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Innocent Rain	By : saxonjesus Category: +. to F > D. Gray Man Views: 3947 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Chapter 10—Doubt and Trust

August 10, 2013—The Dark Order, Main Branch

                Lenalee had never been so glad to be
back home. It wasn’t as if that had been the longest mission she’d ever been on, but for some reason, being away from the few people who remained in her heart hurt more than it should have.
Still, she thought, I have my Allen. He always cheered her up.

                It was a tight fit on the service lift to the top, but Lenalee didn’t mind it. She leaned, weary, against the wall and felt Allen’s presence
beside her doing the same. His hand lightly twined with hers, and they closed their eyes as they began to relax. If any of the other Exorcists noticed anything, they didn’t mention it. Maya, however, seemed to shoot Lenalee a scandalized
look as they all disembarked, but that could have been from the slight she had suffered a few days ago.

                Allen had made a surprisingly quick recovery, having only been in the chains for a short time, and he barely made a grunt or wince of pain when he moved. He was carrying his upper body more stiffly than usual, but Lenalee
knew he was probably just very, very sore. His muscles had not been overly damaged, nor had any bones. The worst of the injuries seemed to be the non-healing wound near his
Adam’s Apple and the raw scabs that encircled his wrists and, to a lesser extent, his ankles. Lenalee had a feeling his Innocence would boost up his healing time, just as it had patched up the hole in his heart, so she wasn’t too
worried.

                “You can all wait outside the Director’s office while we give our report. After the meeting, you’ll be given rooms, and I’ll give you all a quick tour of the place if you haven’t been here in a while,” Lenalee said to the
other Exorcists absently, squeezing Allen’s hand, just to make sure he was still there with them. He had been a bit quiet since the whole incident in the South American Branch, but Lenalee knew he was only hurting. He would be fine. He looked down at her,
shooting her a small smile. Lenalee gave him a significant look as they headed into Smith’s office. They would be talking about this later.

                “Ah, I see you’ve made it back, General Walker, Miss—General Lee,” Smith said genially, coughing to cover his slip-up. “Would you mind reporting what happened during the course?” He asked, though Lenalee knew it was anything
but a request. She exchanged knowing glances with Allen and turned back to the Director she had come to loathe.

                She recounted all the events, the small, inconsequential missions they’d gone on while waiting for the Exorcists to make it back to their branches. The Director made small grunting noises of understanding as she spoke.
She faltered when she got to the South American Branch.

                “Please continue, Miss Lee,” Director Smith said smilingly.

                “General,” Allen grunted beside her, and Lenalee smiled.

                “General Lee, then.”

                “We got to the South American Branch, and both of the Exorcists had been put on an urgent mission to Ecuador. I needed to take care of some errands for that branch in the northern part of Argentina, where there’s a small
Finder base—you know, routine things, paperwork, and all that.” The Director nodded, urging her to continue. “Well, one night, I was filling out some papers for this one Finder—Miguel was his name—and suddenly, I got really, really tired. I fell asleep, and
I saw Allen done up in chains, and then I—” Lenalee felt Allen’s free hand come to rest on her shoulder.

                “Lenalee,” he said, and she understood at once what he meant. The rest of that scene had been private. It had been very, very private, and no one else should know about that wonderful, perfect girl but them. No one else
deserved to.

                “—and then I woke up, and I had the strangest urge to get back to the South American Branch immediately. I got back there, and I couldn’t find Allen. They chained him up because he—because they found out about the Noah
in him,” Lenalee concluded, glad she hadn’t slipped up and mentioned that Allen had lost control again. The Order wouldn’t put up with it a second time.

                “Very well. When you have time, write your report out and submit it to me. Now, I’ll have someone find them some rooms. We’ll have everyone—and I do mean everyone, even those two slackers who
have been skiving their duties for a month now—meet in the dining hall for dinner.” The Director sat back, and he opened a drawer, producing a rather large cigar.

                “Wait, are you talking about Kanda-kun and Lavi?” Lenalee asked urgently. Lavi had been mentally… unstable, but he was a strong man and should have been able to heal from it by now.

                “Haven’t gone on a fucking mission since France,” the Director growled, lighting his cigar. Lenalee coughed at the pungent aroma and backed out.

                “We’re leaving now,” she said, pulling Allen from the room.

                “Shall we take a walk?” She asked as the heavy doors closed behind her. She fought down the sense of indignation at the foul British man smoking in that office, throwing her pent-up frustration into her overly-bright smile.

                “Sure,” Allen replied, giving her hand a squeeze.
“Where to?”

                “Well, I’m sure it’s a nice day. Why don’t we head up to the tower?” She wanted to go somewhere private for them to talk.

                Allen nodded, and they walked in silence as they reached the stairwell. They hadn’t gone far up the steps when an echoing slam came from behind. They turned around in time to see Kanda-kun come barreling up the steps, his
eyes wide with desperation and a set look on his face. He slammed into Allen, and Lenalee was brought down with the force. Kanda-kun stumbled and turned back, slowing his pace for just a moment.

                “Lavi,” was all he said before turning and running harder than ever up the never-ending spiral of steps.

                Lenalee’s heart froze. Understanding hit her like a kick to the head.

                “Allen, I’m sorry, but I have to break my promise again. Can you last a few minutes without me?” She asked, already turning away.

