Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The abandoned warehouse was vacant and morose. The doors were left wide open as rusted chains hung from the ceiling. Cars were either on the ground or extended off the ground so that they could be worked on. Most of the cars had patches of scraped off paint or areas of rusted metal. Some tires littered the ground, and there were puddles of dried up oil that left a black stain on the concrete floor. There were some metal carts nearby the cars on the ground, tool boxes resting on top. She glanced over at her partner for the mission, watching as his golden eyes were wide and alert, ready for anything. Mercury irises found their way around the warehouse, looking for anything suspicious. She and her partner had gotten word that the drug traffickers they were after were planning on meeting up at the very warehouse they were waiting in.

They waited in silence. Neither of them made a sound as they sat, crouched behind two broken down cars. She waited, concentrating, looking for signs of movement and listening for sounds of footsteps. Had she been a rookie, she probably would’ve gotten impatient and started talking to fill the silence. However, she had about three good years under her belt, and experience had taught her to be patient, and wait. They had been waiting for about a good forty minutes, and she could tell her partner was getting annoyed if the semblance of the frown on his face was anything to go by. She couldn’t help but be a bit annoyed as well. From the beginning, the source of the information they had wasn’t the most reliable, but they both decided to trust it. She wouldn’t be very happy if their source led them on a wild goose chase.

Just as she was about to call it quits, she heard voices. Her eyes narrowing as she glanced over at her partner. He gave her a look and a nod. They drew their guns, holding them at their sides as they waited. The voices got closer, and she began to hear their footsteps. She peered over the top of the car’s trunk, to see if she could spot them. There were three teenagers it looked like. One of them wore a blue shirt and jeans. The other two wore hoodies, hands in their pockets. ‘That’s probably where the drugs are kept.’ Observing them, she maintained her position, her partner doing the same.

“Alright dude, pay up, and we’ll give you whatcha want.” Green hoodie spoke. Blue shirt nodded silently, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a wad of cash. Watching the scene, she glanced over at her partner, he was waiting on her. Using hand signals, she told him to wait. They watched as blue shirt handed over the money to green hoodie. Green hoodie took it and he dug into the pocket of his hoodie. He took out a bag of what looked like pills and tossed it over to blue shirt. Blue shirt caught it, fumbling slightly in the process.

She nodded at him, and he smirked slightly in response. The two stood out from behind the car.

“Everyone freeze, I wanna see your hands behind your back, and your lips to the ground! If you ain’t kissing dirt, you’ll be kissing my-.”

“Tyki, I think they get the point.” She interjected, sighing quietly. She showed them her badge, and the teenagers paled, blue shirt freezing up as they stared at the two. Green hoodie panicked,  turned to his partner.

“I thought you said we weren’t followed!” He snapped.

“I-I’m sorry Chaoji! I didn’t think we were!” Hoodie number two exclaimed. A look of frustration furrowed green hoodie’s (Chaoji’s) brow. She watched the two panic, sighing. She nodded at her partner before she pocketed her gun, pulling out her handcuffs. Keeping his gun out, and staying alert, he kept his eyes on the suspects.

“You’re under arrest for drug trafficking.” She said as she looked at the two wearing hoodies. She then looked at blue shirt. “And you’re under arrest for purchasing of illegal substances. You have the right to remain silent, for anything stated can, and will be used against you in court. You have the right to have an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court. ” She recited. Tyki tossed her his handcuffs, and she used them to cuff blue shirt. Blue shirt was trembling as she leaned over him and grabbed his hands, putting the cuffs on them. Tyki pulled out a second pair of handcuffs, moving to cuff hoodie number two. Chaoji took the chance to trip him, giving hoodie number two the time to push himself from the ground and run. This distracted Tyki’s partner from handcuffing blue shirt entirely. Blue shirt rolled over, knocking off Tyki’s partner’s balance before he got up and ran as well.

“Oi! Allen!” He shouted in alarm. Sighing, she chased after the two, leaving Tyki with Chaoji.

“I got it! Take care of the other guy!” Allen exclaimed before she ran off. She caught sight of hoodie number two and blue shirt running off into two different directions. Taking a couple moments to think, she chased after hoodie number two, knowing he was more important. He had information about where the drugs had come from after all. Hoodie number two was a slow runner, giving Allen enough time to catch up to him. She knocked him off his feet, and he landed on the ground with a groan. “Good luck getting away this time.” She grabbed onto his hands, pulling him up and bringing him over to the squad car.

“Nice work, Shounen,” Tyki commented,

“Tyki, how many times do I have to tell you that I’m not a boy?!” She snapped. The nickname was the result of a misunderstanding when the two had first met. Her hair used to be shorter, ending near her ears. Tyki chuckled as they brought the two teens to their squad car.

“I think it fits you, Allen .” He teased. Allen frowned in disagreement, still glaring at him as they sat the two boys in the back. She then sat down in the passenger seat, allowing Tyki to take the driver’s seat. “I guess our source was reliable after all.” The man mused, beginning their drive back to their station. It was time to interrogate the two teens.

“It seems like they were.” She murmured in response, silver eyes flicking over to the mirror that allowed her to see the teens. Chaoji and his friend both looked nervous, and she could see they had bloodshot eyes, along with bags under them. The key observation she made was how their hands were shaking. All she could do was frown.

When they arrived back at the station, two people were standing at the entrance. One had messy purple hair and ocean blue eyes. His most notable feature was the scar that ran across his nose. He wore a black short sleeve button up with black slacks and dress shoes. The one next to him had long blond hair tied back in a braid and crimson red eyes. He had two red dots on his forehead. He wore a light yellow button up with a tie and dress pants, minus his gun and handcuffs.

Tyki pulled up in the parking lot, and Allen got out, pulling out one of the teens. She made sure to be careful, and not grab him too hard. She was never one for being rough with criminals. Tyki did the same as she did, grabbing the other one. They brought the two over to the entrance. Allen smiled as she caught sight of the ones by the doors. “Alma! Link!” She greeted once she was close enough. Alma, the one with the scar smiled at the girl.

“Hey, Allen! I’m happy to see you’re alright!” He exclaimed, ocean blue eyes sparkling. The male beside him, Link, gave her a nod of acknowledgment. They followed Allen and Tyki into the building, heading to their desks.

“I hope you’re going to get your paperwork done on time today, Walker.” He stated his voice firm and professional. Allen and Alma nervously laughed.

“Come on Link! No need to be so uptight all the time! You always wear the uncomfortable type of clothes when we’re allowed to dress comfy but professional.” Alma teased, grinning. Link frowned a bit, looking at him. Tyki took the two teens to his desk, knowing it was best not to get involved. He’d let Allen handle the two.

“I see no problem with how I am dressed, Karma. If you have any other problems, please do not hesitate to inform me.” The shorter male responded. Alma sweat dropped as Allen nervously laughed.

“You know how Link is.” She said, looking at her friends. They had known one another for years now. She had met Link in her junior year of high school, and she grew to like the male, especially his baked pastries. Allen was almost surprised that Link had followed her in becoming a detective, but his reasoning was “someone needed to watch out for her if she ever did something reckless,” which she did often. Link always reprimanded her for it. However, if and when she got herself in the hospital, the nurse would always bring her a bag of cookies, saying it was from a concerned young man. She always knew who the nurse was talking about, and it made her smile. Her and Link had met Alma during their academy years.

Allen and Alma had bumped into each other one day in the hallway, and he had complimented her scar, saying it was cool. She, of course, replied by saying his own scar was quite cool as well. They hit it off pretty well. After that, Allen and Link had found out that Alma was looking for a close friend of his that had suddenly disappeared one day. Allen had confessed that the reason she was trying to become a detective was because she was trying to find her father’s murderer. Link, who had heard this already, was surprised by Alma’s response. He had said he’d help Allen any way he could, and Allen said she and Link would do the same. One could say that’s how their close friendship began.

“Allen-chan! You’re back!” A high pitched voice called out before she felt something around her waist. She looked down and saw a small girl hugging her. Allen chuckled a bit, smiling down at her.

“Hello, Road.” She greeted, looking down at the purple fluff of hair. Road looked up at her with a smile.

“You’re finally back! We can play again!~” Road sang, making Allen sweatdrop. Road’s version of playing was dressing her up in old dresses that her mother gave to her, and making her act out Romeo and Juliet. Allen always wondered why the girl was so obsessed with the play. Allen nervously laughed, looking over at Alma and Link for help. Alma was trying to contain his laughter. Link sighed, going over to them.

“I must apologize, Walker has some very important work to attend to at the moment. You will have to wait until later to play.” He apologized. Road pouted, but let go of Allen.

“Aw! You’re so mean Two-Spots!” She whined. Link’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but he kept quiet. Tyki stood from his chair and walked over to them, sighing. Allen looked over at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Did you get anything out of them?” She questioned, walking over to him. The past few dealers they caught never told them where they got their supply from, or who got them in contact with the people they sold it to. It was a recurring situation, and it was beginning to get on both Allen and Tyki’s nerves.

