I had originally planned on heading into much "angstier" territory with this, but I was persuaded not to… ヘ(￣ー￣ヘ) (Also, this is probably a one-shot, two-shot at most.)

-o0o0o0o-

"Yu… you can understand, can't you?"

-o0o0o0o-

"As long as we're alive, the humans will never repent…"

-o0o0o0o-

"In order to win this Holy War, they'll continue to use us as tools forever..."

-o0o0o0o-

"There's nothing left worth protecting…"

-o0o0o0o-

"So… let's die, together."

-o0o0o0o-

If he wasn't already crying, then Alma's words would have brought tears to his eyes. The pain of being impaled actually pales in comparison.

How could things have come down to this? They had only wanted to save the world, to save their loved ones, yet−

He blearily opens his eyes. Alma looms above him, covered in blood. The blood of the researchers, and some of Yu's. Not all of it though, because beneath him is a growing pool of red.

How? Why? Why did it all have to come to this?

Alma's bloodied face grows blurry, shifting out of focus as lotus petals begin raining down from above. Yu finds himself reaching for them, for the faint outline of his memories. I don't want to die, he thinks, gritting his teeth. I want to−

His fingers, slick with blood, grips his sword more tightly. The Innocence, Mugen, responds to his resolve. Yu wastes no time, because Alma is right there, guard down, but then−

The blade comes to a stuttering halt, caught up on an unexpected obstacle: a black arm, far too resilient to be made out of human flesh, with fingers adorned with long, razor-sharp claws.

"Honestly…" A burst of flowing white fills Yu's vision. "Some things never change, do they?"

-o0o0o0o-

Yu comes to on the floor, Alma's face close to his. A wave of dizziness crashes into him as he jumps to his feet, startled.

"I only knocked him out," a voice informs him. "…Which I had to, because I was about to get stabbed. Which is a pain. I'm sure you can relate."

The intruder is facing away from him, looking towards the entrance. Still, Yu manages to catch a glimpse of their face, or rather of the glinting mask obscuring it. He also catches sight of the arm, which stands out like a sore thumb against the flowing white of the intruder's cloak, and of the cross deeply embedded in the palm. Yu's heart sinks at the sight of it, and for some reason, that makes the stranger turn to face him.

"I'm not with the Order, and I'm not here to take you out," the stranger says, and a hand that looks human reaches up to dislodge the mask, allowing eerie, amber-coloured eyes to lock with his. "I'm here to get you out; there's a clear difference."

Yu stares. How could he not? "Why?"

The stranger smiles.

-o0o0o0o-

The outside world is large and noisy, but it pales in comparison to the breeze and the everchanging skies that stretch wide above them. The skies had been dark when they had gotten out, and then there had been little time to appreciate the brightness of the moon or the dizzying array of stars. But they had more than made up for it since, taking the time to look at the skies in all its incarnations.

Alma in particular had come to develop a fondness for gazing at the clouds, prattling on and on about the different shapes. Yu lets him be, torn in-between a sense of relief and a fear that some event would upset the balance, sending Alma back into a spiral of self-destructive madness.

"You shouldn't keep holding back, Kanda. It's making Alma uneasy."

Kanda. "That's not my name," Yu snaps.

"It suits you," the annoyance deadpans, and there is something about him, something about that face that makes Yu want to punch it.

In any case though− "I don't need it."

There is a mild shrug at that. "Keep it. You never know when it'll come in handy."

Yu rather doubts it. Still− "If you say so, Bastard."

Annoyingly, the bastard only smiles. "I've been called far worse things," he says.

Yu does not doubt it.

-o0o0o0o-

Alma and Yu's saviour is young, too old to be considered a child yet too young to be considered a proper adult. Then again, what do they know of proper adults? Nothing much, that's what. Heck, they know jack shit about the world, save for the fact that no one can be trusted, not even white-haired saviours with scarred faces. Or at least, that is what they had intended. Well, what Yu had intended at least.

"Come on." There is a beckoning motion accompanying the words. "Let's have a look."

With Yu's regenerative abilities, it is highly unnecessary; the injuries he had sustained in the fight had practically healed up already, and the rest would heal up within the next couple of minutes anyway. But Yu lets the Bastard have his way, because the guy's stubbornness is on par with Alma's.

"Hey, don't give me that kind of 'This is completely unnecessary look'. You lost a lot of blood back there"

Yu feels sorely tempted to withdraw his afflicted limb and possibly use it to strike out. But he refrains, because Alma is standing by the Bastard's shoulder, looking on with wide eyes.

