Hana: I'm pleased with this one. I'm still figuring out a few things going forward, so next chapter, while completed, won't be posted for a while. Namely because I still want this buffer between writing x)

Allen: What fun this whole shit-show was.

Richie: ...I have nothing to say, shortcake, but didn't you sound like Kanda just now?

Hana: I think he just did...anyway, y'all know the drill. I'm not Katsura Hoshino, i don't own dgm! Enjoy the new chapter~!

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+ - Chapter 61 – On the Run - +

"Richie, wake up." Allen's voice made itself known to me in the murkiest depths of my uneasy rest…rest? When did I fall asleep? I groaned, as I slowly sat up on my cot. I blinked open my left eye, looking to the source of my disturbance from sleep.

*"Porque estás a fazer tal cara?" I asked, feeling a little more than weary at seeing the look of mischief on my brother's face. "…better yet. What did you do?"

"Oh, nothing. But you might have a little something on your face~" Allen grinned, and ran off, laughing like a maniac. Confused, looked to my right, to see the mirror against the wall there.

He.

Drew.

On.

My.

FACE.

"SHORTCAKE! I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Covers were thrown, and I chased after that idiot bean sprout.

Later that same day, we were both scolded like little kids by a very cranky Mother, and a disappointed Baba.

(* - *)

"I can't believe you drew on my face." I groaned, finally getting the rest of the ink off my skin. "The hell did I ever do to you?"

"The opportunity was too good to pass up." Allen stated matter-of-factly. "Now I kinda understand why Lavi did it to me…stupid dumb idiot…"

"You're aware that 'stupid', 'dumb' and 'idiot' are all basically the meaning, right?"

"Shut up."

The silence lasted a few minutes before I sighed, picking up the conversation again, "So…it's been a week." I said, twisting a strand of hair around my finger. "I'm guessing we're moving out soon."

"We stayed longer than I intended us to." The younger admitted, "Staying any longer can be dangerous."

"And is." I pointed out. "But what can we do? Apocryphos uses your Innocence to track you, like a bloodhound would track the scent of a convict…and not to mention…"

"I know." Allen sighed. "We have the Order coming out at us one way, and then the Noah from the other."

"Not to mention a third party coming at us from god knows where…heh, now there's a good joke."

Allen chuckled dryly. "And the cherry on top is the Fourteenth just waiting for his chance to take over."

"These odds are pretty against us, yeah?"

"Mmhm."

Silence. "He won't, by the way."

"How would you know?"

"I just do. Call it…a woman's intuition!"

"You? A woman?" Allen had the gall to act like he was appalled, "All this time, I thought you were one of the guys!"

I shoved him. "You little charmer. I'll have you know I was the bell of the ball when I was younger!"

"I call your bluff. You hated that life."

"Okay, fine, yes. You got me." I held my hands up in surrender. "But the fact still stands, I had been the center of attention…"

Allen cocked his head to the side, a brow quirked. "Why does it look like you realized something disturbing?"

"Because I just remembered there were questionable old men. Like, old enough to be my great grandfather." I shuddered. "More reason to really hate those events…"

"Ah."

A heavier, awkward silence. I cleared my throat, deciding to change the subject to more pressing matters. "So, I noticed you were rummaging through that old trunk the other day."

"We need to be undercover, and I was thinking of using some of Mana's old clown things…we can pretend to be street performers. It'll also allow us to get some money in each town we travel to."

"Smart." I agreed. "So, you'll be doing all those tricks you did back when we were in the Rewinding Town."

"Yeah, I figured I'd do those plus others I picked up in my spare time…when I had it."

"I'm not really acrobatic, so I doubt I'd be as good as you are with those tricks…but perhaps…"

"Perhaps…?"

"I don't suppose you have anything 'mystical', do ya?"

. . - * - . .

"So, you're leaving already?" Mother asked of us, as we stood at her front door for the final time. "Shame, I'm going to miss the liveliness you two had."

"We're grateful for your hospitality, Mother." I said, "I don't think I could ever thank you enough for what you've done."

"Nonsense. Just don't be a stranger." Mother said, brushing off my gratitude. "Come and visit when things settle down enough."

"We'll try." Allen said, before smiling, and walking off, the old suitcase full of clown gear dragging behind him down the stairs. "Just be sure you got the biggest feast waiting for us!"

"Allen!" I mockingly chided. I said goodbye to the duo once more, before running after Allen. When we reached the edge of the graveyard, I sighed, "Who would've thought that a little over two years into this life, and I'm now a fugitive?"

"Who would've known that you would've went from pampered princess to a fugitive?" Allen snickered. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Whether or not I'm okay with this isn't really important anymore." I sadly admitted. "While I would love to go back home and tell everyone that everything is going to be alright, I don't have such an option."

"…you would've been locked away until they got answers out of you, right?"

"More likely than anything, yes." I sighed. "They'd turn it into an all out witch hunt. Because I'm one of the closest people to you, I'd be the first target after all, a sister would cover for her brother no matter what…but I wouldn't know anything, because I…"

"You…?"

We both stopped at some point, and now my little brother was looking down to me in worry. Keeping secrets wasn't an option, "I've…been having trouble 'seeing' you recently, Al."

"…trouble in 'seeing' me."

"But it's not like you go complete Noah, I'm so sure of that! It's just…you've been fuzzy to my eye in recent months. I can see you, I can just make out what you do, but it's not clear. Like looking underwater."

"It's still better than nothing, right?"

"I guess so?"

"Then for now, we don't have to worry about it." Allen assured me. "We should catch a train to a town somewhere."

"Yeah. We should." I agreed. "Escuro, can you check ahead for any Order members that may be nearby?" Out of my borrowed coat, Escuro fluttered around, and zipped off. "He should be able to make our trek easier, especially if anyone tries searching for me directly."

"At least we have a plan of action."

"Not a foolproof plan, but it should help us for a while."

... ... ... ...

In other news, my keyboard is being an ass to me. I have to almost slam my fingers against the keys to get some of the buttons to register...yup. My lovely almost 7-year-old PC is getting issues...

As much as I might need it, R&R doesn't stand for rest and relaxation, no matter how much I might need it. Leave a comment and lemme know how I'm doing~! Show this story some love by favoriting this work~! Don't forget to follow so you never miss a new chapter when it goes live! Until next time, I'll see you guys again on...

Clean Slate!

*Why are you making such a face?