Blood | By : Striker Category: +. to F > D. Gray Man Views: 4283 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray Man, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
Updated spoiler warnings. You really
should be keeping track, shit's getting amazing.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
Blood
Chapter 7
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
It was two days after the invasion.
Allen could hardly believed how much had changed, how much was lost.
The invasion had been catastrophic; so many had needlessly died and
so much had been lost. Granted, there was indeed something of a
silver lining. Allen knew even more about the extent of his power, he
was able to see the four generals in action, and Lenalee was now far
more powerful than she once was. But it was at the cost of her own
lifespan as her Innocence had become a parasite type.
The Oceania branch leader had been
murdered by the Noah Lulu Bell so she could infiltrate the Black
Order and begin the invasion consisting of several level 3 and
combined akuma. Most of the science branch had been wiped out, some
of them turned into skulls. The rest were badly injured but alive.
By far, the worst thing that had
occurred was the birth of the first ever level 4 akuma. It had taken
a single flick of its fingers to incapacitate Allen and could somehow
scream and make even generals lose synch with their Innocence. Were
it not for Miranda, no one would have survived its attack. With the
combined effort of Allen, Lenalee's new power, and general Cross,
they were finally able to put an end to it but not after it had
killed several finders, nearly killed Komui, battered Lavi and Kanda,
and even needlessly killed a couple of skulls, including Tapp, who
had become one such skull.
The process of repairing and cleaning
the place was still ongoing. Odds were that it would take weeks,
maybe months to repair all the damage and recruit enough finders and
people to replace the science division.
No, replace was the wrong word. There
is no way to replace a human's life. All there was was people to take
the jobs they once had. New people, new faces...The old ones would
not return.
“Oi, bean sprout.”
Allen was snapped out of his thoughts
by the cold voice of Yuu Kanda, not exactly Allen's favorite person.
Kanda was currently carrying a large slab of concrete, no doubt a
piece of a wall or floor that had been damaged in the attack.
“It's Allen,” he replied,
glaring at Kanda, “And I've told you not to call me that.”
“Whatever,” Kanda said,
returning Allen's glare, “Anyway, why are you just sitting
around while everyone's helping clean up the place? Get a move on.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it,”
Allen muttered as he stormed off to go assist some finders in helping
Hevlaska get set back up.
Kanda stared after Allen before letting
out a small “tch” and getting back to work.
2:51. Silence filled Allen's room. Ever
since the invasion, Link was no longer present in the exorcist's
room. Monitoring Allen had become one of the lesser priorities. This
is probably why Rhode was able to slip into Allen's room completely
unnoticed, much to her relief. She didn't even need to use the ark
this time, which was good since the Earl had scolded her for using it
without permission last time.
She slowly tiptoed over to Allen's
bedside, resisting the urge to giggle. She approached slowly, licking
her lips in anticipation. Mirroring her actions from her last visit,
she carefully pulled back Allen's covers, climbed up to sit on his
stomach, then...
...was thrown directly onto the cold,
stone floor.
“You really know how to greet a
girl,” Rhode grumbled as the bleeding wound on her head sealed
up.
“I'm not in the mood for your
antics,” Allen growled, “not after what happened.”
“Hey, I had nothing to do with
that!” Rhode snapped, “I wasn't even told about it until
after it happened!”
“Do you expect that to comfort
me?” Allen sneered, “So what if you didn't know? Would
you have warned us? Would you have tried to stop them?”
Rhode opened her mouth to reply,
paused, then closed it again and stared at the floor, “...No.”
Allen continued to glare at Rhode, “I
saw friends die two days ago. People I work alongside, talk to, who
give me vital assistance in saving the world from you.
They died because of your family and their akuma. I can't forgive
them for an offense like that. What the hell were you thinking by
even coming here anyway? Did you think you could accomplish
something? Were you coming here to kill me yourself? Whatever the
hell it was, it...”
“I came
because I wanted to know you were okay.”
“...What?”