                “I’ll be fine,” he said, but he sounded overwhelmed. Lenalee gave him a hug.

                “Please, Allen, you have to be fine. I can’t lose both you and Lavi!” Tears fell freely from her face, and Allen nodded grimly.

                “I’ll try,” he promised, letting her hand go. Lenalee flew up the steps.

                She stopped a moment to catch her breath half way up. She should have activated her Innocence. Looking out of the window to see what was going on in the observation deck above, Lenalee fell down with shock. Standing back
up and noting Allen was behind her, she did a double take. Lavi was standing—standing—on the thin, metal railing that separated the observation deck from the open air. She heard a gasp beside her.

                “Lavi,” Allen breathed. He activated his Innocence, and the Crowned Clown lowered its mask over his head.

                “There’s nothing you can do from here, Allen,” Lenalee moaned miserably. Even with her Innocence, she wouldn’t be fast enough, because Lavi was now balancing on one leg. Her eyes were fixated on him as he placed his leg
back down and leaned forward.

                Kanda-kun came out of nowhere, grabbing Lavi’s wrist. The man twisted into the wall, and then his hand slipped from Kanda-kun’s.

                Lenalee’s heart stopped. She needed to do something—she was the only one who could.

                “ACTIVATE!” She shouted, pushing the limits of her synch rate yet again. She bent her knees and launched herself out of the window, glass cutting through her entire body. “DARK BOOTS, I NEED YOU TO WALK ON AIR!” She screamed
as she lost momentum, and her Innocence seemed to react to her wish, as the air beneath her boots became quite solid.

                She wasn’t sure how she did it, nor how she was able to hold his weight, but she grabbed Lavi as
he was falling, holding him around the waist. She used the now solid air and pushed off in a powerful jump that took her up to land not-so-gracefully on the observation deck. Lavi fell from her arms to the ground with the sharp sound
of head hitting stone. Breathing deeply, she looked Lavi over and found him to be quite well, despite the recent strike to the head. Lavi could handle it—he’d been able to handle Bookman’s strikes with good grace, and those were
hard.

                Lenalee felt sharp pain coursing through her legs, and she fell on her backside. She was dimly aware of the pain of glass embedded in her skin, but her legs were on fire. It reminded her of how they had felt after taking
on that Level Three on her own, only that had been more of a steady ache, and this was… different. She chanced a glance at her legs and gasped. Instead of the dark red she had grown accustomed to, her Innocence was clear,
glowing a faint green.

                Past her feet, she saw Kanda-kun on the ground, staring blankly at his hands. He was trembling lightly, but other than that, he showed no signs of awareness.

                “Kanda…kun?” She asked, trying to crawl over to him. She let out a scream of pain when she tried to move her legs.

                The door opened, and Allen walked past her, heading for Lavi, who was sitting, dazed, in front of Lenalee, staring right at her. He threw all the force of his weight and velocity into a rocking punch to Lavi’s left cheek.
Lavi went flying back four meters, doing a flip in the air and landing on his stomach. He groaned, and Allen walked up to him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

                “You have no idea how fucking selfish you’re being, Lavi,” he growled, his voice half-Allen and half-Musician. Allen’s skin was a light gray, but not ashen. His eyes remained their soulful gray, and no stigmata marred his
forehead.

                Lavi cringed away from Allen, who threw him to the ground as if he were toxic waste.

                He turned and walked swiftly over to Lenalee, scooping her up in his arms.

                “You can’t walk, can you?” He asked, and Lenalee shook her head. She didn’t think she’d be able to move for a long time.

                “Lavi, what would Bookman say to this?” He asked coldly before turning on his heel and striding away. He was careful not to jostle Lenalee on the steps, but she was too thunderstruck to register the all-encompassing pain.

                He walked her all the way to the Hospital Wing and gently laid her down on a bed. He walked away, and when he returned, he had a doctor. The doctor examined her with a frown on his face and a furrow in his brow, though
he said nothing more than a few hmmm’s and
ah’s. Lenalee wasn’t sure whether to be worried or not.

                The doctor went off to confer with one of his colleagues as a nurse slowly and painstakingly removed each shard of glass from Lenalee’s skin.

---

                It was as if Bookman had both broken him and healed him. With Allen’s comment, all his confused perceptions of himself snapped into clarity, and he suddenly understood himself more plainly than he ever had. He was Lavi,
an ex-Bookman, an Exorcist, and a man who was deeply in love with another man. He was smart—a genius, really—and dreadfully curious, to the point of being annoying. He was a serious man, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a great sense of humor. He liked
to annoy people, and he also liked to make people laugh. He loved to smile, to make others do the
same. Still, he would do anything to keep the people he cared for safe, especially the man he loved. That man was his sun, making him warm and happy all the time. His name was Yuu. The rest of his self-knowledge would come with time,
as he got to know himself better.

                He looked over at Yuu, and his heart sank. Yuu was not moving except for a small tremble that seemed to line him like a second skin. He watched as Yuu dropped his hands to his sides. He was… different, far different from
anything Lavi had seen before. Lavi walked over, nursing his bruising cheek, and tried to touch Yuu.

                The man flinched back, and Lavi recoiled immediately. His
sun was hurt.

