Again, I responded to the signed reviews individually so I'm going to respond to the one anonymous review that I received:

icefallstears: Thank you so much for the compliment. Rape and the aftermath of it for the victim(s) is never an easy subject to talk about, let alone write about. And thanks for thinking I write the characters IN character. That's one of my biggest pet peeves: when characters are so OOC, it doesn't make sense. I'll try to keep them in character as much as possible...but my characterizations are greatly influenced by the role playing I do with my best friend. Well, sorry for rambling but thanks again for the review! XD

Lavi just watched as Allen made his way to his bed before turning his gaze back to Kanda's still form. This mission wasn't supposed to have been this complicated or this dangerous, and the fact that Kanda had gotten captured and…tortured… Lavi shook his head to clear his thoughts. Dwelling on this wouldn't help Kanda…or Allen.

As Kanda and Allen drifted back to sleep, Lavi simply stood and watched. After several minutes had passed and both Kanda's and Allen's breathing had evened out, Lavi slowly made his way over to Kanda's bed, kneeling once he reached the bedside. He gently placed one of his hands on Kanda's so as not to wake him, using his other hand to wipe away some stray tears from Kanda's eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Yu," Lavi whispered, his voice strained. "Had I been more careful, Allen and I wouldn't have needed you to protect us…you wouldn't have gotten hurt…and that Noah would…would never have touched you…"

Lavi hesitantly looked over to where Allen lay, hoping that the younger exorcist was asleep before turning back and looking sadly at Kanda's face. Moving the fingers that had wiped the tears away, Lavi brushed Kanda's bangs away from his forehead before leaning in and placing a chaste kiss on the soft skin there. Pulling back, Lavi couldn't help the bitter smile that graced his features.

After everything that had happened on the Ark, Lavi had realized that even though he was supposed to be indifferent and detached from all of those in the Order, he knew he never could be. He couldn't deny the fact that although he was a Bookman, he was also human…the same as those he was recording. He couldn't just turn his emotions off. But he knew that he couldn't let anyone know that. Not Allen. Not Lenalee. Not the rest of the Order. Most definitely not Bookman. But most of all, he couldn't let Kanda know.

Kanda.

He always knew he was attracted to beautiful women ever since he was old enough to know the difference between men and women. He had thought Lenalee attractive the moment he had met her—but was immediately discouraged from pursuing her the moment he met Komui. There were women he had met while out on missions whom he had had…relations with, but true to his Bookman heritage, he had never allowed them to become anything serious.

When he had first met Kanda, Lavi had simply thought of Kanda as a very interesting puzzle. Kanda was always so reserved and quiet, unless his temper flared. He was distant and cold, never letting anyone get close. Lavi knew that people like Kanda were people that didn't want to get close to anyone…and more often than not, had something to hide. Being curious as he was, Lavi had immediately wanted to know what made Kanda tick—why Kanda was the way he was.

He did his research concerning Kanda on the side of his usual Bookman duties so as not to draw Bookman's attention. He found out very little at first, which was beyond frustrating…but at the same time, made Lavi want to know even more. He ended up trying to befriend Kanda so he could find out a little bit more first-hand. Of course, Kanda had not taken well to that at first…but after time, Kanda seemed to learn to tolerate him. It was a start. Things developed very slowly from there, but Lavi began to learn things about Kanda that helped put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Somewhere along the line, Lavi realized he was falling for Kanda.

It scared him. He was the future Bookman, meant to take Bookman's place. He was meant to be an observer, no attachments, no emotions. There was no place in his life for love. He had tried to rid himself of the feeling, but soon learned that it was not possible. So instead, he had opted for hiding it. He had acted his way through all the other 'logs,' he could do it again.

Or so he kept telling himself.

It was hard at first, but he became rather good at it. He had become so good at just acting like friends with Kanda that he actually began to believe that he had gotten over his stupid crush on the Japanese boy.

This incident had proved him wrong.

Dead wrong.

As soon as the blast had cleared and Lavi realized Kanda was nowhere in sight, his heart had dropped. Allen had been frantic and Lavi knew that if he lost it, Allen would become even more hysterical. He had simply put up that Bookman mask of his and did his best to remain calm and collected while they searched the decimated city for any traces of the Japanese exorcist.

The minute they had found Kanda, Lavi knew something was wrong.

When Kanda jerked away from his touch, it only confirmed it.

Lavi had never felt so angry in his life. Angry at Allen for not having noticed the attack that Kanda ended up taking the brunt of. Angry at Kanda for being stupid enough to get in the way of that attack. Angry at the Noah for having the audacity to do something like this, even if they were enemies.

But most of all, he was angry at himself…for so many reasons he couldn't even count.

Lavi continued to run his fingers through Kanda's hair, allowing a single tear to fall as he gently squeezed the hand held in his own.

"Sleep, Yu," Lavi whispered, "You're safe…and I'll make sure you stay that way."