A/N: After a month of not updating, I'm finally back! I'm really sorry for the long delay. I had to work on three major plates, not to mention other school stuff for the past month, so there's really no time to write. The next wave of plates will be starting next week, so updates won't come in fast.

Well, on to the next chapter! Time to get in to some real plot! I hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I don't own –Man or any of its characters.

Chapter 6: Revelations

The last of the weak flames that sit next to the stairway swished into nothingness, leaving the underground room in complete darkness. Only the creaking sound of the floor can be heard, as the two lone exorcists occupying the room shifted nervously against the wooden floor boards. Neither have noticed the lights coming out as they continued to drown themselves in their own thoughts. Be it of shock or fear, they remained rooted to their spot, staring at the general direction of the other.

Rose Anne, the carnivorous pet of the innkeeper was keeping quiet at the corner, apparently settling down after having bit Allen to her heart's content. She let out a low growl, much like the sound of an angry cat gargling with water, before noisily shutting its fanged petals. The plant's movement's caught the exorcists' attentions, pulling them out of their state of disbelief.

'Ah, th…the lights went off…' Lenalee stuttered, pulling herself up upon realizing that they were in complete darkness. She slowly ran her palms across her dress, hoping to flatten out the creases despite not being able to see anything in the dark. As soon as she got satisfied with how the fabric felt, she started for the stairs, trailing the length of the bookshelf with her fingertips to guide her towards her destination. Careful not to trip on anything on the floor, she walked slowly, feeling her way through the dark place.

She came to a stop when the old wooden floor creaked from behind. She heard a dull thud together with the rustle of paper she can only imagine were flying all over the place. She nearly cried out when something that felt like a hand caught one of hers. Realizing that it was Allen holding her hand, she started to relax.

'A…Allen- kun, you almost gave me a heart attack!' she said with a little laugh, thankful for the lack of illumination now that she was sure she must be deep red in the face.

'You don't have to come with me Allen- kun; I can manage to find the stairs on my own.' Lenalee said slowly. Her eyes stared blindly to her side where her hands rested in Allen's. The feel of his warm hand was enough to make her even more aware of how much he means to her. She needs to get away from him for a while, to calm herself for a bit.

However, her abnormally fast pulse, which Allen was feeling under his grip, gave her uneasiness away. Slowly, the white- haired youth lifted her hand to his face to let her feel the corners of his left eye. Lenalee blinked a couple of times in confusion. Could he be thinking that she was nervous because of the dark and perhaps, was trying to cheer her up? Not moments later though realization dawned on her.

'Ah, yes, your left can see better than a normal eye.' Lenalee felt the other exorcist nod against her hand. She sighed, before nodding her head as well. It seems like Allen haven't realized yet that she indeed meant what she said. Lenalee doesn't know whether to feel happy or irritated about him being so dense.

Allen led Lenalee across the room to where the stairs are. True, his eyes can see well even in darkness but with his head feeling like it's been hit by a bludgeon, he can't exactly be confident on where he's going. Her words really felt like they were meant for him, and he was quite sure that if he was able to talk at that moment, he could've told her he loves her as well at once. The thought of him professing his love for Lenalee was enough to set his cheeks in a mad blush. He shook his head and squinted his eyes further to get a better look of their path, but not only once did he stare sideways to look at the female exorcist.

Squishing Lenalee's hand every now and then to tell her she was about to trip on something, it took them about five more minutes to get to the foot of the stairs. He let go of her hand at once and leaned on the wall near the exit, watching her fumble with the lamplight that was stubbornly clinging to its bracket despite Lenalee's effort to pull it out. She already managed to find the spare oil bottle that was kept at the bottom of a nearby cabinet, beneath bottles upon bottles of dusty fruit jam containers that were neatly stacked on upper shelves. Now, she must unscrew the bottom part of the lamp to be able to refill it with oil.

Allen thought for a second before finally deciding that the other exorcist needs some help. Knowing Lenalee, she would probably refuse his offer (the reason why he stood back in the first place), but the darkness pressing all around him was making him feel even worse, it would be nice to see some light again soon. He walked over and stood at her back, then reaching out his arms around her shoulders, he placed his hands over hers to help her pull out the lamp.

'A... Allen-kun!' Lenalee gasped. She shivered as his warm breath fanned the back of her neck. 'You don't have to help me, I can-'

Allen's hand tightened around Lenalee's urging the other exorcist to stop arguing and start pulling the light lamp. He flashed her a smile saying that it's ok with him, though he wasn't sure if she's seen the gesture. It was really dark after all.