Rhode was still
looking away as she sat there on the floor. She felt Allen's eyes on
her and it made her feel warm yet terrible at the same time. On the
one hand, Allen was looking at her. Directly and only at her. The
only person, the only thing, the only girl he could see right now,
that he could lay eyes on was her. His beautiful gray eyes belonged
to her. But on the other hand, she felt him judging, glaring, hating
her. Blaming her for everything that had happened two days ago.
Making her feel ashamed for having even cursed him with her terrible
presence. It was a blissful torture.
“I...”
she sighed, “I know you don't want to see me or even think of
me. But after hearing what happened, hearing how happy Duke
Millennium was at hearing how many people died...I put on a smile for
him but all I could think was 'please, don't let Allen be one of the
dead. Anyone else, I don't care, just spare me Allen.'”
Allen stared at her
for a moment. He then opened his mouth and shattered Rhode's heart.
“You make me
sick.”
Rhode winced. She
felt like Allen had returned the favor from when she stabbed him in
the eye, only he targeted her heart directly.
“As long as I
live, you'll be fine?” Allen said almost mockingly, “Oh,
wonderful. Even if I lose my friends, my co-workers, my master,
doesn't matter, just as long as I live. Even if I'm miserable for the
rest of my life, cursing myself and blaming myself for not being able
to protect anyone, no, I'm alive, it's all fine.”
“I...”
“Did you even
begin to think how I'd feel?!” Allen interrupted her, “Face
it, Rhode. The fact that you wouldn't even begin to care about anyone
else is just further proof that we're enemies. Your disregard for all
human life besides mine goes against everything I stand for. You're
just a child, Rhode. There are far too many things you just don't
understand.”
Allen lay back down
in bed and faced away from Rhode, “Leave now or I'll alert the
entire headquarters that you're here.”
Rhode couldn't
speak. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move, she couldn't even so
much as breathe. All she could do was sit there on Allen's floor,
staring straight ahead and holding back her tears. When she finally
mustered the strength to talk, all that came out was stuttering and
unfinished words.
“Give it up,
Rhode,” Allen grumbled, “There's just no way. Now leave
me alone, I had a long day and I'm not in the mood. And I really will
alert the Order that you're here.”
“N-no you
won't.”
Allen blinked,
“What makes you say that?”
“Y-...You're
not that kind of person,” Rhode sniffled slightly. She had
never felt this way in her long, long life. This crushing sadness,
the feeling of intense pain that could only be delivered by the words
of someone you love. It was sheer torture and making her say and do
things she'd never even imagine she'd do, “You're...you're too
kind. E-even if you've just h-hurt me in w-ways I didn't even...”
she sniffled a little bit, “I didn't even know I could feel...I
still think you're the sweetest person...I've ever met. N-not
once...have you even said that you hate me. Y-you have every reason
to...You haven't said that you hate anyone at all. Y-you really
c-can't hate, can you?”
Rhode was met with
silence.
“...Allen,
please...”
Allen blinked. Once
again, Rhode surprised him. Did she just plead? Was she really
pleading for him to tell her that he didn't hate her? Which raised
another question...could he really say he hated her? He sighed.
“I don't hate
you,” Allen sighed and sat up. He turned stood from his bed and
offered a hand to Rhode which she reluctantly took. He had to note
how smooth her skin was, “but I don't love you, either. We're
too different. We come from opposing sides. You want to destroy
humanity and I want to save it. You put me in front of all other
humans, I put all other humans in front of me.” Allen pulled
Rhode up to her feet, “Go home, Rhode. Please, for your safety
and mine, don't come back.”
Allen was surprised
when Rhode quickly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him,
pushing the side of her head against his chest, “You know just
as well as I do that I can't do that.” She shut her eyes
tightly, “I can't stay away. I won't. I want to stay with you.
Forever.”
Allen sighed, “But
you can't.”
“...Yeah,”
Rhode hung her head but tightened her hold on Allen, “but I
want to. So much that it hurts...” She hesitated then looked up
at him, “Just tonight? Please?”
Allen widened his
eyes slightly, “Won't the Earl...”