                I hurt my sun, he thought, his heart breaking.
I hurt him so bad he can’t even move. I did something completely unforgivable. And I
hurt him. I don’t remember exactly what it was that I did, but whatever it was, it
hurt him. I hurt him.

                Tears streaked down from his face unashamedly. He held out a hand again, but Yuu flinched from his touch again.

                “Yuu?” He asked quietly. The man seemed to relax at that. “Yuu, it’s time to go inside now.”

                It was like he was speaking to a young child. Yuu looked up at him with blank eyes and the strangest, vulnerable look on his face. He nodded but didn’t move.

                “Yuu,” Lavi tried again. “It’s nearly dinnertime. We need to go in. You don’t want to miss a meal, do you?”

                The man in front of him shook his head roughly from side to side, his hair whipping Lavi. Slowly, he scrambled to get up and followed Lavi as he led him down the stairs.

                “Hey, Yuu, why don’t we go get you changed so that you’re wearing something clean for dinner,
ne?” Yuu’s head perked up at the little Japanese tag at the end of the sentence, and Lavi was hit with inspiration.

                “Ne, Yuu, let’s go back to your room, okay?” He said in Japanese. The other man picked up his pace slightly, and Lavi led the way, shooting glares at anyone who tried to hail the two of them.

                They reached the door, and after much coaxing, Lavi got Yuu to enter it. Yuu screamed as Lavi tried to undress him, so Lavi set out a pair of pajamas and turned away.

                “Yuu, put those on, ne?” He said. He heard the rustle of the other man’s nod, and after a moment, he turned around to see a pajama-clad Yuu. “Now sit down on the bed. You must be sleepy.”
The Japanese man nodded again and sat down. Lavi grabbed his hairbrush and ignored the man’s flinching long enough to get most of the day’s tangles from it. He told Yuu to
lay down, and he did. He looked up at Lavi as he covered the other man, and he muttered, “you’re dead.” It was the last thing he said for days.

---

                Lavi looked over at Yuu, who was curled up next to him in the bed. The second Lavi had sat
down, Yuu had done something completely unexpected. Instead of flinching away as he had since the observation deck, Yuu had turned and thrown his arms around Lavi’s waist. Lavi sat against the headboard, reading through the book Amanda
had given Yuu. He rather enjoyed it. The attention to detail and the asides about each character’s lineage were fascinating, and it made for a very good read. Two hours after beginning it, there was a banging on the door. Without ado, it slammed open, and
Yuu opened a groggy, blank eye before deciding it not worth his attention and falling back into his half-unconscious state. Lavi growled as fucking Director Smith barged bodily into the room.

                “I’m here to interrupt your homosexual love-fest,” the Director snapped nastily.

                “Get out,” he hissed, narrowing his eyes hatefully and grabbing his Innocence from its permanent place on his right thigh. This man had no idea what was going on and had no right to make assumptions.“Before
I kill you.”

                “Your fucking homo ass would never do that to a superior.”
Superior? Lavi scoffed inside his head, this man did not deserve his respect. He’d give the man a reason to think twice before entering an Exorcist’s room unannounced.

                “Activate,” Lavi hissed again. He noted that the pole grew thicker to accommodate his hands’ limited range of motion. As he gripped it, pain flowed like lava threw his hands, and he screamed with it. His
hands glowed with five long, thin rivets of green light, following the metal that had replaced his shattered bones. They sparked and sputtered furiously, painfully.

                He screamed and screamed until the only thing he was aware of was his strong grip on the hammer in his hands, until his voice shattered and fell away like his hands had. Bile rose up in his throat, and he leaned over, emptying
his lunch onto Yuu’s sheets. His body felt hot and slick with sweat, and he couldn’t concentrate on the scene in front of him.

                “What’s going on in here?” It was Allen’s voice. Lavi looked up, tunnel vision limiting his view. “Smith, get the hell out. Something’s wrong with Lavi’s Innocence.”

                “It’s not my fault his Innocence is rejecting him because he’s going against God with his sexuality.”

                Lavi screamed, this time in anger, and he tightened his burning hands on Oodzuchi Kodzuchi’s pole. It thinned down to its usual size with the force, and Lavi howled as blood spurted forth like a geyser from his barely-healed
hands.

                “Who I love has nothing to do with my Innocence,” he said, his tone low and dangerous.
“Hiban.”

                Fire swirled from the end of his hammer, and only a hastily placed Clown Belt kept it from hitting its target. His fire seal flew back to his Innocence and swirled around it in a threatening manner. The thin line of fire
sputtered and growled at Smith as his face darkened in rage.

                “I will see you excommunicated for this,” Smith threatened, light burns on his face and arms where the Clown Belt had failed to protect him.

                “Even though this organization forced me to become Catholic, I have never been more than Atheist, so I don’t really see a problem in that,” Lavi said nonchalantly, running his hand absently over the pummel of his Innocence.
“Besides, you can’t afford to lose another Exorcist.”

                “I lost you and that Chinese hermaphrodite weeks ago,” Smith hissed, pure, unadulterated loathing in his eyes.