“We finally got an answer. But you aren’t going to like what it is.” He replied, and Allen knew exactly what he meant. The group had been giving them a difficult time for at least five months now. She frowned in response, the air in the office space was tense. Alma and Link looked at Tyki, while Road looked between Allen and Tyki.

“It’s the Black Order, isn’t it?”

All she needed was the nod to prove her thoughts.

Chapter Text

“Oi...get a move on!” He growled, cobalt eyes glowing with unknown emotions. The men in front of him yelped, trembling as they worked faster. In front of them sat a laptop, with very crucial information inside. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose to contain his anger. He didn’t feel like getting lectured by Komui once more. It happened far too often for his liking. He crossed his arms, glancing around the room. He then glanced down at himself and sneered in disgust. A few areas of his shirt was stained with blood. Red soaked the carpets of the house they were in, along with his sword. He hated the stench of it. He frowned, grabbing a cloth before beginning to clean his blade. He made sure to keep his eyes out for anyone besides the men under his command.

“U-Um...Kanda Sir...” The man he had previously yelled at came up to him. He noticed that the man was trembling slightly. Kanda turned to look at him, scowling.

“What?” He questioned rather rudely. The man jumped at his response.

“I-I...w-well you see...we can’t get into the laptop…” He shakily explained, quivering. Kanda glared at him, growing angrier.

“Che, keep trying. I have a call to make.” He ordered, walking off. He left the man dumbfounded, standing still as he watched the retreating back of his boss. He quickly gathered himself before going back to his work. Kanda stepped out into the hallway, somewhat grateful to get away from that awful stench. He frowned as he took out his phone, already not looking forward to who he’d have to speak with. He dialed a number and hit the call button. It took about two or three rings before the person on the other side picked up.

“Hello? Reever speaking.” The man said. Kanda mentally sighed in relief.

“It’s Kanda. Where’s Komui?” He grumbled, looking around the hallway he currently stood in.

“Sleeping,” Reever answered, and Kanda could hear the disappointment in his voice. “Anyways, is there something wrong? You don’t call very often.” The Australian male questioned. Kanda’s frown deepened.

“Che, those idiots can’t get into the laptop.” He said bluntly. Reever dryly chuckled.

“Alright. I’ll send someone over as quickly as possible since Chief Komui is still sleeping.” Kanda hummed in response, and the call ended. With a sigh, he put his phone back in his pocket and waited.

“Yuu!~” A voice exclaimed. It was a voice he knew quite well. His eyebrow twitched in irritation as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did Reever have to send him of all people? “Yuu-chan? Where are you?” The annoyance called, his footsteps allowing Kanda to tell where the idiot was going.

“Oi, shut it Usagi. If you shriek any louder you’ll raise suspicion.” He grumbled, walking out of the room he was in to see his annoyance with crossed arms. The male in front of him had fiery red hair and an eyepatch covering his right eye. His other eye was a shining emerald green. His name was Lavi Bookman Jr. Lavi was one of the Order’s best hackers and informants. He knew how to get information, and how to cover his tracks. The only problem? He annoyed the hell out of Kanda.

“Glad to see you again too!” Lavi said, grinning. “So, what am I working with?” He questioned, looking around curiously as if he was trying to find what he would be hacking.

“Che, follow,” Kanda ordered, his arms at his sides now. Nodding, Lavi followed Kanda as the male led him to a room. Inside, two men were standing in front of a laptop, the sounds of fingers pressing down keys being the only noises in the room. “You two, get out,” Kanda commanded. The two men looked up from their current task before they backed away and ran out of the room. Lavi walked over to the laptop, sitting in a chair as he looked at the screen curiously.

“Seems like they tried to get some sort of hacking program on here.” He observed, cracking a grin. “Heh, this is a piece of cake!” Lavi exclaimed, cracking his knuckles. He slipped on his gloves and getting to work. Kanda leaned against the table, crossing his arms as the default frown settled on his face. “So, can you fill me in on why you need the data from this laptop?” The hacker questioned, glancing over at his friend.

“There’s information in there that the Order needs. This guy ran some sort of trafficking system, and if we can find out where the center is, it’ll lead us right to our head guy.” Kanda explained. Lavi didn’t respond, becoming absorbed in what he was doing. Kanda didn’t mind, he preferred the idiot rabbit silent.

“Phew! All done!” Lavi cheered, grinning. “Using this handy thumb drive, all of the information we need is saved! I set the laptop to self-delete everything saved on the computer hard drive.” He explained, looking over at Kanda. The male sighed, pushing off the table and standing upright.

“Che took long enough.” He grumbled. Lavi faked a pout, standing up from the chair he had been sitting in. He slipped off his gloves, shoving them in a pocket. He made a mental note to pick up a new pair sometime soon.

“Come on, Yuu-chan! No words of praise? No, ‘good job Lavi! You’re so talented at hacking and I’m happy you’re my best friend!’?” The energetic male questioned, making Kanda stop and turn to glare at him. Lavi squeaked like a rabbit -hence Kanda’s nickname for him- when he was met with the glare, and a certain sword being pulled out of its sheath.

“Care to repeat yourself, Usagi?” Kanda questioned, his voice low and dangerous. Lavi wildly shook his head.

“Nope! I already forgot what I said!” He exclaimed, and then proceeded to make the motions of sealing his lips and throwing away the key. Kanda didn’t bother to hold back his small smirk. He said nothing as he sheathed his sword, walking out of the room with Lavi trailing behind. “Hey, Yuu, ya sure it’s a good idea to leave more evidence behind? Might just lead the cops right to us…” The male questioned. Kanda glanced over at him, a frown on his face.

“It’ll lead them on a pointless search.” He said simply. He then narrowed his eyes in a glare. “For the last time don’t call me by that damn name!” He scolded. Kanda’s men began to pack up as quickly as they could, and made a swift getaway before they could get caught.

They made their way back to headquarters with little trouble. Kanda and Lavi exited the car they were in and headed inside. Kanda’s destination was the office of a certain Chief, and Lavi just tagged along for entertainment. When they reached the man’s office, Kanda slammed the doors open and stepped inside. The loud slam of the doors woke the man sleeping at his desk for the male was scrambling slightly to get a grasp on his bearings. When the male adjusted his glasses and could see properly, he gave a welcoming smile. “Welcome back Kanda! How was your mission? Successful?” He asked.

Kanda scoffed in response, pulling out the thumb drive Lavi handed him earlier from his pocket. He threw it down on the male’s desk. “Che, of course it was, no thanks to you though.” He grumbled, a scowl on his face as he looked over at Lavi. The man followed his gaze and raised an eyebrow.

“Did you need something Lavi?” He asked. The male in question grinned and shook his head.

“Nope! Just figured I’d tag along since I am the one who got that thumb drive!” He said. The Chief only felt more confused.

“But I didn’t send you on that mission with Kanda…” He murmured. Kanda’s eyebrow twitched.

“Reever sent him because you were too damn lazy and decided to sleep on the job,” Kanda explained, frowning.

“Oh no! My deepest apologies Kanda, I-“

“Chief Komui! You’re awake, good! We got some more paperwork that we need you to look at!” Kanda and Lavi took that as the perfect moment to leave. The two quickly left the room, knowing that Komui would try to shove his work onto them. They both had enough work of their own to do.

“Hey, Kanda,” Lavi said, looking over at his friend. They stopped in the middle of the hallway, surprising Kanda a bit. What surprised him more was the serious tone Lavi used. Kanda knew he was serious when his preferred name was used. He looked over at the hacker, raising an eyebrow. “I wanted to give ya a warning. Watch out for the detectives. More specifically one of their branches. They’ve got some crazy smart female detective in their ranks, and she could almost easily track you down, with the right information of course.” Lavi warned, only making Kanda more curious.

“Oh? Who would this smart detective be?” He questioned, looking at him.

“Her name’s Allen Walker…”

Chapter Text

Allen let out a soft sigh as she fell back in her chair. Alma and Link sat at their own desks, the room filled with a tranquil silence. One of Allen’s arms covered her eyes as she just sat back and thought . She thought about the case her and Tyki had been working on. She thought about the Black Order and how much trouble they’ve been causing lately. The Black Order had been around for years, but recently they’ve been more active. The group was an underground mafia, something not a lot of people knew about unless they worked with the police or they lived in London.

The Black Order was a group of people that killed ruthlessly for money and recognition. From what Allen knew, they went after big shot politicians, wealthy men, and even some producers. Now another big problem they’ve been encountering is the Order selling out drugs to people. Allen sighed once more, moving her hand slightly so that she could look up at the ceiling. There was a cough, making Allen look down from the ceiling and over to the source. Link had a frown on his face, and pointed next to him. Next to him was a golden furred golden retriever, who was very close to Allen’s heart. “Timcanpy!” She said, making the dog look over at her and bark happily.