"What is that?"

Yeah, like Alma should be the one to talk. "Who gives a flying fu−?"

"Kanda's Innocence is evolving," interrupts the Bastard, eyes wistful as he turns Yu's wrist over in his grip. "I'm a bit surprised, to be completely honest."

Yu finally gives in to temptation, snatching his hand back. "And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that we won't have to find someone to repair Mugen anymore." The Bastard has the gall to smile. "Since you can do it by yourself now."

Yeah, with his blood. "Explain."

The smile dims. "Equipment Type Innocence can, under certain circumstances, evolve into something which is called Crystal Type. It draws upon the Accommodator's blood to form and repair itself."

Alma looks horrified at that. Yu can't figure why, because it isn't as though the two of them could die anyway. Not easily at any rate.

"Who gives a shit as long as I can fight?" Yu scoffs.

Alma flinches. The Bastard puts an arm around him, drawing him in before looking at Yu, eyes expectant, as if Yu would ever willingly go there. As if.

Then, the Bastard lets out a melodramatic sigh, tucking Alma's head underneath his chin. "I guess it's just us, Alma, I guess it's just us. Let's go stuff ourselves with dumplings. Idiot Kanda can come along once he's repented."

What the fu−?

-o0o0o0o-

The skies are overcast and the air humid. They have spent exactly three days in this godforsaken dank country, and Yu has already grown sick of it. That said however−

"Oi."

The Bastard blinks, looking honestly surprised to see him. "K-Kanda? What are you doing here?"

Stupid question. Very stupid. "You−"

"I'm also here!" Alma crows, tackling the Bastard into a hug. "And hungry too!"

The Bastard blinks, looking lost. Yu finds it immensely satisfying. It serves the Bastard right after all, for dumping them with some rich woman in India and heading off on his own. And really, the Bastard deserves getting punched, but for now, that gobsmacked expression is enough. Almost.

"Okay, listen up, Robin Campbell or whatever you might be calling yourself at the moment," Yu hisses, lifting him up by the collar. "You got us out of that fucking hellhole, but we don't owe you shit, okay?! But you− You don't get to just pick us up and then drop us the moment that we−"

Alma's arms tighten, his smile as bright as it is sharp. "What Yu means to say is that you're stuck with us now, and that we'll come find you, no matter how far you run. Also, you owe us food. Yu wants soba, tempura and− And I'm good with anything as long as there's lots of mayonnaise and−"

-o0o0o0o-

−And then, a few months along the line, a deal-making Earl is knocked over by an incoming white projectile, and a boy about to make a great mistake is knocked down and out.

-o0o0o0o-

The boy comes to in an unfamiliar bed, to the sound of unfamiliar voices.

"Look, Yu! Allen's awake now!"

"Stop yelling, you damned idiot. Go."

The boy catches the blurry outline of two other boys before one runs out the door, calling out to someone else. The other stays, watching him through narrowed eyes. Allen stares back, uncertain, unable to hold back a flinch as the other boy scoffs. For some reason, this seems to annoy the other boy even more. "You−"

"Look, look! I told you he would wake up!" the cheerful boy shouts, re-entering the room with another person in tow.

"Who would be able to sleep with you prattling their ears off?!" the grumpy boy snaps, turning to look towards the door.

"Yeah, yeah, you've both got a point," the newest arrival says, and Allen's too stunned by their appearance to do anything besides stare. "Allen's awake, confused, and probably hungry. Go find some food."

The cheerful boy gives an exaggerated salute before running off, whereas the grumpy boy lets out a disdainful snort before following. Allen scarcely notices though, because the white-haired teen slides down into the chair over by the bed, watching Allen with eerie but no less familiar amber-coloured eyes.

Tears well up in his eyes, unbidden. "Mana…"

The stranger closes his eyes, and Allen notices the bright red scar running down the left side of their face. "He warned you, didn't he? About the Earl, about Akuma."

There is no accusation in the stranger's voice, just plain fact, but Allen flinches anyway, clutching the sheets like a lifeline as the tears threaten to spill over. "I'm−"

Then there is a hand in his hair, giving it a gentle ruffle. "I'm also sorry, for meddling and all."

Confused, Allen looks up, but before he can say anything, the cheerful boy from before storms back in.

"Found some food!"

The stranger lets out a slight sigh. "That's great, Alma, but use your indoors voice. Please."

"Sure thing, Robin!"

The stranger, Robin(?), mutters something under his breath, too soft for Allen to hear.

"Robin?"