                Lavi felt his face grow a similar look as he narrowed his eyes. He gripped Oodzuchi Kodzuchi as hard as his hands would allow, physically restraining himself from attacking again. “I can forgive you for the hermaphrodite
comment, because I know it’s not true, and not even Yuu would be insulted by it, but the fact that you called him Chinese… that’s different. It shows just how ignorant, incompetent, and bigoted you are. Someone like you should not be in charge of the Main
Branch. Komui is probably rolling around in his grave—or rather, shaking in his urn, as he was probably cremated by the Order’s laws—at
your despicably lacking managing skills. Just as you will see me excommunicated, I will see
you thrown from your office by your highly competent replacement.”

                “It’s your word against mine,” Smith growled, clenching his fists menacingly. Lavi felt no fear at the action. Really, what could the man do?

                Allen cleared his throat, and the two fighting Order members looked at him. Timcanpy was on his head, projecting the scene that had just transpired. “Actually,” he said, clearing his throat again. “It’s Timcanpy’s word
against yours. And the five Generals as well, I should think.” He smiled darkly, indicating his Dark Side was showing. This time, Lavi felt the fear running a shiver down his spine, and he was very glad Allen was on his side.

---

August 11, 2013—The Dark Order, Main Branch

                Lenalee found the wheelchair both tiresome and extremely annoying. She couldn’t get anywhere fast, and when she was moving it on her own, she grew tired far faster than she would have liked. Thankfully, Allen was usually
by her side, taking her wherever she asked and chattering happily
about whatever came to mind. Lenalee relaxed to its soothing quality, but she was jarred out of it as they saw Smith storming past them, an irate look on his burly features.

                “Do you mind?” Allen questioned, gesturing to Smith. Lenalee shook her head.

                “Go ahead, Allen. Let’s see what’s going on.” Allen nodded and rolled her down the hallway.

                They ended up at Kanda-kun’s room just as Smith barged into the room, saying something so completely vulgar that Lenalee gasped. Far worse was Lavi’s reply. He
hissed it, and a flash of green light hit the room at the Director’s answering taunt. An agonized scream rippled through the air. Allen flashed Lenalee an apologetic look and stepped into the room, asking what was wrong.

                As he walked in, Lenalee saw Timcanpy flutter to Allen’s forehead. With Allen in the doorway, she couldn’t see the Director or Lavi, but she could hear Lavi as he shrieked louder. Lenalee tried to maneuver the wheelchair
into a better position, but she couldn’t see anything at all, no matter the angle. She cursed her nonresponsive legs, wishing she could get into the room. Allen moved as the Clown Belt shot out around the fire that suddenly erupted in the room. Lenalee’s view
was no longer obstructed, and she gasped at the sight in front of her. Lavi’s hands were oozing blood as he lightly stroked his Innocence, fire dancing and twining around it like the snake it was. Next to him on the blood-spattered bed was Kanda-kun, who was
obviously very fast asleep. Otherwise, he would have shot up at the horrible comment Smith made a moment later. It felt like a slap to her face. If she could have gotten into the room easily, she would have hit Smith hard enough to throw him to the ground.
Seething with rage, she was very glad when Allen promised to have Smith removed from his unearned office.

                “We’re going down to the Grand Marshalls to solve this problem. We can also stop by and see Hevlaska about your Innocence,” Allen said, beginning to push her to the large lift that ran through the entire Headquarters.

                They arrived minutes later, and the Grand Marshalls illuminated their chairs with spotlights, just as they had one hundred and fourteen years in the past.

                “We knew you were coming, Allen Walker,” the one in the middle intoned.

                “Did you now?”

                “Yes, we knew you’d come here about Lenalee Lee’s Innocence. There is something you’d like to know.” The speaker talked clearly, as if stating facts.

                “Actually, I’m here for more than that,” Allen replied. There was a murmur of interest from the five chairs above. He displaced Timcanpy from his head, gesturing for him to fly up to the Grand Marshalls. Timcanpy displayed
the happenings of the last few minutes, and Lenalee knew that if she could see the Grand Marshalls’ faces, they would be disturbed.

                Silence followed Tim’s projection, and no one spoke for several minutes.

                “This is… distressing,” said the middle one, the spokesperson. There was a murmur of general agreement from the others around him. “The Exorcist called Lavi will have to be punished for his digressions.”

                Allen looked stricken.

                “Smith needs to be replaced,” Lenalee said coldly, inviting
herself into the conversation. “Lavi only attacked because Smith provoked him.”

                “He still attacked a superior, Lenalee Lee, and he must therefore be punished.”

                A movement from behind stopped Lenalee’s response.

                “A third Exorcist has passed the Double Critical,” Hevlaska said solemnly.

                There was silence from the Grand Marshalls.

                “What is this?” A voice from the second chair asked.

                “The one who calls himself Lavi has passed the Critical Point a second time. His synch rate is somewhere in the range of 205 percent.” Lenalee and Allen gaped.

                “We were aware of only one other, Hevlaska,” the middle Grand Marshall intoned, taking up his place as spokesperson again.

                “We have known for a long time that Allen Walker hit Double Critical over a century ago during his fight with the Earl. Yesterday afternoon, however, there was another one. Lenalee Lee has synched with her Innocence far
beyond the capacity of a normal General, as you can see from her current state.” Hevlaska gestured with one tentacle to Lenalee’s unmoving legs. They no longer hurt, but Lenalee could not make them budge on her own. Someone needed to move them for her, and
she was secretly terrified that she would never regain use of them. She had told Allen as much, of course, and he hadn’t known how to console her, simply pulling her into a very gentle embrace. That contact and quiet understanding had done far more for her
than any words could have.