“He won't
notice,” the young Noah said, “I'd be back by morning, I
won't even be here that long. I just...I want one night.”
Allen paused, “If
anyone comes in to find...”
“Lock your
door, stupid,” Rhode murmured.
“...Alright,
good point,” Allen sighed, “One night. That's all you're
getting. After that, I don't want to see you here again.”
Rhode's heart
skipped a beat, “Thank you...Allen Walker.”
“Don't
mention it...I'm serious, don't mention it to anyone or we're both in
trouble.”
His words fell on
deaf ears as Rhode had let go of him and clasped onto his hand,
giggling and dragging him towards the bed. Allen couldn't help but
notice that, for this instant, for this short while...Rhode really
did look just like an innocent little girl without a care in the
world. And that, surprisingly enough, brought something of a smile on
his face, causing Rhode's heart to skip a beat.
The Noah hopped
into Allen's bed and made room for him which he soon occupied. She
quickly wrapped her arms around his bare torso and snuggled up
against him before falling into a deep sleep. Allen stared at the
girl for a moment before sighing and holding her close as well. She
was so small, felt so fragile in his hands. But this was the same
girl who had forced him to slam his claw straight into her and lived
through it. And yet he felt like he could snap her in half. He didn't
know just how safe Rhode felt, nestled in Allen's powerful arms, even
the coarse feel of his infamous left arm.
Allen softly moved
on hand up and down Rhode's arm. Her skin was so smooth. It was hard
to believe that it was flesh that had been sliced, stabbed, lit on
fire, and who knows what else before Allen and Lavi had ever
encountered her. And it wasn't just her skin. Holding Rhode as close
as he did, he had unintentionally buried his face in her hair.
Despite its spiky appearance, it was surprisingly soft and appeared
to be the source of the smell that lingered in his room whenever she
visited.
Allen looked down
at Rhode. He had always wondered about the scars across the foreheads
of the Noah. Did they hurt when they appeared? When the Noah wake up,
how does it feel as the scars appear for the first time? When they
realize that they're waking up, what do they think? Allen let go of
Rhode with one arm and slowly drew his fingers across those scars. He
pulled his hand back when he heard Rhode let out a slight groan at
the touch.
Okay, apparently they're sensitive,
Allen thought to himself. However, curiosity got the best of him and
he repeated the action, earning another groan and allowing him to get
a feel for the scars before putting that arm around the small girl
again. The lines in the cross scars had freakishly perfect symmetry.
They weren't too deep but they were easy to notice by feel alone. It
may have been the one part of her flesh that wasn't smooth as silk.
Allen found himself
unconsciously holding her tighter against her body. He had never held
someone this close, so intimately. And yet here he was, in bed with
one of the enemy, his arms wrapped around her, her arms around him.
She was warm. A special kind of warm that he couldn't quite identify.
As he slowly drifted off to sleep, there was only one thing he could
say in his mind, repeating it like a mantra until he shut down...
I'm not in love with her...I'm
not...I'm not...
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Yeah he is.
While AFF and its agents attempt to remove all illegal works from the site as quickly and thoroughly as possible, there is always the possibility that some submissions may be overlooked or dismissed in error. The AFF system includes a rigorous and complex abuse control system in order to prevent improper use of the AFF service, and we hope that its deployment indicates a good-faith effort to eliminate any illegal material on the site in a fair and unbiased manner. This abuse control system is run in accordance with the strict guidelines specified above.
All works displayed here, whether pictorial or literary, are the property of their owners and not Adult-FanFiction.org. Opinions stated in profiles of users may not reflect the opinions or views of Adult-FanFiction.org or any of its owners, agents, or related entities.
Website Domain ©2002-2017 by Apollo. PHP scripting, CSS style sheets, Database layout & Original artwork ©2005-2017 C. Kennington. Restructured Database & Forum skins ©2007-2017 J. Salva. Images, coding, and any other potentially liftable content may not be used without express written permission from their respective creator(s). Thank you for visiting!
Powered by Fiction Portal 2.0
Modifications © Manta2g, DemonGoddess
Site Owner - Apollo