. If the Innocence is here, then as soon as we collect it, Allen will be free.”

Lavi sighed, and almost opened his mouth to say well why don’t you take the shot then? but had a feeling said shot would end up being aimed for his head rather than the statue. She was right though, this was their best hope. Lavi twirled his weapon in his palm. “Big hammer, little hammer… grow!”

Lavi raised his hammer over his head, and closed his eyes.

***

“I’m not going to drink it.”

“You know it’s not poisoned, you’ve seen me finish mine. Just sip it. It will make you feel better.”

“I don’t care, I don’t know where it came from! Besides, tea is bitter and disgusting. I don’t want it.”

Road shoved the mug back into Allen’s hands for the third time, and he finally gave up and set it back on the nightstand. She might have won, but her imperiousness lost credibility when immediately after relinquishing the beverage she succumbed to another short coughing fit. Sheer stubbornness seemed to give her the willpower to suppress it as she sank deeper into her pillow, but just as she found success her breath started to hitch, and Allen gave himself a wide berth of space.

“Huh… huh’ihTSHHiew! huh’NKSHHoo!! eh… heht’!—” The last one broke off halfway, and he could see the torment in her face as it held her in the cusp, refusing to let her take another breath. She curled frustratedly against the bed, smothering her face into the pillow. “HEH’mpSHCHew!!!—uhnnn…”

The scream she had become used to issuing after each sneeze had degraded to a whimper, and her small frame writhed over the covers as it searched for a comfortable position to curl up in, without success. When she finally stopped squirming, she lay on her side with her knees drawn in tight and her arms clenched to her core, her body quavering with unsettling shivers.

Again, she was quiet, she was still, she was leaving him alone. So why couldn’t he just leave her alone? He wanted nothing to do with her, and his better judgement told him to stay as far away from this girl as he could. That was the smart thing to do. That was what he knew he should do. But some compulsion—one he very much didn’t like and had a feeling he’d regret—surpassed his instincts, and instead of withdrawing to the other side of the room, he found himself sitting on the bed next to her, pressing a soft palm over the scarred crown on her forehead.

Her eyes popped open as his skin met hers, and he quickly drew his hand away. But the separation was only momentary. Before he could so much as shift in his spot, Road dove into him, latching her arms around his center, and through the tight embrace she buried her head into his chest. Allen’s hands went up in the air, as if the thing clinging to him was the creature from the black lagoon rather than a small, feverish girl. She was cuddling him again—a pastime he certainly didn’t miss—but this time was different. As she burrowed into him, hands clinging to the fabric of his shirt, and face scrunched into a wince as she pressed herself ever closer, he realized that he was not serving as her toy anymore. She didn’t need him for fun now; she needed him for comfort.

Allen let his arms fall back down, resting them freely on the side of the bed. He couldn’t bring himself to enclasp her back.

But he also didn’t move from that spot.

His eyes grew heavy as time began to pass slowly once more, but he didn’t dare let himself fall asleep. Road would sniffle every now and then, and sometimes squirm around in an attempt to get comfortable—a feat that seemed to fail each time as it ended with a groan or a whimper. But however she moved, she did not relinquish Allen from her embrace. He couldn’t call it pleasant, but it was a far cry from any company he had spent with her prior. If anything, he had to admit that it was a warm respite.

Eventually Road stopped fidgeting, and against his chest he could feel the labor of her breathing relax to a calm, sleepy pace. He spared a quick glance down to her face to see that her big eyes had fallen shut, her lips slightly parted. It was almost peaceful enough to allow himself to drift off, but he knew even the consideration was a dangerous thought. He did allow himself to relax in a sense though; as much as he tried not to confess it to himself, he was relieved that she seemed to have found some rest.

“Allen, why haven’t you tried to kill me yet?”

The question shouldn’t have surprised him. Maybe his shock was in part due to the fact that he thought she was asleep, but the moment she spoke his stomach dropped. He tried to swallow before answering, but it felt like a rock choking his throat. Road looked up at him, very much awake, her spotlight irises gleaming from bagged eyes. Her gaze only left him more speechless, so she spoke for him.

“I know it has crossed your mind. Maybe it hasn’t even left your mind. You’re never going to get a more perfect opportunity than this. It’s just you and me, in this little room. I have little to no ability to fight back without my power, and nowhere to run to. I’m even sick and vulnerable.”

Everything she said was true. She wasn’t trying to goad him into anything, it was just simple and obvious fact, and it was the very uneasiness that boiled in the pit of his stomach. She was powerless. But he wasn’t. He knew his Innocence weapon would still work perfectly. It might even take her out in one blow.