                “So her Innocence wasn’t broken, as you informed us yesterday?” the middle Grand Marshall said. Hevlaska nodded, and the Grand Marshall continued, “however, if Lavi has hit Double Critical, there is no way we can remove
him from the Order. He is too needed. He will go lightly punished, regardless of how we find him when we try him later.”

                Lenalee gasped. “You’re going to try Lavi?
Under what charges?”

                “Attempted murder of an officer and failure to comply with orders. The Japanese Exorcist, Kanda Yuu, will also be tried under the second offence.”

                Allen scoffed. “Good luck with that one,” he said rudely, snorting with laughter. “I’ve never seen him that dead. I can’t wait to tease him about it.”

                “He’s dead?” The spokesperson shouted, shocked.

                “Well, it’s more like he’s catatonic at the moment, so he’s technically alive, but he’s dead to the world.” He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “To everyone except Lavi, of course,” he added.

                “Explain.” It was a command, roughly spoken.

                “Have you not been watching the Order as well as you claim to?” Allen asked rhetorically. Lenalee stifled a giggle. It seemed the Dark Order was full of incompetent people these days.

                “Are you referring to the former Bookman’s mental illness?”

                Lenalee bristled. “I think he’s entitled to a little breakdown. He’s lived through far more war than any of us—you included,” she said coldly.

                “Regardless of his motives, he still tried to kill someone, something punishable under any law.”

                Allen and Lenalee argued with them for hours, but it just went around in circles, neither side budging. Lenalee knew that they couldn’t stop the trial from happening, and they couldn’t get the Grand Marshalls to see the
facts behind the attack.

                “If you’re going to charge Lavi and Kanda-kun, at least charge Smith as well,” Lenalee demanded for the hundredth time. The Marshalls refused again.

                “How about this,” Allen said, looking as if he had been struck by sudden genius. “If all five Generals agree to it, you will remove Smith from his office and the Order.”

                The Grand Marshalls huffed amongst themselves and excused themselves for a moment. They were gone for a good hour. Upon their return, they agreed. Lenalee smiled, thanking them. She shared a triumphant look with Allen.
Getting the other three Generals to agree with them was going to be very, very easy.

---

August 20, 2013—The Dark Order, Main Branch

                Tuan Chu and Tamas Varga had both readily agreed to side with Allen and Lenalee. They had both mentioned noticing the man’s growing incompetence but had been completely shocked by Timcanpy’s evidence. Cyrah Kabbah had stunned
them both. Lenalee had been prepared to remove her earlier threat and had told the woman so, but she had disagreed, stating that she would consent to back them without bribery. Her hand twitched to her whip as if itching to beat the foul Director—or perhaps
the Grand Marshalls. Lenalee had known for a while that the Order was corrupt—after all, they did horrific tests on innocent human subjects—but she had never felt it was this unbearable. It had gotten better close to the end all those years ago, as the Order
could no longer afford to go against its Exorcists, but the fact that such corruption still remained sickened Lenalee. She was immensely glad she now had the power to do something about it.

                Lenalee walked down the hallway, a tray of coffee in her hands. She was very relieved to be moving on her own power again. Her legs had gradually regained mobility over the course of the past week and a half, and now she
had full range of motion again. She smiled happily at that fact and looked down at the clear rings around her ankles. Every time they caught the light, they
glinted Innocence green, as if showing off their power. Reaching her goal, Lenalee held out a hand and rapped loudly on Kanda-kun’s door.

                “Lavi, I’m coming in,” she said, pushing the door open. The sight before her was exactly the same as it had been each time she’d come by. Lavi was sitting with his back against the headboard, and Kanda-kun was lying, comatose,
on the bed. The only difference was that Kanda-kun was facing away from Lavi, rather than toward him. She had seen him like that a few times, and each time seemed to be while he was actually asleep, rather than in the protective stupor he’d been in since Lavi’s
failed suicide attempt.

                Lenalee had been around more than was necessary, as she wasn’t sure of Lavi’s mental stability. He had seemed to bounce right back, and he no longer seemed depressed. He was different, though, more serious and smiling less.
Whenever he saw her, he gave her a small smile, which was different from the smiles he’d always given her before, and Lenalee thought it seemed more genuine, as if his smiles before had meant nothing.

                “Lavi, I brought coffee,” she said, holding the tray out for him as she reached the bedside.

                Lavi sniffed it cautiously. “You haven’t drugged this again, have you?” He asked. Lenalee blushed. After the first three days, it had become very clear that Lavi had not slept at all. Her newest friend, Artemis, had been
kind enough to lend her sleeping pills, and she had remorselessly thrown them into Lavi’s drink. He’d realized what she’d done a moment too late, and Lenalee suspected that that had been the only time he’d actually slept since Kanda-kun had gone despondent.

                “You know I have,” Lenalee replied as Lavi put the mug back on her tray, nose wrinkling.

                “You know, I thought I could trust Miranda, but wouldn’t you know? I felt horribly sleepy last night, and when I woke up, there was a broken mug on the ground and coffee stains on the sheets. Did you know narcotics are
illegal?”