Timcanpy ran over to her, and Allen got out of her chair, petting her best friend. Tim licked her cheek in greeting making Allen giggle. “Hello to you too boy.” She said, smiling.

“Walker, please keep a better eye on Tim. It’s highly unprofessional to walk around with dog hair on your clothes, and I would rather not deal with the amount of hair Tim sheds getting on my clothes constantly.” Link stated, frowning slightly. Allen playfully rolled her eyes.

“Don’t mind him, Tim. Link is just grumpy today.” She said, looking at her dog as Timcanpy barked in agreement. Allen smiled happily at him. “Say, have you gotten your official best police dog title yet?” The girl questioned, looking down at him. Link and Alma looked at one another. Alma sweat dropped a bit, deciding he should be the one to speak up.

“Uh Allen...you do know that Tim isn’t officially a police dog, right?” He questioned, making sure to sound as gentle as possible.

“What are you talking about Alma? Of course he’s official! He’s helped us with plenty of cases to be considered one!” Allen exclaimed, ruffling Tim’s fur.

“There was the time we were on a scouting mission and he gave away our position because he got afraid of his shadow .” Link pointed out.

“But then he ended up being a great distraction and we were able to sneak attack, and we caught them off guard without anyone getting injured or worse!” Allen refuted, looking over at her friend.

“Or the time when he attacked a high schooler’s backpack while we were doing a careful investigation.” Alma added, his face deadpan.

“He found the drugs, didn’t he?” Allen questioned, looking at the two. Alma sighed, face palming. Link shook his head, deciding arguing anymore with the stubborn girl would be pointless. Timcanpy barked, sticking his tongue out as he looked at Allen, panting. The girl chuckled a bit, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry Tim, you’re official in my eyes.” She said, hugging him as she patted his head.

“Shounen we-“ Allen looked up at Tyki as he entered their shared office. She pulled away from Tim as Tyki blinked. “I’m...not interrupting anything, am I?” He asked.

“No...is something wrong Tyki?” Allen asked, standing up. Allen could tell by the expression on his face that something wasn’t right. She made sure to hold Timcanpy back, knowing that the dog had a thing for not liking Tyki. The girl could never figure out why.

“We’ve got another one…” He said, making Allen frown. She handed Tim to Alma, and looked over at Link.

“Alma, I need you to stay here and watch over Tim. Link, come with us. You’re one of the few forensic specialists we have right now, and something tells me that we’re going to need your opinion.” She said, her friends nodding. Allen grabbed her coat and badge, Link grabbing his coat and a suitcase, which held the materials he’d need to use. Tyki led them out of their office and to the car he and Allen were in hours before.

“How bad it is?” Allen questioned, looking around as she slipped on the gloves Link handed to her. One of the other officers stood next to her. Tyki was already investigating other rooms with other officers.

“Looks like a break in. Victim’s name is Malcolm C. Lvellie. He was a well known and respected politician, as I’m sure you know.” The officer explained. “It looks like some sort of blade was used. There’s one wound that led to his death and it was one across his throat.” Allen hummed in acknowledgement as she began to look around the house. Link set up what he needed to and began collecting evidence he could use in the labs.

Allen looked down at the victim, especially his neck. She pursed her lips, kneeling down and looking at the injury. “It looks like it was a sword was the weapon.” She observed. The officer looked at her, confused.

“How can you tell?” He asked. Allen looked up at him, and then looked down at the wound. She pointed at it as she explained.

“Look at the width of the wound. It’s slightly larger than one caused by a knife.” She explained. He nodded, looking surprised by her observation. “Also..it doesn’t look like a break in.” Allen said as she stood up and looked at the door. The officer raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure? The window is smashed open!” He stated, walking over to Allen. The girl shook her head and pointed at the door.

“Take a look for yourself. There’s no evidence of forced entry. It seems like Mr. Lvellie knew whoever his killer was, and just let them walk right in. Was the door locked when one of your men entered?” She questioned. The officer shook his head.

“B-But what about the window?!” He asked. Allen walked over to the window, noticing where the glass fell.

“If someone broke in through the window, there’d be more glass on the inside than the outside; which isn’t the case here, in fact it’s the opposite.” Allen explained. The officer blinked as he stared at the glass shards inside and out of the house. He then looked at the girl in awe.

“Y-You’re amazing! I never would’ve noticed that!” He complimented. Allen nervously laughed, holding her hands up dismissively.

“T-Thank you, but it’s really nothing! Anyone could’ve noticed it..!” She replied, feeling embarrassed. The officer shook his head.

“I have to disagree!” He responded. Allen was about to reply when she heard a chuckle.

“Well no wonder she noticed it. This is Allen Walker we’re talking about.” Tyki interjected, a sideways grin on his face. Allen mentally face palmed as the officer in front of her gasped.

“Really?! You’re the Allen Walker?!” He gushed. Allen gave Tyki a side glare as she looked over at him. Tyki chuckled at her predicament -that he caused- and grabbed Allen’s arm.

“Apologies my good sir, but I’ll be borrowing Ms. Walker for a few minutes.” He apologized before pulling her away. Allen sighed in relief when they got away before turning to really glare at Tyki.

“What made you think that was a good idea?!” She exclaimed. Tyki chuckled.

“What? I couldn’t resist. Young officers are my favorite to mess with.” He admitted. Allen sighed again, shaking her head.

“Never mind.” She muttered. “Did you find anything?” Allen questioned, looking at him. Tyki nodded, a frown replacing the sly smile on his face from before.

“Mr. Lvellie’s laptop has been completely wiped of everything. Someone must’ve hacked into it and deleted everything after they were done.” He said. Allen frowned a bit.

“I’ll have Alma take a look at it when we get back; see if he can get anything from it.” She suggested. Tyki nodded in agreement. Alma was the best technology specialist they had. He was smart with computers, and even better with finding information that was hard to uncover. Link came over to them slipping off his gloves.

“I have taken all of the evidence I could.” He stated. “I’ll run tests when we return.” Link added. Allen nodded in response.

“Alright. Tyki, could you go get that laptop, and we’ll head back to the station?” She questioned. Tyki nodded, not arguing as he left to grab the laptop.

“Oh, Walker.” Link stated, making Allen look over at him. “Don’t forget, you still have a report to write when we return.” He said, making Allen sweat drop.

“Oh...right…” ‘I’d completely forgotten….’

“Ah, Allen-chan, you’re back!” A man exclaimed. Allen stared at the man in surprise, looking over at Alma. The male nervously shrugged. She looked over at her boss, Adam Earl. He was sitting in her chair, a welcoming smile on his face.

“Hello Captain Earl…” She trailed off, not exactly knowing what to say. The man gave her a warm smile.

“Please, no need to be so formal my dear!~ Just Earl is fine!” He exclaimed. It was something he said often to her. Allen slowly nodded her head.

“Ah...o-of course…! Is there something wrong…?” She questioned nervously. “If it’s about my report, I was just about to write it, I just need some extra time and then I-“

“Don’t worry about it Allen-chan! I came here to give you an important task!” Adam explained, walking up to her. The girl quirked an eyebrow, confused. “Follow me to my office, I’ll explain everything there.” He said. She nodded, glancing back at Link and Alma as she followed the man. Allen felt very awkward as she walked behind him. Adam, however, was humming a small little tune as he greeted other employees around the station. Adam Earl was the Captain of the Noah Detective Agency, also known as the N.D.A. They were the best of the best, and Allen felt honored to work there.

When they reached Adam’s office, they stepped inside. Allen stood behind the chair, her nerves going off the radar as her heart pounded in her chest. Adam gave her another one of her warm smiles. “Please, have a seat.” He offered. Nodding, Allen sat down. “Now, I know you and Tyki-pon have been working on the Black Order case, correct?” He asked. Allen nodded her head. “Well, there’s someone I want you to specifically focus on. His name is Kanda Yuu.” He began, holding up a folder to show her. “This folder is everything we know about him.” He said, handing her the folder. Allen took it, opening it. “Now normally, I would suggest seeking out help from Alma-kun since he’s the best researcher we have, but this is something I need you and you alone to look into.” Adam explained. Allen stared at him, shocked.

“Y-You’re trusting me with such a huge responsibility?” She asked. The man smiled, nodding.

“Of course! You’re one of our best, Allen-chan!”

Chapter Text

It had been a few days since Adam had given Allen her new target. To say the least, the girl had constantly been researching any information she could about Kanda Yuu. However, she had gotten nowhere at all. The man knew how to hide his tracks. She had often been seen sitting at her desk typing away on her computer ever since she had gotten the assignment. Tyki was informed about her task, and he tried helping her anywhere she could. Even Wisely, who was another tech specialist on their team. She knew Adam had asked her to look into him alone, but she had no idea where to start!