Darn rusty bracket. Allen heard from maid talk that the inn nearly caught fire a couple of years back when a lamp that was hung haphazardly on the wall suddenly fell down when someone brushed the thing at passing that the owner decided to put all lamplights and even candle holders in iron brackets just to make sure that the incident won't ever happen again. All the brackets he saw on the upper floors were oiled at least every once in a week, it wasn't a trouble getting lamp lights nor candles off of them, But the cellar, which was only occasionally visited by inn helpers depositing bottles of fruit preserves and barrels of ale and wine, and the innkeeper himself who happens by this place every once in a while to visit his collections, was barely cleaned. So are the poor iron brackets holding the lamp light they are trying to refill.

After a few moments of pulling, the lamp started to separate from the bracket with a screechy noise.

'Just…a…little…more…' Lenalee breathed heavily. She'll help Allen with the light then she would go to sleep. No, she's going to contemplate her feelings for him. Kanda must know of a good place where she could think quietly. After all, he always finds the best places to meditate first. She pulled even harder.

Allen, on the other hand, is having difficulties as well. He was trying his best not to crush Lenalee's hands beneath his and as such can't really put all of his energy into pulling against the rusty support. All he was actually doing is holding the top of her hands. The smooth skin felt warm against his, and as much as he hates to admit it, he really enjoys the feel of it.

'There!'

The lamp light suddenly went off of its bracket sending Lenalee a couple of steps back. Allen, who was trying to keep his body a distance from hers, was caught off guard by the sudden impact. He took several hurried steps backwards before the hem of his pants caught a jutting splinter on the floor and fell backwards, pulling Lenalee by the arm in the process.

The next thing that Allen knew, he was sprawled on the floor, lamplight rolling just beside his ear, and Lenalee's soft form resting on top of him. He looked sideways only to meet amethyst eyes sparkling in the dark and found himself wondering how Lenalee could stay cute despite the shocked expression on her face. Allen smacked his forehead soundly with the palm of his hand. He should stop these crazy thoughts!

Lenalee didn't mean those words! She didn't mean them! he shouted mentally.

No, I really wanted her to mean those words, but she can't possibly mean them! She's just trying to drive Rose Anne away for me!

Allen can feel Lenalee breathing against his chest and despite secretly delighting at the situation he's in, his head can't take the conflicts raging inside him any more. He has to get away for a while, before his feelings get the better of his judgment. A wrong move, a wrong word, could end their friendship at once. Allen would've been content to be her friend for the rest of his life if it means her comfortable company and sweet smiles. He can't afford to lose her. Even if it means staying as a mere friend forever.

He sighed heavily as he pulled at the back of her dress to tell her to get up. She hasn't moved an inch ever since they fell to the floor. Could it be that she got injured in the process? His eyes darted to the side once more to check if she was indeed in pain. However, the violet irises that stared at him a couple of moments back were no longer there. Lenalee has burrowed her face to the side of his neck. Her breath was tickling him, is she sleeping?

'Allen- kun…' Lenalee whispered.

Ah, so she isn't asleep.

'I… those words earlier… I really m-'

Lenalee was cut off when the floor boards from the next row of book shelves creaked noisily. The two exorcists froze as a pool of light emerged from the other side of a shelf. Both waited in horror as the newcomer walked closer and closer to the aisle they're in. The silhouette of a lean man holding a stack of moth eaten documents stood at the end of a bookshelf. His long blonde hair shone golden against the glimmer of the lamp light he held on his left, a scowl on his face.

'What in the name of earth do you think you're doing Walker?'

Lenalee threw herself at her bed the moment she reached the confines of her room. Link literally threw her out of the cellar the moment she got up on her feet. Of course, not without threatening her that the secretary will know of her actions that obstruct Allen Walker from doing his work. And before Link decides to do as he says, Lenalee let herself be fended out of the dusty cellar by an irritated inspector. He must be thinking that she was the reason Allen neglected the questionnaires to do.. She shook her head to get rid of the thought.

On her way to her room, she also tried asking Lavi for Kanda's whereabouts, since she can't find the Japanese teen anywhere, but the bookman was so excited in knowing whether Allen was halfway eaten by the plant to say anything useful. In the end, she decided it would be best to retire to her own bedroom since work starts early tomorrow.

'Ah, I feel so tired.' she mumbled dreamily.