                Lenalee blushed harder. Just what had Miranda put in his coffee? She’d asked Miranda to put in something that would make him sleep, but—

                “I really don’t like being doped up on Morphine,” Lavi continued, “and when I woke up, Yuu was screaming. And from the sound of his voice, it had been going on for a while. You know what he was screaming, Lenalee?”

                Horrified, she shook her head.

                “It was my name.”

                Lenalee’s heart ached. She ducked her head. “I’ll stop doing it,” she said.

                “I don’t particularly care that you’re trying to make me sleep—I don’t even care about the Morphine—but I do care that I wasn’t awake to help Yuu. You know, that was the first thing he’d said in days. When he opened his
eyes, he mentioned something about me not being there, that I was dead.”

                She felt tears falling steadily from her eyes.

                “Lenalee, why does Yuu think I’m dead?”

                “You don’t remember?” She asked thickly, trying not to choke on her tears.

                “I know I did something bad, but I don’t know what it was.”

                “You’re telling me you don’t remember jumping off the observation deck?” She asked, her voice becoming shrill as she unintentionally screamed the last few words.

                Lavi looked taken aback.

                “I did what?” He asked, his voice blank with shock.

                “And Kanda-kun tried to catch you. He missed, though.”

                “How am I still alive?” He asked in wonder.

                “Why do you think my Innocence evolved again?” She asked rhetorically. “I saved you.” Lavi opened his mouth to ask another question, but Lenalee spoke on. “I saw you jump as I was passing one of the tower’s windows, so
I jumped out of it. I used my Innocence to get to you in time. I was at the farthest window, and since most of the power of my jump went into shattering the glass, I couldn’t quite reach you. I don’t know how I did it, but I made my Innocence solidify the
air around it and was able to catch you.”

                Lavi, for once, looked at a loss for words.

                “You’re very heavy, you know,” Lenalee added.

                “I know,” he answered, his voice devoid of all emotion and his eye wide. “Did I really do that?” He asked after a while, his voice thin with some foreign thing Lenalee couldn’t place.

                “Yes,” she said in a hushed voice. Lavi looked down sadly at his lap, and his Innocence-ridden hand twirled absently in the ends of Kanda-kun’s hair. She saw a solitary tear glisten as it fell down his face.

                “Yuu told me he cared about me,” he mentioned, still playing with Kanda-kun’s hair.

                Lenalee gaped.

                “I know,” Lavi said, grimacing. “It must mean he cares a lot, because otherwise he wouldn’t be like this. If he wakes up, he’ll kill me himself, just for doing this to him.”

                “When,” Lenalee corrected quietly.

                “Eh?”

                “‘When he wakes up,’ not ‘if,’” Lenalee said firmly. Lavi shook his head.

                “I don’t know if he will. After what I did to him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t.”

                Understanding hit Lenalee like one of Komui’s inventions. Lavi was feeling guilt—not that horrible feeling when one does something wrong, but that all-encompassing feeling of complete and utter
responsibility. Lavi felt guilty for Kanda-kun’s current state. It had been his fault—there was no denying that—but to feel it to this extent was ridiculous.

                “Lavi, you need to stop feeling responsible for this. Kanda-kun’s been on the verge of this since he joined the Order. You just… pushed him over the edge. It was bound to happen eventually,” she said soothingly, putting
a comforting hand on Lavi’s cheek.

                “Eh?” He asked, and his eye looked entirely hopeless.

                “I’ve been down that road before. I know what mental pain is like. When I first met Kanda-kun, I knew something was wrong. I heard General Tiedoll talking to the Director—that was before Komui got there—and he mentioned
something about severe abuse. Kanda-kun doesn’t show it, but whatever life he had before the Order was so entirely traumatic that it took nearly half a year for him to even begin to trust Tiedoll. He didn’t, you know, before he met Hevlaska…” Lenalee’s voice
trailed as she remembered. Slowly, she began to explain what happened to Lavi.

January 15, 1879—The Dark Order, Main Branch

                It was Wednesday. Lenalee didn’t care. It was like every other day: empty.
But today, something different happened, breaking the monotony, if only slightly. The Director told her to go greet the arriving General and his students. She knew that Noise Marie had been travelling with Tiedoll for a while, but
she’d heard that Tiedoll had picked up a new pupil. She very much looked forward to meeting them. Her only friends were the Finders or members of the Science Department. And even then, they weren’t real friends, just people she talked to. The only real friend
she had was the Matron, and she only got to talk to her when the old woman wasn’t busy, which wasn’t often. She had a lonely life. It wasn’t hard to figure out why, though. She had no parents, and the Dark Order had even separated her from her one remaining
family member. She missed Komui. She always would.

                The General strode through the main gates, and behind him, she could make out the muscular form of Noise Marie. She heard a light shuffling noise following them and saw a third person. She was very small, with chin-length
hair. She wore Japanese-style clothing, and she clutched a large, thin sword as she shuffled in. It was nearly as tall as she was. She couldn’t have been more than six or seven. What struck Lenalee most, though,
was her flat, lifeless eyes. They were as dark as night and matched her hair color completely. She stooped, making her look even shorter, and she was skeletally thin. Lenalee knew that if she were to see the other girl shirtless,
she would see very defined ribs. Her face was almost gaunt, as if she had only recently stopped eating.

                Tiedoll marched past her, patting her on the head as he went by.