The information that Adam had given her was slightly helpful. She knew the basics, or at least what they could figure out when it came to basic information. She knew his name, his position in the Black Order, a bit of his physical description -all they really knew was his eye color- but that was about it. Allen let her head fall on her desk as she sighed in frustration. Timcanpy nuzzled her lap, as if sensing his owner’s distress. Allen gently pet his head, looking down at him. “This is so difficult Tim...I don’t know where to start or where to look…” She sighed.

“Oi Shounen, we’ve got a new recruit. Come meet her.” Tyki said, popping his head into her office. Allen nodded, standing from her chair. She looked down at Tim.

“Stay.” She said softly. Tim laid his head down on the ground. Allen giggled a bit, before leaving her office. Link and Alma were already outside, speaking to the new recruit. She headed over to them. The new recruit happened to be a girl. Allen looked at her in surprise. She was pretty. The girl had teal colored hair that fell at her shoulders. She wore casual but professional clothes and had a beautiful smile. The new recruit noticed Allen and her smile brightened.

“Hi! I’m Lenalee Lee. I’m happy to be apart of the team.” She greeted, extending her hand. Allen gave her a smile, accepting her hand.

“Allen Walker. It’s great to have you Lenalee.” She greeted.

“If it’s alright Allen, can you show her around? Link and I are gonna try to get what we can from the evidence you and Tyki brought back a few days ago. If we weren’t doing that we’d definitely show her around but…” Alma told her, sweat dropping a bit. Allen looked at him, nodding her head in agreement.

“Of course I can Alma. Besides, I need a break from all of the research I’ve been trying to do over the past two hours.” The girl agreed, looking at Lenalee. “Just follow me Lenalee. I’ll show you around the station.” Tyki chuckled, slyly smirking.

“I advise bringing a map Ms. Lee. Allen has a special tendency to get lost.” He taunted. Allen glared at him a bit.

“I’ve gotten better!” She argued. Tyki’s smirk widened.

“Oh? Well I heard that just last week you had gotten lost trying to find the storage unit. And before that, there was a situation a few months where you couldn’t find Sheril’s office.” Allen’s face flushed in embarrassment. Tyki couldn’t help it, he enjoyed teasing her way too much.

“I-I’ve still gotten better!” She argued still. Tyki smirked in amusement while Alma face palmed and Link shook his head. Lenalee giggled quietly, smiling.

“I think getting lost is all apart of the experience, and it’s kind of enjoyable.” Lenalee added in, making Tyki and the others stare at her in shock. Allen had a not so uncharacteristic smile on her face.

“See? Getting lost can be enjoyable for people!” Allen cheered. Tyki sighed, before chuckling at the girl’s enthusiasm. “I can show you around now if   you want Lenalee.” She offered. The girl beside her nodded in agreement.

“Sounds like a plan, thank you Allen!”

And this is my favorite place in the whole building, the cafeteria.” Allen said, pointing to the room. “The food here is great, I recommend the mitarashi dango, it’s delicious!” She suggested. Lenalee laughed a bit. “Breakfast is served at eight, and lunch is served at either noon or around one, everyday, even dinner for anyone working overtime. Sometimes they even have stuff put out on the weekends when we’re here.” Lenalee looked around at all of the chairs and tables. She caught sight of the vending machines in the corners, and then looked over to the counters where plates of food where for workers to enjoy.

Allen continued the tour, showing the girl the storage unit, different offices and branches. She showed Lena the forensic lab which was where Link had been working. The forensic specialist looked extremely focused, and Allen didn’t want to ruin his concentration so she didn’t stay there for long. The young detective did notice a male with long hair tied back wearing glasses doing some sort of experiment though. ‘So that’s where Sheril’s been, better ask to talk to him later.’ “Ah, stay here for a minute Lenalee.” She said softly. Allen went over to him, gently tapping his shoulder. The man turned around, smiling.

“Hello Allen, what can I do for you?” He asked, putting down what he was doing. Allen glanced over at Link before taking Sheril outside.

“Sorry for taking up your time like this, but I need your help with a case I’m working on. Could you give me any files you have about deaths caused by the Black Order?” She asked. The man blinked, before nodding his head.

“Of course. I’ll get them to you during my break.” He agreed. Allen gave him a smile.

“Thank you Sheril.” She said, before the two spilt. Allen went back to Lenalee, and continued the tour. As they were walking, Lenalee looked around at everything. She noticed that there were stairs leading to the second floor.

“Allen, what’s on the second floor?” She asked. Allen glanced over at her.

“Oh, that’s where Adam Earl’s office is. There’s also more offices for higher up officers and branch leaders.” Allen answered. Lenalee nodded.

“Can I...ask another question?”

“Of course.”

“What made you want to become a detective?” Lenalee saw the way Allen froze up for a second, and there was a flash of pain in her eyes. “S-Sorry! I shouldn’t have asked, you don’t have to answer Allen..!” Lenalee exclaimed, feeling guilty. Allen gave her one of her ‘perfect smiles’ and shook her head.

“It’s alright, I don’t mind answering.” Allen lightly protested. She went to one of the chairs in the hall and sat down. Lenalee took the spot next to her. “I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps I guess. He wasn’t my biological father though, my real parents abandoned me as a child, and he happened to be on duty one day when there was robbery. I was right by and with my luck, I got caught right in the middle. The robber happened to be running in my direction and before I knew it the cloth I had been holding tripped him, and the cops were able to arrest him and bring back the stolen items.”

“My father, Mana, thanked me for helping and asked about my parents. I told him I didn’t have any and that’s when he made a spur of the moment choice to adopt me. Things were great with Mana...until my second year of high school, he was murdered...to this day it’s still unknown who did it. So, I became a detective to find out who it was and bring my father the justice he deserves.” Allen lamented. Lenalee noticed an almost distant and somber looking gaze in her eyes. “It’s pretty selfish huh? Most people enter this profession to protect people, but I’m doing it just to find a killer..”

“I don’t think it’s selfish at all. You’re still protecting people, right?” Lenalee said softly. Allen looked at her in surprise before smiling.

“Yes...you’re right.” The girl agreed. “What about you Lenalee?”

“Me?” The girl asked, taken by surprise. “Well...I want to support my brother. He raised me all on his own when I was a kid. My parents were never really around. So, it’s my turn to help him now and give him all of the support he gave me as a child.” Lenalee explained, a soft smile on her face. Allen’s smile only grew.

“I think you’ll fit in just fine here.” She couldn’t help saying. Before Lenalee could say anything else, a male with slightly curly white hair and brown eyes. Allen looked at him, smiling. “Hello Wisely.” She greeted. The male looked at her.

“Hey Allen. Who’s this?” He asked, looking at Lenalee.

“This is Lenalee, she’s a new recruit.” Allen explained. “Lenalee, this is-“

“The name is Wisely Kamelot Miss, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m the head of the technology branch, smartest and best looking of them all.” Allen sweat dropped at the male’s introduction. Sometimes she hated how narcissistic he could get. But she’d put up with it because he was pretty damn good at his job. Lenalee slowly nodded her head, looking at Wisely.

“I-It’s nice to meet you too…” Lenalee muttered. Wisely turned his attention from the new recruit to Allen.

“I got some hits on the guy we’re after. I’ll let you know when I’m free so I can show you everything.” He said. Allen nodded in agreement. Wisely walked off. The two girls stood from the chairs, Allen giving Lenalee a small smile.

“I think it’s time I showed you where my office is, just in case you need anything. But before that, do you know which unit you were assigned to?” Allen asked. Lenalee didn’t answer right away. She pulled out a piece of paper and read it.

“I’ve been assigned to yours.” She said with a smile. Allen’s smile brightened. She was already starting to like Lenalee and enjoy her company.

“Well, then all the more reason to bring you to my office. I share it with Alma and Link. Tyki occasionally. He’s my main partner in cases, but his office is next to mine.” She explained, leading Lenalee back. As they walked back, Allen saw Tyki popping his head into different rooms. “Uh...Tyki? Are you looking for something?” Allen asked. The male turned to look at her.

“Shounen! There you are.” He said, going over to her. Allen raised an eyebrow. “Our informant caught word of your guy making an appearance at some sort of dealing tonight. He gave me the location.” Tyki informed, handing her a slip of paper. Allen took it, reading over the address.

“Got it. Sorry Lenalee, looks like Tyki will have to bring you back to the office. Duty calls.” She apologized before heading to the exit and to her car. “Alright Mr. Kanda Yuu. Tonight is the night I become the first and last one to catch you.”

Allen pulled up to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. What was it with criminals and abandoned places? Shaking off the thought, Allen took notice of the one main entrance. The doors looked slightly rusted and some paint was chipping off. She guessed there was probably another entrance by the other side of the building. Scanning around one last time, she pulled out her pistol from its holster and gripped it with both hands. She put her back against the wall and peaked out from behind, trying to look in.

