The Devil’s Symphony
Disclaimer: I don’t own D. Gray-Man. But I’m happy Hoshino Katsura-san is coming back in April!
Chapter 6: Rhythm
A/N: Enjoy. (:
The ebony haired girl sighed in the darkness.
This was getting downright irritating.
She tossed and turned under the covers, struggling to find a comfortable position.
It had been a week since the incident in the tunnel.
And Lenalee had been exhausted entirely.
She gazed at the instrument case in the corner.
Each time she played her cello, those akuma things popped up out of no-where.
It was as if they were stalking her.
She briefly wandered if Allen were experiencing the same thing; everyday, after he got back from his part-time job at the café adjacent to the apartment, he seemed tired and worn out, and was so tired he was asleep the moment he landed himself of the sofa. He always missed dinner.
And what’s worse, the boy was screaming more every night. And the blood loss always came with it.
Lenalee had had to wake him up several times during the week to get him to calm down, and she had stopped using earplugs every night just in case. She always had a towel ready too.
“I’m so sorry, Lenalee… This is stupid…” he’d said last night, holding the towel him to his bleeding eye sockets.
And she’d heard him mutter something like “worthless, pathetic and weak” under his breath.
She’d advised him to see a doctor about the screaming, bleeding and nightmares, but he’d blatantly refused, saying he had no money for it nor would he borrow any from her.
He had obviously hinted at his lack in finance, and had stressed again his need for the money he earned at the café; but she knew he didn’t want any debts.
But there was of course his pride to consider, and besides, he couldn’t afford to borrow money from anyone at current.
Huh.
Friends were supposed to help each other right?
Why didn’t he let her help him with this?
Lenalee could tell Allen was falling sick.
Before anything bad happened, he should go to the doctor.
And he would tomorrow.
She would drag him there if the need arose, she decided.
And that would be tomorrow, she would soon discover.
A loud coughing noise erupted from outside. A scream echoed throughout the house.
Lenalee pulled the covers over her face.
She wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight either…
But suddenly, as if to counter her thoughts, the screaming stopped abruptly, just as she had pulled the covers off her legs.
Lenalee, shocked, scrambled off her bed and rushed to the living room. She thought she had heard another softer sound, something she couldn’t quite place. Allen couldn’t have simply stopped for no apparent reason either after all.
-
He tried, but failed to comprehend miserably.
He couldn’t see.
Couldn’t hear.
Couldn’t make a sound.
Couldn’t feel.
It was too bright.
What was going on?
There wasn’t even pain in the sudden quiet calm.
He remembered his dream.
He had been walking in pitch black darkness before a hideous creature had stood in his path, appearing out of no-where.
It had screamed at him.
Or at least its soul had.
“Help me! Help me!” it shrieked.
The silence had screamed in his ears, and he could feel them bleeding.
His head had almost been split open when the nightmare just stopped.
Just like that.
The boy had no idea what had happened.
Suddenly, the sight of red behind his eyelids faded, replaced with a shadow.
He opened his eyes to a world of polished white buildings.
And in the distance, at the capital of what looked like a city, he heard the faint sound of a piano.
-
“Allen-kun, Allen-kun, are you alright?” Lenalee whispered.
She shook his shoulders lightly, tapping him on the arm.
His face was peaceful and tranquil and he looked like he was among the dead, resting in the depths of heaven somewhere.
This is what worried the ebony-haired girl.
She had heard of people dying in their sleep.
She sincerely prayed, begged, pleaded, that this was not one of those times.
-
He could hear Lenalee’s voice from behind him and spun around.
“Allen-kun, Allen-kun, are you alright?”
He smiled at her worrisome tone.
“Yes, I am, just wait for me,” he whispered.
He faced round to the direction of the sound, his heart set to find the source of the beautiful music.
-
She could have sworn she’d heard him whisper.
She could have sworn she’d heard him say he was alright. And to wait for him.
She would always trust her friends.
Lenalee grasped Allen’s gloved left hand.
She pulled off the worn white gloves and held his hand in her own, facing the palm to her cheek.
She could hear his shallow breathing and feel the pulse in his wrist.
The sixteen year-old grasped the boy’s hand tighter, praying silently.
“Please be okay…”
And she kissed the glowing green cross embedded into the back of his hand tenderly.
-
Allen opened door after door in the strange building.
The music had no source, and it felt as though the piano sounds echoed through the walls themselves. It had no origin.
Then a door appeared before him, obstructing his train of thought.
Allen was surprised and astounded. How could a door appear out of thin air?
He shrugged and entered, regardless.
The song had finished as his eyes wandered around the room, staring at the gigantic white piano with its black and white keys.
The colours were inverted.
At the chair sat a man in a long coat, the tails touching the floor.
Allen approached the suspicious looking stranger cautiously.
“The old man.”
The white-haired boy blinked.
“You must see the old man.”
The stranger turned to him.
Allen saw that he had no face.
It was inhuman, a huge, unrealistic grin spread across his face, and eyes that were hollow.
Someone could get lost in there if they stared for too long.
“The old man will explain,” he said, turning to the piano once more as he ran his gloved fingers over the strange keys.
“He will teach you.”
That said, the stranger vanished with a last glance.
It was two whole seconds before Allen reacted.
“W-Wait! What do you mean? What old man?”
But his questions were not to be answered.
-
Allen’s grey eyes opened slowly.
He could see the traces of light orange outside beyond the glass window at the far end of the room.
His hand was warm, and there was a blanket draped over his lower half, past the leg that hung off the arm of the sofa.
He turned slowly to face Lenalee, his neck stiff.
She was holding his hand tightly in her own, leaning against the couch asleep.
He could smell the shampoo she used on her hair…
He shifted tiredly, his hand still in Lenalee’s embrace and came instead to sit down next to her in a more comfortable position.
He stared at the ceiling, leaning his head back against the sofa.
-
Have a nice day. (:
And Andrew,
get your ass back here after the exams and fricking comment.
♪.moonrise.♪
-
♪.Sing to the Heaven of the Dawn.♪
§//.Melodramatic obstinate love haunts the ensanguined hearts of the broken.The torn melodist sings his final aria of dreams.\\§