Lenalee stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, taking note of the lattice wood work that graces it at every corner. The lattice work is only one of the few things that make the inn Chinese, other than a few furniture pieces and the cuisine itself; one can mistake the place as a westerner hotel. The owner, Arturoe Marqo, isn't Chinese at all which explains why the inn looks like this. He was from somewhere in Europe if what her fellow inn helpers told her were true. It appears that he became rich after serving one of the Maharajas of India by sailing through the Indian Ocean and sometimes the Pacific and providing him and his family with fresh seafood. And not just seafood, it seems like he was asked every once in a while to catch sharks and dolphins for the noble clan. Once he earned enough money, he started to venture on business while he was still in India, and after marrying a native of China, decided to move his businesses here. A couple of years later, with his business expanding from hospitality establishments and shipping, his wife died from tuberculosis. They never had a child. She secretly wished that fate would never befall her and Allen; given that the white- haired youth would have the sense to realize how she feels for him any time soon.

'Allen- kun…'

She stretched her arms upwards and happened to feel her soft pillow. She pulled the white cushion over her chest; her leaden eyes still glued to the ceiling. The polished wood looks warm but expensive. Mahogany, perhaps? When she and Allen got married, she would want their home to have mahogany for the flooring. Narra is also a good choice. Ah yes, narra. She's read from one of her nii- san's botany books that it is generally resistant to termites. That would save a lot on maintenance cost. Not to mention that the wood has a rosy scent. That would add up to the romantic ambiance of the home.

She would want their house to have a good view of the sea as well, but not directly beside the sea since the wind velocity becomes too uncomfortable at times. She would patiently wait for Allen to come home after a long day of work, and when he comes, she would kiss him against the light of the setting sun. There would be no akumas to worry about. Just the two of them together. Alone.

Lenalee's dream of a happy life with Allen was cut off when sleep finally arrived.

The cold night air whistled quietly as they sifted through dancing bamboo stalks and fruit-bearing peach trees rooted not far off from the calm pond. Soft creaks can be heard in the darkness as the slender tropical grass swayed with the mild air current. A beautiful moon was hanging on top of the calm water, its reflection floating amongst pink and white lotus blossoms that dwell restfully within the pond. The sweet night air was unusually chilly for a mid- August night in China, but Lenalee doesn't mind the cold at all. All of her attention is focused on the warm hand that was leading her through the shadows of peach trees edging the lovely pool of water.

'Allen-kun? Where are we going?'

Allen turned his head to smile warmly at her, and then continued leading her through the dark trail. Lenalee on the other hand, merely smiled back, not at all bothered by the lack of response to her earlier query. This is Allen after all, she trusts him and she knows he won't be doing anything that might harm her.

They continued their steady walk for a couple more minutes before finally stopping at the foot of a bridge. It's the same bridge that Lenalee had brought Allen to the night he lost his voice. Allen's grip tightened around her hand and she looked up at him when she felt the pressure. He was staring at her with such loving eyes. And Lenalee's breath caught as the other exorcist leaned in closer and closer to her. Is he going to kiss her?

However, when Allen's lips lingered a mere inch away from hers, he stopped leaning in then breathed out solemnly, 'Do you love me Lenalee?'

'…'

'Do you love me Lenalee?' Allen repeated, his lips are nearly brushing hers. Lenalee can't move nor speak from the intensity of his gaze. Those pale purple eyes were demanding her of an answer, and she stuttered in response.

'Ha…Hai, Allen-kun…I love you too…'

'Then you'll come with me…' he smiled then wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. Lenalee nearly yelped as Allen suddenly pulled her body tightly against his form and crushed his lips to hers. It was all too sudden, and Lenalee didn't know what was happening until she felt his warm tongue brushing across her lips. She tried to resist at first, to push Allen away, but she felt as if she was melting inside his arms that she finally gave in. She opened her lips to let Allen in, and pulled her arms around his neck to pull him deeper into the kiss. His hands are crawling aimlessly across her back, and Lenalee lost herself in the blissful moment.

Not until she felt a stabbing pain coming from the middle of her chest.

Allen broke away from her and took several paces back. His face was crinkled with innocent worry as he stared down at the knife jutting out from the middle of Lenalee's chest. Breathing became more and more painful for the female exorcist as more and more blood entered her dying lungs. Even more blood was dripping down from the wound to the calm waters below.

Wait, I'm standing on top of the water?

For the first time, Lenalee noticed the familiar surrounding she is in. Flickering flames licked the cavern stone as they raged from atop the torches lining the length of the underground tunnel. Shadows danced from beneath the torchlight's brackets as the flames shifted from atop their cradle of wood. The water was covered in a blanket of pink and whit lotus petals while a small boat a little ways off glided gracefully across the glassy surface. A white- haired person is riding the boat, but Lenalee doesn't have the time to notice such trivial matters. Her knees already gave way to the pain, and her vision was starting to get hazy. Her head was spinning as she felt the last of her heart beats fading one beat after another. Allen Walker walked towards her and lifted her in his arms, as if by a groom taking his wife to their wedding bed. He was looking solemnly down at her, his face apparently worried but to Lenalee's horror, his eyes were nothing but a blank shell. Lenalee reached up her trembling fingers to touch his cheeks. She can barely breathe and her voice came out in gurgling tones because of the blood.