“I know you hate me,” she went on, still in truth, “and still you won’t kill me.”

Road was his enemy. He wanted her dead. He needed her dead. And he knew that the cost of keeping her alive could very well end up being dozens, hundreds, even thousands of the human lives she deemed no more significant than ants.

But she was a human too.

She brushed her fingers along his cheek, forcing him to look at her again. “It’s because you can’t.”

Allen’s left arm shook, and he clenched it into a fist, pressing it down into the mattress. Road Kamelot was a human being. This may have been a war, but he was not a soldier. He didn’t vow to take lives, he vowed to save souls, and to protect humans. However much he hated her, however much she deserved it, Allen could not kill another human being.

Road laid her head back over his chest, and she squeezed him more tightly. “You’re so sweet, Allen.” He felt her breath as she sighed, and then her embrace loosened. “And that’s why you’re a fool.”

A loud snap ripped throughout the air, like a seal popping off a jar, and in an instant it felt like the very atmosphere had been rent in two. Allen sprang up from the bed, wavering when his feet planted into the floor and the change in pressure hit him. He didn’t need to question what was going on; the moment he steadied himself, the door flew open.

“Allen!” Lenalee’s voice cried from down the hall, and Allen leapt off the bed. He had barely made it three steps when she soared through the doorway, her dark boots activated with a fierce light that made him squint as they flared into the room. Lavi stampeded in right behind her, his weightless hammer aloft and large enough to only just fit through the frame.

“Are you okay?” she exclaimed, seizing him by the shoulders, and his hands immediately flew up to clasp her wrists. The reunion was almost enough to make him forget about his other company.

“Wait!” he said, dislodging himself from her grasp, and he whipped around back toward the bed, half-expecting an attack and planting himself in a wide stance in front of Lenalee. But Road was not there. He’d turned just in time to catch the fading outline of her wardrobe-like door before it disappeared into the ether.

“She left…” Allen breathed, but he couldn’t decide if he was relieved or not. Her absence left a bittersweet sensation in his gut, and although he was glad to be out of her company, everything she had raked up in their last moments left him feeling rotten, like there was a piece of fruit long gone bad, festering in the back of the refrigerator the longer he refused to throw it away.

It’s because you can’t.

“They’re both gone then,” said Lavi.

“Both?” Allen spun back around, and something further soured his mood. His friends had just rescued him. They had succeeded in solving the mystery, and must have recovered the Innocence. They should have been happy. But both of their heads were hanging, their faces sunken and heavy. “What do you mean both? Was there another Noah?” They didn’t seem as eager to respond to his questions as he was to hear answers, but then he noticed something else. Or rather, he noticed something missing. “Where… where’s the Innocence? You got it, didn’t you? The door opened…”

Lenalee bit her bottom lip, and her eyes hardened as they fought back tears. Allen looked to Lavi for more information, but his expression was just as disconsolate, and the redhead only sighed. Lenalee blinked away the glossiness and found some meek words. “The important thing right now is that you’re okay.”

But Allen didn’t feel okay. Not when they were talking like that. His gaze jumped between Lenalee’s dark boots and Lavi’s hammer, both of which deactivated as they spoke, signifying that the threat they faced was gone. However, that didn’t mean that they had triumphed.

“Tell me what happened.”

“We had it,” Lavi replied somberly. “We found it in a monument in the back courtyard. It was barely in my hands for three seconds. And then… he took it.”

“He? Who is he?”

“He looked familiar,” Lavi went on. “But I don’t know who he was, other than the fact that he was definitely in the family of Noah. He came upon us out of nowhere. I even had my Innocence deactivated. I should have been on my guard.”

“We should have been on our guard,” Lenalee amended. “They had the jump on us. They planned this.”

“So, he just walked away with it?” Allen interjected. “Without a fight?”

“Not exactly,” Lavi swallowed hard, and this time Lenalee turned her face away completely. “He destroyed it. Right there in front of us… He crushed it to dust in his hand. And then he was just gone. He phased right through the ground and disappeared. Damn Noahs.” Lavi pressed a palm hard into his head, his teeth grinding in a wince. “We didn’t even have time to react, let alone stop him.”

They had nothing more to say. Allen didn’t want that to be it, and as he stood there he wished time was still passing more slowly, that they somehow still had a chance to make things right, to do something over. But that was the end. The Noahs won this round. The Innocence was gone.

“We should never have separated,” Allen lamented. “I should never have let myself get trapped in that room. This is all my fault.”

He dug his fingers at his skull, which by now felt like it had shrunk against his throbbing brain. He was just about to open his mouth to apologize when a soft touch met his face, stopping his thoughts, and instead of continuing his speech he leaned in to the cool hand.