Inside was a group of three people, their backs to the door. One of them had long raven hair pulled back in a ponytail, and Allen looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. ‘Which one is Kanda…?’ The other two had dark purple hair, and the other had what looked brown hair. Allen didn’t make any movements, observing what was going on.

Inside, Kanda stood with his arms crossed as he looked at one of the men in front of him. “Oi, we got you the damn information, now pay us for the job.” He grumbled. The man he was speaking to was named Sammo Han Won. He was the representative for Bak Chang, very well known in the field of medicine. The man had wanted to get information on a new dangerous drug going around, in hopes of finding out how to stop it.

“I-I’m sorry Kanda-san...we don’t have all of the funds yet. Bak-san promises to pay you within a weeks time.” Won explained, nervously. Kanda’s eyes narrowed.

“Che, whatever. If we don’t have the money by Monday tell you’re stupid boss he’s in deep shit. Now get out of my face.” Kanda grumbled, adding in a glare. Sammo Han Won tensed up, quickly nodding his head.

“T-Thank you Kanda-san! I’ll let Bak-san know immediately!” The old man exclaimed, hurriedly leaving. Allen waited until Won had left to make her move.

“Oi, Komui bring the car around front.” Kanda grumbled. “Go with him Reever.” He added. Komui raised an eyebrow, looking at him.

“Why do you want us to bring the car?” The male asked, curious.

“There’s something I need to look into.” Kanda replied simply, cobalt eyes darting around the warehouse. Komui and Reever shared a look before heading to the car. Allen stayed still, making sure to breathe as silently as possible; she couldn’t get caught now. “Heh, you can stop hiding now.” He announced, smirking. Allen stiffened, tightening her grip on her pistol. Despite being found out, she didn’t move. She heard Kanda sigh. “Oi it’s no use hiding from me anymore. I know you’re hiding.” He said, sounding annoyed. Biting her lip, Allen took a small breath before stepping out from behind the door. She looked at Kanda with a hard stare. Kanda chuckled. “Oh, so it’s a detective.”

“My name is Allen Walker, a detective for the N.D.A.” She introduced. Kanda raised an eyebrow. “I was introducing myself. It’s a polite thing to do when you meet a new person.” Allen stated. Kanda scoffed.

“Che, I doubt I need to introduce myself to you. Seems like you already know who I am.”

Allen stared at the dark haired male in front of her. This was Kanda Yuu? This was the most terrifying man in the ranks of the Black Order mafia? There was no way. She refused to believe it. However, the sight in front of her made her believe it was true. They locked eyes, and Allen wasn’t sure why, but she felt annoyed. Her eyes hardened and she glared. Kanda, however, smirked. “Che, so, the Noah sent another one of their lackeys after me, huh? Didn’t they learn the last time that it’s a waste of time?” Allen frowned, pursing her lips in anger.

“Apologies, but I will be the one to catch you, Kanda Yuu.” She replied, keeping her eyes trained on the male. Kanda scoffed, his steel blue eyes watching her every move.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Moyashi.” Kanda replied, smirking at her. Allen couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the nickname.

“Moya...shi...?” She couldn’t help asking. Allen shook her head. ‘That doesn’t matter right now, Allen! Focus’ She mentally scolded herself. “Whatever! I’m going to catch you!” Allen replied, charging forward at him. She was determined to catch him tonight, and end this mission. Allen wasn’t sure what made her act such a way. Normally, she’d never charge head first into a battle with a criminal, unless someone’s life was at stake. It was something Alma, Link, and Tyki often got mad at her for.  

But no one’s life was at stake. So why was she attacking Kanda without a plan? Kanda let her try to hit him, but moved to grab her wrist. He squeezed her wrist, making her drop her pistol. He moved her arm behind her, making the girl grit her teeth. He leaned by her ear. “Was that really such a good idea, Mo-ya-shi?~” The male practically purred. Allen struggled to get out of his grip.

“Bastard!” She exclaimed, trying to get out of his grip. “Let go!” Kanda frowned as he watched her struggle, sighing.

“Che, quit trying to get out of my grip Moyashi. I’m not letting yo-“ He was cut off by a kick to the side.

“You should’ve just let me go the first time.” Allen said, seeming smug. Kanda looked up at her as he hunched over, growling.

“Damn...woman…” He growled out. Allen looked at him, her hands on her hips as she glared at Kanda.

“I have a name, and it’s Allen.” She said. They held a glaring contest as Kanda collected himself from the unexpected blow. He had to admit, the Moyashi was good. And she peaked his interest. “Well, since you’re not in the best condition right now, I’ll take this opportunity to bring you into custody.” Allen said, taking the handcuffs from their holder. Before Allen could get over to him, a car pulled up, cutting off her from him. Kanda chuckled.

“What was that about taking me in, Moyashi?” He asked, cockiness written all over his face. Allen just glared at him. Kanda hopped into the car and the driver sped off. Allen watched, frowning.

“I’ll get him next time for sure.”

Chapter Text

The next day, Allen was sitting in her office with Alma. The two were doing work for the case from a few days ago. As she worked, Allen couldn’t stop thinking about her meeting with Kanda the night before. His stupid smirk. That stupid nickname he made up on the spot. She was normal height for her age! Eventually, her concentration broke and the young woman snapped. “Ugh! He’s so damn arrogant it ticks me off!” Allen exclaimed, slamming her hand down on her desk. Tim lifted his head up from the ground, raising his ear while Alma looked up from his work, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you so ticked off...are you alright Allen?” He questioned, pausing from working to talk with the girl. Allen quietly sighed, trying to calm her anger. She crossed her arms as she leaned back slightly in her seat.

“Sorry...I’m chasing after a member of the Black Order and I had my first confrontation with him last night.” Allen explained. Alma nodded his head.

“How’d it go?” He asked her, curious. Who did she meet?

“Well, I overheard some sort of deal Kanda had been making with Bak Chang’s representative, but I’m not too sure what it was about..” Allen trailed off. “But I have to admit, he’s good. He noticed I was there even when I hid myself pretty well. It was like he had a sixth sense or something.” Allen sighed, crossing her arms.

“Wait, you said you overheard a conversation with Bak Chang’s representative right?” Alma asked. Allen nodded her head in response. “You think we could meet with him and ask some questions? It might help us in the investigation.” The male suggested.

“Of course! Alma you’re a genius!” Allen exclaimed, turning to her computer and beginning to type. Alma scratched the back of his head, an embarrassed smile on his face.

“I’m glad I could help.” He said. Allen looked over at him with a smile as she clicked on a page, eyes scanning over the information.

“Got it.” She said, standing up from her desk. “I’ll be right back, there’s a call I need to make.” Alma nodded, watching her leave. Allen left the office, heading to a more private place to make the phone call. She entered the phone number of Bak’s business and added his extension when she needed to.

“Hello? This is Bak Chang, how can I help you?” Came the voice of the head of the business, Bak Chang. Allen was almost surprised. Most heads of businesses had their calls go through their receptionist before going to them.

“Good afternoon Mr. Chang. My name is Allen Walker, I’m a detective for the N.D.A. I’m sure you know of them.” She said. She could’ve sworn she heard the man’s breathing hitch through the phone.

“O-Of course! It’s a pleasure to speak with you Ms. Walker. What can I do for you?” He asked. Allen took note of how he was trying to keep his voice calm.

“I’d like to request a meeting with you, say on Friday? Are you available?” She questioned.

“Let me check if I’m seeing any patients on Friday, please give me a quick second.” Allen waited as she heard what she presumed to be flipping pages. “Is two o’clock alright?” Bak asked. Allen nodded her head.

“That’s perfect. I’ll see you then Mr. Chang. Thank you for your cooperation.” She said, before ending the call. She pocketed her phone before walking back to the office. When she went back inside, Link and Lenalee were there. She smiled at them. “Any progress yet?” She asked as she sat down. Link nodded.

“It appears that the weapon was in fact a sword. Although it seems that Mr. Lvellie was under the influence of alcohol before he died.” The male explained. Allen nodded, looking over at Alma.

“Have you and Wisely had any luck with the laptop?” She questioned. Alma frowned a bit.

“Well, it seems our beloved politician had some shady business going on in the background...we were able to recover some emails he sent out, but that’s about it. Whoever got to his laptop before us did one hell of a job getting rid of everything…” Alma sighed. Allen frowned, crossing her arms.

“And of course we probably won’t find out who erased the information we need.” The girl murmured. Alma nodded in agreement.

“Do you have any idea what the shady business was?” Lenalee asked, making everyone in the room turn to look at her. The tech specialist shook his head.

“Not exactly. It seems like the emails we recovered has some sort of secret code to it. Whoever he was speaking with, they weren’t flat out talking about their deal. They were speaking using code names.” Alma explained, making Lenalee frown slightly.

“Can I see the emails?” The new recruit questioned. Alma and Allen looked at each other.