                “Take care of our newest Exorcist. His name is Kanda Yuu.” He gave her a fatherly smile and moved on, gesturing for Marie to follow.

                His? This young child was male? How?

                “W-welcome t-to the Dark O-order, Kanda Yuu,” she managed to stammer out through her shock. “I’m Lenalee Lee. I’ve been here for two years now, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

                The tiny boy in front of her didn’t make any acknowledgement of what she had said, staring out into space and shaking as if he were cold.

                “Are you hungry?” Lenalee asked. The boy shook his head infinitesimally. “Of course you are. You look it. Come on, we’re getting you something to eat.” She grabbed the boy’s hand and started to pull him to the dining hall.
Immediately, she regretted it. He flinched back, and for the first time, his face took on some emotion. Lenalee wished he had remained impassive. His eyes had gone wide in barely suppressed panic, and his mouth opened as he drew in a fearful gasp.

                “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m sorry,” she said, drawing back and throwing her hands up in surrender. The boy shrank back, clutching his overlarge sword tightly. His shivering had gotten worse.

                “I promise I’ll never touch you again,” she said, hoping that would be enough to get the boy to respond.

                “I am hungry.” His words were halting, as if he was having trouble finding and pronouncing them. He sounded a lot like she had when she had first learned English.

                “Okay, then. Follow me, and I’ll take you to the dining hall.” She smiled at him and then turned
around, walking slowly until she was sure the boy was following her.

                “So, you’re Japanese, right?” She asked, and she turned to look in time to see the boy nod. “What would you like to be called, then?”

                “Kanda,” he said, his voice very quiet, just as it had been when he’d spoken before.

                “Would you mind if I added an honorific? I know it’s considered rude in Japan not to use one. How about I call you Kanda-kun, since you’re younger than me?” She looked back again. He looked affronted.

                “I am ten,” he said, still in that hushed tone.

                “Really? Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were younger. You don’t mind if I call you Kanda-kun, though, do you? I think Kanda-san sounds too formal.” The boy shuddered when he heard “Kanda-san,” and
Lenalee resolved right there never to call him that.

                Their conversation lapsed into silence until they reached the dining hall. She handed Kanda-kun a tray as she grabbed one for herself. They stood in the short line, and she waited as Jerry stared, wide-eyed at the newest
Exorcist.

                “Hey, cutie, what’s your name?” Jerry asked. Kanda-kun shrank back and broke eye contact. “What would you like to eat?”

                “Tempura,” Kanda-kun replied quietly, still looking away.

                “I’m sorry, you’re gonna have to speak up, Lil’ Bit.”

                Kanda-kun didn’t reply, just continued looking away. Lenalee stepped up. “He said tempura, Jerry,” she told the man.

                “Alright then. It’ll be ready in a minute, Lil’ Bit.” Jerry smiled cheerily at Kanda-kun, but the young boy didn’t see it. He was now looking down at the empty tray he carried in his hands. Lenalee
didn’t know how he managed it, but the boy was able to carry the sword at his chest while still holding the tray with two hands. When the tempura was finished, Lenalee led them to a table in the far off corner. No one was there, and Lenalee was sure that the
boy would be glad of that.

                They ate in silence, and after they finished, the General walked in. He looked relieved at the sight of Kanda-kun eating, and then he turned to Lenalee and asked her to take Kanda-kun down to Hevlaska’s chamber. He walked
out, saying he would be there with the Director in a bit.

                “Does your Innocence have a name?” She asked as they walked to the lift.

                “Mugen,” the boy said quietly, proudly. He clutched the sword to his chest like a lifeline, and Lenalee made the connection.

                “Do you know how to use a sword yet?”

                “Chokuto,” he muttered.

                “Come again?” Lenalee asked. The boy looked confused. “Could you repeat that?” She clarified.

                “Not sword. It is a chokuto.” His voice was gruff this time.

                “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. Do you know how to use your chokuto yet?”

                “No,” he whispered, looking sullen. Lenalee wanted to reach out and grab his hand comfortingly, but she repressed the urge. She didn’t want the boy’s thin trust in her to be snapped.

                “I’m an Exorcist too, you know,” she said conversationally. She got no response. Sighing, she looked over at Kanda-kun. “You don’t like me very much, do you?” She asked, and she was surprised to note the slight hurt in
her voice.

                “I … do not—understand,” the boy finally admitted. He looked utterly defeated, as if that confession had drained him of every ounce of his energy.

                Lenalee started to explain, but the boy looked back at her blankly. She wondered how much of her light conversation the boy had really understood. She reminded herself that he’d only been with Tiedoll for a few months,
so it couldn’t have been much. However, he was young, and he’d probably only been speaking English around his new Master. She knew he’d probably picked up a lot, but not nearly enough to be considered anything near fluent.

                The Grand Marshalls walked into their chairs and sat down as the lift stopped. Lenalee walked off, and she was glad that Kanda-kun followed. The lift went back up, and Lenalee knew the General and the Director would be
arriving soon.

                She heard a small, shaking noise from behind her. Kanda-kun was looking upward, an expression of pure terror on his face. She followed his gaze and saw Hevlaska.

                “Don’t worry, Kanda-kun, that’s Hevlaska. She’s an Exorcist as well. She’ll be inspecting your Innocence. It will feel weird, but it only lasts for a moment.”