'Allen…k..kun…'

A distant voice was calling out to her. Is it the stranger riding the boat she's seen earlier? She continued to reach up, not even bothering to pull out the knife that was sticking out of her chest. His face felt cold against her fingertips.

'Al…len…kun…' Allen smiled at her again. He doesn't seem to be fazed at the slightest at seeing his comrade slowly dying in pain.

'Allen-kun is dead Lenalee- chan.' Allen's skin slowly turned dark as stigmata marks appeared around his forehead. His snowy locks were curled at the tips and his eyes reflected cold apathy, chilling Lenalee down to her soul.

'The name's Egrin, Lenalee- chan! Konbanwa!'

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Old Black Order HQ

'Cross-sama?'

Marshall Cross placed his wine glass on a side table, leaning against an inexpensive- looking couch that was left at the castle when the Order decided to move out. A look of disgust crossed his face as his back hit some lumps on the old sofa piece, but then decided to ignore the discomfort thinking about how this seat fared against the other one he found earlier. That one belonged to the science department, and not only do lumps and pierced edges can be seen at the junk, the smell of drool and sweat of men who probably have deleted the word 'bathing' from their vocabulary due to their ridiculously unending workload made sitting even impossible. The general pulled out a box of cigarette from within his coat pocket then started lighting up a stick.

'Cross- sama?'

'Shut up, I heard you before!' he roared out to the older man, irritated. He puffed his cigarette slowly to calm himself down. Sure, this damn old castle, with no women or even high- class furniture was driving him insane. Good thing the modified akuma before him brings him good wine whenever he runs out of supply.

'Will you change to your human form Arturoe? That look is irritating me!'

'Hai, Cross- sama.' the golden akuma bowed deeply before obeying its master. He lifted his large form in the air then in one big swish, he's completely turned into a fat, old man of about his mid- 50's. A white apron hugged his wide bodice; his graying brown hair was balding at the top. Strands of white and gray stick out of his thick mustache.

His grey eyes sparkled against the soft moonlight as he looked at the Marshall inquiringly, as if to ask if the look satisfies him. The general got the message.

'That's better.' he said. 'So... how's the 14th doing? Did you make Rose Anne bite him?'

'Hai, Cross-sama, I placed the drug on the plant, as you instructed.' Arturoe Marqo said humbly as he gave the general another deep bow.

'Good.' Cross filled his wine glass once more, and then stood to look out of the window into the starless night, losing himself in his own thoughts. An evil smile was playing on his lips as he calculated the time left before the 14th takes over Allen. And the time left to help his idiot apprentice overcome the Noah's control.

'I'll make sure you'll become the 7th awakening, idiot apprentice.'

A/N: I'm really sorry about the first part! Don't worry; I have a much better idea on how to finally get Allen and Lenalee together. And it will involve Lavi's hammer!

And as for Egrin? Nah, he's not an OC. Just like any other fan out there, I absolutely have no idea what the 14th's name really is so I'm calling him that. Egrin's actually a name I made up for a character of a, ehrm, 'personal' comic series (nyehe, anyone can dream right?) I was planning to make for a time now (but the 'real' Egrin's not this dark!), and I think it really suits the 14th here. You'll find out next chapter why.

And yeah, the dream part at the start of this fic, and Lenalee's were connected. And the lotus is very important. ^^,

And about the mahogany and narra. These are wood with warm, reddish tones. I'm not sure if mahogany's also termite resistant but I'm quite sure about the narra being such. And I think it was illegal nowadays to cut them from the wild (since there are only few left) but this is the end of the 19th century so I'm assuming there are still lot of this wood. And to those who live somewhere near the sea like me, you know what I mean by the wind. .

Thanks to everyone who read! And to those who gave their reviews, they're very much appreciated! You just don't know how happy I get whenever I receive one. Thanks a lot!ű

Btw, Lavi and Kanda will be back next chapter to give us another one of their brilliant plans! And I'm revealing the 'Hidden Truth' next time, so watch out for that! And just what that 7th awakening is? Next chapter will explain. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And as I've said earlier, the next update might take long to be posted because I have to work on new sets of plates. So, there.

~shinigami+Tales

Edit: I won't be updating Obeisance, reasons posted on my profile. I'm sorry and thanks for reading my stories. ",