“Let me go get the laptop. I’m not sure how much luck you’ll have figuring anything out, but you’re welcome to try.”

Kanda grumbled profanities under his breath as he read over a report. He had been stressed lately, and the idiots using the Black Order’s name to defend their drug businesses was seriously starting to get on his nerves. He narrowed his eyes as he read over some of the information written in the report. It seemed the amount of imposters had shot through the roof lately. This only irritated Kanda more. “Yuu!~” A voice sang, making him frown. Perfect. Just what he needed. “A little birdie told me you had a run in with that Walker girl!~”

“Shut up.” Kanda growled, glaring at Lavi. The hacker only pouted, closing the door behind him as he entered Kanda’s space. The male only seemed to become grumpier.

“Tell me about her! Was she all that the rumors made her seem to be?” Lavi questioned. Kanda rolled his eyes. He knew the idiot wouldn’t leave him alone until he answered at least some questions.

“Che, she’s short.” He muttered, smirking a bit as he recalled her rather entertaining reaction to being called a sprout. Lavi looked at him curiously.

“Really? Is it true she has pure white hair?” Kanda nodded his head in response. “Whoa!” The hacker exclaimed, clearly in awe. “Does she seem as smart as people say she is?”

“Seems like it. If it wasn’t for her giving herself away I wouldn’t have even noticed she was there.” He muttered, frowning. That detective was pretty damn good, he had to admit. She should make things interesting. Lavi grinned.

“Was she cute?” Kanda glared at him.

“Get out!” He exclaimed, practically kicking him out of his room. Lavi pouted.

“I just wanted to know if she caught your eye, Yuu-chan!” He whined. He heard the door bang and jumped, screaming in fear. Kanda smirked as he heard the rabbit scream. No way in hell was he going to admit that the sprout was quite the catch to the idiot rabbit. Kanda sighed, leaning back in his seat. Yes, things were going to get interesting.

Chapter Text

Friday had rolled around quite quickly. Allen had woken up that morning, glaring at her alarm clock for waking her up. She then remembered the important event that was to happen later that day, and sighed. Tim was laying next to her, nuzzled into her side. The girl rolled over to face him, gently petting his head. After a few minutes of giving her companion (who was more like her best friend) some well deserved pets, she got up and began to get ready for the day. Allen quickly showered, changing into a red button up with an unbuttoned vest and pants with her usual shoes. After she was done getting ready for work, Allen decided it was time to wake Timcanpy.

She liked to let the dog sleep a bit longer; he needed the energy. So, she gently shook him a few times. It didn’t take Tim long to wake up. When he saw Allen, he barked and licked the girl’s face. Allen giggled, patting the dog’s head. “Alright boy. Let’s go get some breakfast!” She exclaimed, causing the dog to jump out of bed and run towards the kitchen. Allen watched with an amused smile. Tim was always so energetic. Once in the kitchen, the two began breakfast. Allen never ate breakfast until Tim was up.

After breakfast, Allen grabbed Tim’s leash and attached it to his collar. With a smile, she led him out the door and towards her car. Tim sat in the passenger's seat, sticking his head out the window as Allen drove to the station. She glanced at him when she could, giggling a bit. Tim was such a good dog. She had him ever since Mana got him for her for Christmas. She had trained Tim as a child, and Mana even helped her sometimes. Timcanpy was a very energetic puppy back then. As he grew up, that energy was still there but slightly calmer.

Allen pulled up to the station, checking the time. It was currently seven thirty, and she was right on time. She brought Tim to her office, smiling at Link and Lenalee. “Good morning!” She greeted cheerfully. Lenalee gave her a warm smile.

“Good morning Allen.” She replied. Link looked up from whatever he was writing.

“Good morning Walker.” He said, going back to his papers. Allen chuckled a bit at that, smiling. She undid Tim’s leash, putting it on her desk. Tim immediately laid down, sniffing at the ground. “Is there any important meetings happening today?” Link questioned. Allen nodded.

“A few days I called Mr. Chang about asking him some questions today. He’ll be arriving around two. I want you and Lenalee to sit in on the questioning.” Allen answered. Link nodded, and Lenalee looked at her in surprise.

“Me? Are you sure you wouldn’t want Alma or Tyki?” She questioned. Allen gave her a gentle smile.

“Of course Lenalee. I think it’ll be good for you to see how we do things around here. And Tyki already knows he’s sitting in on this. He is my partner after all.” She replied confidently. “Besides, you gave us a lot of leads when you read over those emails. It was a huge help!” Lenalee blinked, before giving her a shy smile.

Two o’clock rolled around faster than Allen had expected. The day was easy for her surprisingly. She didn’t have much to do other than write up reports and try to get more information on the Black Order and Kanda. Throughout the day it was mostly Allen and Lenalee in the office, since Link and Alma were coming and going. They had other cases to work on. “Oi, Shounen!” Tyki called, making Allen look up from her work.

“Hey, Tyki.” She greeted, holding Timcanpy back. The male looked at her.

“Mr. Chang is here.” He said. The girl nodded, standing from her seat.

“I’ll meet you there.” She replied, Tyki nodding in agreement before leaving the room. She looked over at Tim and crouched. “I have to leave for a bit, Tim. Can you promise me you’ll be a good boy while I’m gone?” She questioned. Tim stared at her, as if trying to understand her. Allen laughed a bit, kissing his head before standing. “Alright, be good!” She said as she left the office. Tim simply laid his head down, intent on taking a nap. Allen made her way to an empty office. It was one of the rooms they used to ask people questions without wanting to intimidate them by putting them in the interrogation room. Even though Mr. Chang was suspicious, Allen didn’t want to make him too nervous. She smiled kindly at him when she entered the room. “I’m glad you could meet with us, Mr. Chang.”

The man smiled at her in response, though she could tell he was nervous. Who wouldn’t be? She sat down besides Tyki, Link and Lenalee sitting next to her. “Well, it would’ve been quite rude of me to decline.” He said.

“Before we get started, I want to assure you that you aren’t in any sort of legal problems, we’re simply gathering evidence.” Allen assured.

“Although, we’ll be determining if you’re in the clear or not.” Tyki added, a bit ominously. Allen looked at him with a small frown. She then looked back to Mr. Chang.

“Ignore him for now. Anyways, what can you tell us about the Black Order?” She asked. The man stared at her in surprise, blinking.

“I...don’t know anything about them. The Black Order isn’t well known to the public…” The man said. Allen noticed his fidgets. And...were those hives appearing..? She pushed aside the thought.

“While that’s true, I have reason to believe you know more than you’re letting on.” She said, raising an eyebrow. Bak stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. Allen sighed.

“Mr. Chang, whatever information you have can help us track them down. It’s crucial you tell us what you know.” She tried, hoping he’d say anything. Bak sighed, quietly.

“I don’t know anything, I’m sorry.” Allen could tell he was lying. She hadn’t wanted to say this, but it seemed he left her no choice.

“There’s no point in lying Mr. Chang,” She leaned back, crossing her arms. “I saw your assistant speaking with Kanda Yuu and two other men a few nights ago. They were saying something about you owing them money?” She noticed how Bak’s back straightened and he seemed to tense.

“A-Alright...I know quite a bit about the Black Order. But there are things I just can’t tell you, I’m sorry Ms. Walker. Please, just let me tell you what I can.” He pleaded. Allen glanced at Tyki, waiting for her partner’s nod of approval. Once he gave it, she nodded at Bak. The man forced himself to relax. “I...I was childhood friends with one of the medicinal specialists in the Order. We unfortunately went our separate ways when it came to career paths...but he’s the one who informed me of the Order. A new type of drug has been discovered that irresponsible dealers have been selling. I wanted information on it so I could try and prevent it. He said they could help, so I figured it was worth a shot..and it came at a high cost…” He explained. “I’m sorry, but I can’t say anymore.” Tyki frowned.

“Are they blackmailing you? We can put you under protective custody, you’d be safe from them if that’s what your worried about sir.” He said. Allen watched as Bak’s body language changed. The man lightly chuckled.

“Blackmail me? Of course not. Kanda may be harsh, but he isn’t cruel.” Bak said, looking at them.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Allen asked. Bak shook his head, an apologetic smile on his face. She sighed quietly, giving him a small smile of her own. “Well, I think that’s all the questions we have. Thank you for your time, Mr. Chang.” Allen said, standing. Tyki and the others did the same. Bak stood, reaching for a handshake. 

“I wish I could help more.” He said, before gathering his things and leaving. Tyki looked over at her.

“So?” He questioned. Allen looked down at small notes she made, and then back up at her partner.

“Well, he wasn’t lying when he was talking about the Order not blackmailing him. He laughed as if it was a funny joke someone told him…” The girl trailed off. This left a lot of questions and suspicions. Is the Black Order really what it seems? Allen sighed, frowning at her notes. She could never catch a break, could she?