                The General and the Director arrived and urged Hevlaska to inspect Kanda-kun.

                As the first tentacle snaked around his body to lift him up, Kanda-kun shivered. As he was lifted into the air, he went limp. Lenalee gasped. She had thought the boy shy and introverted, but this reaction was different.
It was as if he had given up, and Lenalee had the shaking feeling that if she saw the boy’s eyes, they would be as blank as they’d been when he’d first arrived.

                “Synchronization rate at ten percent… fifty-three percent… sixty-eight percent… eighty-five percent… eighty-seven percent,” Hevlaska stated after placing her forehead to Kanda-kun’s. Lenalee’s mouth dropped open.

                “Such a high synch rate for one so young…” muttered one of the Grand Marshalls. “We can expect great things from this one.”

                Lenalee remembered back to her first meeting with Hevlaska. Her synch rate had been in the twenties. Even now, it was very low, resting at a resolute thirty-three.

                Hevlaska lowered the boy to the platform, and he fell limply to the ground as the support of her tentacles was removed. Lenalee watched as the General ran over to the boy.

                “Yuu-kun,” he said in a worried voice. “Yuu-kun, wake up,
it’s okay.”

                “Kanda-kun,” Lenalee said, running to his side a moment later. “General Tiedoll, what’s wrong with him?”

                “Yuu-kun has… many emotional scars,” the General said vaguely. “Would you take him to my quarters, Lenalee? I need to have a word with the Director.” His face looked angry, so Lenalee nodded and went to pick Kanda-kun up.
He was surprisingly light, and Lenalee could carry him with ease.

                She took him up the lift and brought him to the General’s room. Carefully, Lenalee placed him on the General’s soft bed. She had noted a smaller bed that was likely for him, but she thought he’d prefer the comfort, and
she knew the General wouldn’t mind. He was a kind man, fatherly even. He was the only Exorcist who wasn’t distant with Lenalee. He treated her as if she was special, as if she was his own child.

                She curled up on the opposite side of the large, king-size bed, and she pretended to be asleep as the Director and the General walked in.

                “He has a very peculiar spell that allows him to heal very quickly,” the General said to the Director as the door opened.
“It likely saved him from the Akuma bullet he was struck with back in Egypt. I believe it was placed on him to save him from a mortal injury. When I first found him, his entire body was covered in light scars. As I found him collapsed
on the road, I believe that he may have been a runaway. I think he was heavily abused. Every reaction he’s given to me, coupled with the fact that he still doesn’t trust me, makes me believe my hypothesis is correct.” The General sounded wearied with emotion.

                “He is still a very precious asset to this Order. You must train him well, Tiedoll. Ensure that he does not kill himself.”

                “I don’t think he could if he tried,” the General responded sadly. He lightly rubbed the fringe from Kanda-kun’s forehead. He opened up the chest of Kanda-kun’s Japanese robe, and Lenalee saw a black symbol overtop his
left breast.

                The Director made a contemplative sound. “We’ll have to test this once he returns back to the Order. You say you want him to travel with you for a longer period of time?”

                “Yes. I think it will allow him time to heal, away from the prying of other people. He seems to have taken to Lenalee, though. In such a short time, she’s gained what little trust it’s taken months for me to build.”

                “If we are speaking of abuse, perhaps it’s not that surprising,” the Director said lightly. The General nodded, looking upset.

August 20, 2013—The Dark Order, Main Branch

                Lavi looked horrified as she finished relaying the story.

                “I’ll never hurt him again,” he said, and Lenalee knew he was talking to himself, making a promise that he would never allow himself to break.

                “I was sent here to get you for your hearing,” Lenalee said, hating
herself for bringing up another painful subject.

                “I can’t leave him, not if he thinks I’m dead. Make them come here,” Lavi demanded almost childishly.

                “They won’t be able to fit,” Lenalee answered, hoping that would be enough to get the man to leave. She knew better, though.

                “Then some of them can stand in the hall!” Lavi exclaimed, extending his right arm outward in an outraged gesture.

                “Lavi, let me stay with him,” she offered.

                “But I can’t—I just promised never to hurt him again.” He turned an agonized eye on Lenalee. “It will hurt him if I leave.”

                “They need him, too, so bring him with you.”

                “What!?” Lavi shouted. Kanda-kun stirred next to him but otherwise remained comatose.

                “I know it’s not fair, but we couldn’t talk the Grand Marshalls out of it. Don’t worry; I’ll make sure nothing bad happens while you’re being questioned. And if he asks for you, I don’t care about the
consequences, I’ll barge in there and get you.”

                “Do you promise?” Lavi asked desperately.

                “You can trust my word, Lavi,” Lenalee promised. Lavi nodded reluctantly and glanced at the listless man next to him. He sighed, pushing the piles of books away from the bedside—Lenalee had the idea that Lavi had been reading
the Order’s Law books—and shooed her from the room so he could get dressed. A moment later, he walked out with Kanda-kun over his shoulder, looking defeated.

A/N: So, the plot has finally started to move! Don’t worry—it’ll stop in a bit!
:P We weren’t expecting this whole issue with Smith to happen, but it did, so there you have it :/ Somehow, Artemis became the drug dealer for the Order (Miranda got the Morphine from her, too). You’ll see some of her around chapter thirteen or so. :D
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Innocent Rain