“Allen Walker,” said Lenalee, now taking his face in both her hands, her silky touch disparate from the edge in her voice. “If you didn’t still look like hell, I would smack you across the face for saying something as ridiculous as that.” He felt her hand tremble at his cheek, and then she threw her arms around his neck, hiding her face in his coat. “Don’t you dare try to shoulder this on your own. This is on all of us.”

He could hear her breath shake after she spoke, and she hugged him tighter. Allen couldn’t allow himself to agree with her words, but he knew it was best not to voice it. He wrapped his arms around her back, and he didn’t let go for a long time.

“Well then,” he said, voice hoarse, defeated. “What now?”

Lavi sighed and clapped a hand over Allen’s free shoulder. “We go home.”

***

It rained on them during their whole walk to the train station, but none of them complained. In a sorrowful, self-pitying way, they almost welcomed it. It was the winners who got a spotlight of sunshine. The victors. The triumphant. Not them. This was the ballad of their defeat.

Lenalee had already contacted Komui through her golem and explained what had happened. That would at least save them the trouble of a hundred questions once they got back. Allen planned on heading straight for his room and going to sleep. He wouldn’t even stop by the kitchen, not even if he was hungry. Well, probably not.

They were all dripping when they got onto the train, though Allen was the only one still shivering when they reached their compartment. The ache from his fever had somehow found its way back into his bones, as their failed mission seemed to have erased the convalescence of the meager night’s sleep he had gotten the evening before. With nothing more on his mind than the recent events, he would have been satisfied to just fall asleep against the compartment wall, but the bumping tracks jolted him awake every few minutes. That, and other things—

“Hih’nNKSHHuh!” He caught the sneeze in the sleeve of his wrist, pitching forward lazily only to flop back against the seat.

“Still?” Lenalee reached out her palm and laid it across Allen’s forehead, then contorted her face. “Maybe you should head to the infirmary first thing when we get back.”

“I’ll be hihh… fine, I… j-hust—” he waved her hand away, curling his head into his elbow, “ihhKSHhoo!!—deed somb proper rest.”

“I don’t think I’m going to get proper rest for a while,” lamented Lavi, his head resting back in his hands, blank eye staring up into the ceiling.

“Don’t you start beating yourself up now too,” Lenalee scorned. Allen sniffed and scratched his nose. It was hard to take her advice when he still felt so lousy.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Lavi sighed, which only feebly conveyed that he was listening.

“I mean it!” said Lenalee, and they both eyed her this time. “We messed up. It was a tough loss. But it means that we’re gonna be tougher now, yeah? They beat us, but this is by no means the last battle. The next time we meet the Noahs, we will be ready.”

Next time. It wasn’t an if, or a maybe, or a possibly. It was a definite. Allen knew as well as the rest of them that they would cross paths with the Noahs again before this war was over. It might even end up being the last path they crossed. The only true uncertainty was whether it would be sooner or later. Either way, Allen was destined to see Road Kamelot again. The rotting scent sickened him; that unnamable thing in the back of his mind. The thing that he tried to close the lid on to hide the odor, but which only festered further the longer he tried to contain it instead of eliminate it. It was Road. It was him. It was the opportunity he’d ignored.

It’s because you can’t.

Allen knew that the easy opportunity to eliminate Road was probably never going to come again. He knew he had missed the best chance he would ever get. Road was still alive because he hadn’t put an end to her, and now more people were going to die because of her. They’ll be ready next time they meet the Noahs? The rot seeped into his lungs. That he’d missed the opportunity this time wasn’t what putrefied inside him. Even if the same chance did come again, perfectly gift-wrapped for the fatal blow, he still didn’t know if he’d be able to take the shot.

Allen looked up at Lenalee, and her violet eyes pierced back. They were smudged with tired shadows, and the dull color in them was sad, but there was more than sadness in them. As she made herself smile, Allen also saw that there was hope, and it was all he could cling to.

“Besides,” she went on, smiling more cheerfully, “we need to bounce back as soon as we can. My brother certainly isn’t through with us yet. He’ll have the next five missions lined up for us by the time we get back to headquarters. Of course, none to undertake until we’ve all gotten sufficient rest.” She winked at Allen, and he couldn’t help but give a small grin back.

“Hah’ikGSHHOO!!”

Allen and Lenalee both jumped.

Lavi snapped forward, his wrist pressed tightly under his nose as his face wrinkled up, headband slipping over his brow. Allen’s heart pounded from the surprise of the volume more than anything, and Lenalee blinked in mild shock.

Lavi groaned, then sniffed as he rubbed his nose. “Crap.”

*****

-THE END-