Chapter Text

It was so boring. Nothing new had come up, causing Allen to have to work on paperwork all day. She hated paperwork, like every normal person. For some reason, Link absolutely loved doing paperwork. He looked less tense as he worked, and it seemed to put him in a good mood. Which Allen and Alma loved to take advantage of at times. He’d let them leave early sometimes, or he’d even take their work for them! The only thing Allen couldn’t get rid of was her own reports. Unfortunately, since she was the main detective she had to write the reports. Both her and Alma agreed, reports were an unfortunate hassle. Currently, Allen had the hellish job of working on paperwork. It was after her lunch break, so she had no time left to procrastinate.

“Hey, Allen!” She looked up from her work to see Sheril standing in front of her desk.

“Hi, Sheril. What’s up?” She asked. The man was holding a stack of files in his hands. He held them up with a smile. Understanding the message, she moved her paperwork to the side of her desk. He placed the files on her desk.

“These are the case files you asked for a while back, but I completely forgot to give them to you. Criminals have decided to commit some more crimes, knowing how much it annoys us.” He said with a lighthearted smile. Allen returned the smile.

“Thanks, Sheril! I appreciate the files!” She said with a smile. Sheril nodded in response. He stood in front of her desk for a few more minutes before looking around. He leaned closer to her.

“Some of the files are missing.” He whispered. “I think somebody came in and stole them, but I’m not sure...I am suspicious though.” The man explained. Allen nodded, frowning.

“Do you think...someone from the Black Order infiltrated?”

“I wouldn’t put it past them. It seems logical to want to keep tabs on the enemy. Especially since it’s you of all people working on the case.” Allen sighed, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, makes sense. Well, thanks for the files anyway Sheril. These’ll be helpful.” She said with a genuine smile. The man nodded, walking away from her desk with a wave. After he left, Allen took a break from doing her paperwork to look through the files. She had multiple put out across her desk, and she reviewed multiple at a time. Alma and Tyki walked by her sometimes, and neither questioned it. They did, however, notice how tired she looked. There were definitely bags starting to form under her eyes, that was for sure.

“I’m worried about Allen…” Lenalee murmured. She had pulled the squad into the break room to talk. Alma nodded in agreement.

“As usual, she probably hasn’t been taking proper care of herself.” The boy sighed, looking over at his friend from the window of the room. Her back was towards them, and it looked like she was writing down notes.

“She’s probably pulling all-nighters again. Not only does she have the Black Order case, but she’s also hunting down any information she can find about her father’s murder.” Link lamented, making Alma frown. Lenalee looked over at the two.

“She’s looking into her father’s murder as well?!” She gasped, completely surprised. “I knew she wanted to find her father’s murderer, but if she keeps going she’ll burn herself out…” Lenalee muttered quietly, causing Tyki to sigh.

“We’ve tried talking her out of it before, but she never listens to us. She’s too stubborn for her own good.” The male explained. Lenalee had a sudden look of determination in her eyes.

“Well, she hasn’t dealt with me yet.” She voiced, clenching a fist. Alma wished her luck. He really did.

“Who hasn’t dealt with you yet, Lena?” The very topic of their conversation asked, standing in the break room. Everyone (excluding Tyki and Link) jumped. Lena turned to face Allen, smiling.

“Oh, Alma had a drug dealer brought in! He said she wasn’t talking, so I offered to help! Right, Alma?” She chirped, elbowing him. The male nodded quickly in response. Allen raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask anything else. “What are you up to, Allen?” Lenalee inquired. It seemed she noticed the awkward atmosphere of the room.

“Just making some progress with a case finally. There’s a pattern that I noticed; all of the victims were killed the same way. And they aren’t your everyday civilians. They’re all big shot politicians, businessmen, government officials, you name it.” The girl explained. She went over to the coffee machine and took the pot. She grabbed a cup and began to pour a cup of coffee. Lenalee and Alma shared a look.

“Well now that you made some progress, why not take a break, Walker?” Link suggested. Allen smiles at him, shaking her head.

“I’ll take a break later! I’m fi-“ She was cut off by a yelp of pain. Coffee spilled on the floor and burned her hand. Alma was the first to leap into action, gently tugging her hand under cold water.

“Geez Allie, you gotta be more careful.” Alma sighed. Allen nervously laughed.

“Sorry, I’ll clean up the coffee right away.” She apologized. Link, who was already taking care of the spilled coffee, shook his head.

“No, Walker, keep your hand under the water. I’m taking care of the coffee.” He said, making Allen frown.

“Maybe you should head home Allen, you look really tired,” Lenalee suggested. The girl shook her head.

“Guys, really, I’m fine! Tyki, tell them I’m fine!” Allen pleaded, knowing her partner was the most logical out of the squad.

“Sorry Shounen, but Miss Lee’s right. You haven’t been getting a lot of sleep, I can tell.” He reasoned. Allen pouted a bit.

“Guys…” She whined. They all looked at her. She sighed. “Fine, I’ll leave an hour earlier.”

Thirty minutes later found Allen sitting at her desk with a wrapped hand. Alma might’ve overreacted a bit about her hand. But she let him fret over it anyway, knowing he’d keep worrying about it if she didn’t. She stared at her files and her notes. Looking through the old cases seemed to be the right call to make. She found a lot of details that she wouldn’t have found if she focused on current cases. Allen was still worried about those missing files though. Who could possibly be the mole for the Order? And why? Were they trying to take them down from the outside? That theory made sense.

Sighing, Allen faintly wondered if any other files were missing. She stood up from her desk and made her way to the evidence room. She frowned when she saw that she needed to look on the top shelf. Cursing her height, Allen grabbed the stool. She stood on top of it, realizing that it still wasn’t enough. Stifling a yawn, she stood on her tippy toes and reached for the shelf. “Aha!” She exclaimed, spotting a file she hadn’t seen before. She wobbled a bit as she reached for it. She wobbled more and eventually lost her footing.

Alma looked up from his paperwork when he heard a crash. He, Link, and Tyki shared a look. The three stood, alerting Lenalee. She followed them to the evidence room. In the room, Allen was on the floor, a box by her side. “Allen…” Alma muttered, frowning. It wouldn’t have been the first time they found her on the floor of the evidence room. He sighed. “Go home, please . You’re clearly worn out. Taking a small break isn’t going to hurt you!” He practically begged.

“You aren’t going to get any more work done like this, Walker. Go home.” Link commanded. Allen looked like she was going to say something, but Lenalee stopped her before she could.

“Allen, please . We’re trying to look out for you! We’re your friends and we care about you. But if you keep being stubborn like this, it makes it harder for us to help you.” The girl reasoned. Allen frowned, sighing.

“Okay, I’ll go home and take two or three days off.” She agreed. Tyki held out his hand and pulled her up.

“I’m driving you home. I don’t trust you driving yourself and Timcanpy home.” Her partner said, mind already made. Allen nodded, heading to get her things.

“I’m surprised, Lena. That’s the first time Allen’s ever agreed to take time off without putting up a fight.” Alma commented in awe. Lenalee gave a small smile.

“I have an incredibly stubborn older brother. You figure out the right things to say.”

Chapter Text

“Yo! Yuu-chan!” Lavi easily dodged a book targeted for his head. Kanda glared at the male as he entered his office.

“Stop calling me that, idiot.” He grumbled. Lavi grinned at him.

“Nope!~” He joked. His face turned serious as he glanced around the room, frowning. Kanda noticed his shift in demeanor and raised an eyebrow.

“What?” He asked. Lavi sighed, stepping closer to him.

“Another one of our guys was found dead earlier. Same as the last one.” The male explained, making Kanda annoyed.

“Che, we don’t have any leads on who’s taking them out?” He questioned, crossing his arms. With a frown, Lavi shook his head. “Dammit!” Kanda cursed, slamming his hand down on the table. Lavi looked at him.

“We could always ask a certain someone for help…” He suggested. “Might be our best shot at figuring out what’s going on.” Kanda didn’t reply, looking as if he was deep in thought.

“Che, how annoying.”

Allen blinked as she stared up at her ceiling. She’d been home for two days and she was so bored. Either Tyki, Link, Alma, or Lenalee would stop by to check up on the girl, and make sure she wasn’t doing anything she wasn’t supposed to be doing. The first time Lenalee had come over, her friend walked in on her standing in front of a bulletin board that covered a large portion of a wall. On it was pictures and newspaper clippings about the murder of Mana Walker. The board looked like something out of a crime series with thumbtacks attaching red strings to symbolize some sort of connection Allen had made or something she wanted to mark as important.

To say the least, Lenalee was not happy to see Allen out of bed and doing work. She gave Allen the look disappointed mothers would give their children after learning they did something they weren’t supposed to do. Allen loathed that look. It reminded her of when Mana first adopted her, and he heard how...colorful her words could be. Afterward, Lenalee forced the girl back into bed, Timcanpy jumping up and snuggling next to her. Lenalee was pleased to know the girl stopped trying to do work and simply rested like she was supposed to be doing.