The teen turns his attention back to Allen, looking a bit puzzled. "Oh right," he says at last, blinking. "I never introduced myself, did I? Call me Robin, Robin D. Campbell. That smiley guy with the food is Alma Karma and that grumpy-looking guy looming in the doorway is Yu Kanda. I picked them up a while ago, planning to give them a better life, but for some reason, they decided to follow me all the way here…"

Alma grins, handing a bowl of porridge to Allen, who automatically moves to receive it.

"Robin's really strong, but he's got an awful sense of direction," Alma whispers, showing little consideration for Allen's need for personal space. "We figured he'd get lost or something."

Or something.

Allen looks to Robin, who just lets out a sigh, putting up a hand to cushion his chin.

"I have a really bad sense of direction," Robin says, smiling now. "I'm sure you can relate."

Well, Allen can, but− "How did you−?"

"I'm an acquaintance of Mana's brother," Robin says, smile becoming somewhat strained. "If you ever meet him, you'll understand why he doesn't have any friends."

Mana.

Allen feels another stab of pain, gradually recalling more and more of the previous day. "What happened? That man said he'd bring back Mana if I− And then−"

He starts shaking before he realises it, but then, he gets pulled into a hug, and his head gets tucked underneath Robin's chin.

"Well…" Robin begins. "The good news is that I interrupted before the deal was complete, and that Kanda's crazy strong and has good aim. And yeah, I do feel bad about knocking you out, but in my defence, you were about to make Mana an Akuma, and I know for sure he wouldn't have liked that. In fact, I'm pretty sure he would've tried to kill you and…"

Mana would have−

"You can't bring back the dead," Robin continues, stroking his back. "The Earl is a big fat liar, and you're not the first person he's tricked, and probably not the last. I fell for it too, and I got this souvenir…"

Allen looks up to see him pointing to the scar.

"It's a curse; punishment," Robin elaborates, tucking Allen's head back underneath his chin. "When I come close enough to an Akuma, I'll see their souls, writhing in agony. It gets worse as the Akuma evolves. By the end of it, there isn't much left. Also, I probably shouldn't have told you that before you'd eaten. Sorry. I'm not very good at this kind of thing."

Allen definitely hears a scoff at that, followed by a mutter that most definitely agrees with the statement.

"Yu, that's not true!" Alma disagrees. "Robin's great! He punched the Earl!"

"I kicked him too," Robin agrees. "But to be fair, Kanda stabbed him."

"Yeah!" Alma exclaims. "And Robin was like 'Fucking Hell, Yu, you stabbed the Earl?!' It was awesome!"

Allen turns his head, catching a glimpse of Yu out of the corner of his eye. The boy attempts to look stoic, but Allen could have sworn there had been a smirk there just moments before.

"Well, let's just say that we've announced ourselves with a bang," Robin concludes with a sigh, relinquishing his grip at last. "But Allen, you don't really need to worry about that. I know of a safe place where we can drop you off."

-o0o0o0o-

Except they don't.

"Get a move on, Beansprout! You're lagging behind!"

"Shut up, Idiot Kanda! I broke my ankle yesterday! It's not something you heal from overnight!"

"Tch. Weakling."

"Weakling?! Get back here, you little−!"

"Hey, Allen," Alma says, leaning in to whisper. "Do you think Robin knows Yu's actually taller than him these days?"

Robin definitely knows; Allen has heard him muttering about it. "I wonder why they fight so damned much…"

"But there's a saying, you know?" Alma says, grinning. "The more they fight, the more they get along. I fought a lot with Yu at the beginning, and we fight a lot these days as well, and we're besties for life."

"But wouldn't Robin be besties with the entirety of the Noah family in that case?" Allen argues. "That Tyki guy and Road aside−"

"Augh! Kanda, you bastard!"

Alma and Allen turn around just in time to see Kanda stalking toward them, Robin slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"This is humiliating," Robin deadpans as Kanda strides past them. "I should've left you all to Cross. It would've served him right!"

Alma just grins, and Allen find himself smiling too as they begin jogging to catch up. They could have just as easily taken the Ark, true, given how it is currently under their control and all.

But, with the Akuma Plant destroyed and the Noah family and its servants without reliable mode of transport, they could probably take it easy, if only for a couple of days. Not for too long though, because Robin is already itching to move onto the next step, and as for Cross Marian, well−

"Those dirty brats? Like Hell I'd take them. Your meddling arse deserves them."

Allen wonders if either is aware that they occasionally sound like one another. Probably not.

In any case− "Allen, are you coming?"

"Yup!"

They would simply have to keep on walking.

-o0o0o0o-