And that’s what she’s been doing for the past two days. But Allen was bored out of her mind. She needed something to do. Tim laid next to her, eyes closed in content as the girl ran her hand through his fur, and patted his head. He looked up, however, when he felt the hand stop, and there was a distressed whine from his owner. “I’m so bored, Tim!” Allen whined, practically flailing her arms. She sighed, continuing to stare at her ceiling. Not even the television could cure her boredom. “How do the others think I can stay home for so long? I’m going crazy!” The girl continued to whine. She then sat up, grinning. “Hey Tim, let’s go for a walk!” She exclaimed. The dog’s ears perked up at the mention of going on a walk.

Allen giggled, getting out of bed and changing her clothes. She grabbed Tim’s leash and attached it to his collar. Tim obediently sat by the door, tail wagging excitedly as the girl put on her shoes. Once that was done, the two were out the door. Being outside felt so nice. Allen had a small smile on her face as she walked Tim, the dog looking around as his tongue hung out his mouth. The girl looked down at her phone, scrolling through newspaper articles, catching up on the news. Everything was peaceful until she felt someone walk into her. “Ah, sorry! I wasn’t paying attention!” She hastily apologized.

“Che, stupid beansprout. Why don’t you try actually not looking at your damn screen while walking?” A voice grumbled. Allen tensed up. She quickly scowled, glaring at the male in front of her.

“What the hell are you doing out in public?!” She hissed, glancing around at the people around them. Nobody noticed anything. Kanda scoffed.

“I’m jogging.” He said as if it was completely normal to be a dangerous member of the mafia and to be outside without covering his face. Allen stared at him. “And since my face isn’t well known, it doesn’t matter. Now if you don’t mind, go away and be annoying somewhere else.” The male grumbled. Allen frowned.

“I won’t! It’s my job to arrest you if you didn’t know, and you being right here saves me a lot of bloody trouble! So cooperate!” She knew she sounded a bit childish, but she was tired of chasing him down. Kanda glared at her.

“Shut up. I’ll do whatever the hell I want.” He said, about to leave. He stopped when he heard growling. He turned around, looking for the source. It was the damn bean’s dog. “What, you gonna sick your dog on me? Goddamn, learn how to relax. Go out for a drink or something, get a shot of white innocence, holy shit.” Allen narrowed her eyes. “It wouldn’t do you any good to arrest me. You don’t even have handcuffs, and it’ll attract too much attention. I thought you were smart, Moyashi.” She wasn’t sure why, but she watched as Kanda walked away from her. She sighed, looking down at Timcanpy.

“C’mon bud, let’s head home…”

Heading out was a bad idea, Allen realized. She was annoyed by her run-in with Kanda. She had an opportunity to arrest him, but she didn’t do anything. She guessed he did have a point though. She didn’t have her handcuffs, and there were too many people around. Allen flopped onto her couch, hand covering her eyes. She stared at the ceiling, frowning. She kept thinking about her conversation with Kanda. Tim leaked onto the couch, head in her lap. With her free hand, she ran her fingers through his fur.

“Goddamn, learn how to relax. Go out for a drink sometime, get a shot of white innocence, holy shit.”

It seemed odd to say that in their conversation. It made Allen curious as to why he said that to her. Especially since she was trying to arrest him. They were technically enemies, so why help an enemy? She couldn’t understand it, it didn’t make any sense. Unless...her eyes lit up. She jumped from the couch, grabbing her laptop. “He said it on purpose! That jerk was trying to give me a clue!” She powered up her laptop, rapidly tapping on the keyboard. “Aha!"

Chapter Text

When Allen came back to the station, she felt relaxed. She also felt proud of herself, mostly because she found a lead. She made her way to her office, smiling at Alma and Tyki as she sat down in her chair. The two males looked at her in confusion. “Good morning Shounen..?” Tyki greeted, looking at her. Allen smiled at him.

“I’m too happy right now to let your stupid nickname to bother me.” She said. Alma chuckled at Tyki’s expression.

“I take it those days off definitely helped you,” Alma said, walking over to her. Allen nodded her head in response.

“Yeah. I finally found a lead in my case.” She said, smiling proudly. Tyki frowned.

“I thought we agreed on no work while you had time off?” Her partner said, crossing his arms. Allen playfully rolled her eyes.

“Sorry mom , but I didn’t strain myself, I promise. Lenalee gave me a stern talking to after finding my ongoing case about my father’s murder.” Allen replied. “Besides, we finally have a lead in the Black Order case! I thought you’d be happy about that!” She exclaimed. Tyki straightened, looking at her.

“A lead? What is it?” He asked, pulling a chair over to the side of her desk.

“Well, I might have gotten a tip from Kanda himself…” Allen trailed off. Tyki glared at her.

“You found him on one of your days off and didn’t bother to report it?! Allen, what the hell?!” Tyki exclaimed. Allen frowned.

“I know, it was stupid! But I wasn’t exactly thinking!” She replied.

“Clearly,” Tyki grumbled. Allen looked at him. “What’s this lead you have, anyway? And what do you mean you got a tip from Kanda?” Allen pulled out of her laptop, tapping on the keyboard, showing the screen to Tyki.

“He suggested I should ‘relax’ and ‘get a drink sometime’. He even gave a name of a drink. Pretty strange to say to a detective if you ask me.” Allen said. Alma snorted.

“Sure, if the detective you’re talking to is Allen Walker, the woman married to her work.” He teased.

“Oh, haha,” Allen replied. “Anyways, I looked into different bars in town. Specifically, any bars that sold a drink called ‘white innocence’, the name of the drink he told me.” She explained, clicking on something, and pulling up a picture. “Let me introduce you to a bar named Maria’s Grave, owned by Cross Marian.” Tyki looked at it, a small smirk on his face.

“Nice job, Shounen. But why would the guy you’re trying to catch give you a clue that could lead straight to him?” Tyki mumbled. Allen shrugged.

“He might want something. Information maybe?” She replied. “Or, he could be leading us into some sort of trap.” Tyki frowned in response. “But I need to go undercover and figure out what’s going on.”

“I can’t go with you today to investigate. And there’s no way I’m sending you in alone.” He said.

“Sending in who alone?” Lenalee asked, walking into the space. She put her stuff down at her desk, looking over at Allen and Tyki.

“Allen wants to go undercover to this bar that could have connections to the Black Order, but how she got the information is suspicious,” Alma explained. Lenalee frowned.

“So why don’t I go with her?” She offered. “We could get someone else from the squad to come with us.” Tyki sighed.

“Out of all of us, Link is the only one with a clear schedule. Take him.”

Allen isn’t sure how it happened, but Lenalee got Link to agree. Normally, Link hated going to bars. Even if it was for his job. There were few occasions where Allen and Alma were able to drag their friend to a bar. And it took extensive planning to accomplish. But Lenalee was able to make him go within a few minutes, ten at most. So, Allen decided not to question it. Before they left, Allen made sure to let the captain know what was going on. Oddly enough, he didn’t seem wary of the situation. Shrugging it off, Allen figures he was stressed with paperwork (who wasn’t) and continued on. Lenalee forced her into a disguise, using concealer to hide her scar and made her put a short red wig on. It went to her shoulders. When Allen complained, Lenalee’s argument was, “Most people don’t have fully white hair! They could figure out who you are, Allen!”

That was the end of that. When they arrived at the bar, it was surprisingly busy for twelve in the afternoon. Link was grumbling under his breath the whole time, clearly unhappy. She gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry Link, but you were the only one free today!” She apologized. Link frowned.

“Let’s just get this over with, Walker.” He replied. Allen nodded. The three decided to split up, figuring that was the best course of action. They all made sure to check in every fifteen minutes though. Allen took a seat on a stool, sitting at the counter. The bartender looked at her.

“Ah, just water please.” She said, giving a small smile. He nodded, passing her a cup a few minutes later. As she held the cup to her lips, she glanced around at everyone, listening for any info she could get. As she was listening, someone slid onto the stool next to her.

“I see you figured out my clue. Guess you aren’t as stupid as I thought you were, Moyashi.” Allen frowned, placing the cup down as she looked over at him.

“My name is Allen.” She replied. She then smirked and added as an afterthought, “Bakanda.” Kanda growled quietly. “Why did you lead me here anyways? What was the point?” She questioned, glancing over at him. Kanda smirked.

“Maybe I just wanted to see you.” He said. Allen rolled her eyes.

“And risk getting caught? Not the brightest idea.” She replied. Kanda clicked his tongue.

“Che, of course, they’d send an intelligent one after me.” He grumbled. Allen smirked.

“I solved your riddle, didn’t I?” She asked. “Now, why don’t you tell me the real reason you had me meet you here.” Kanda frowned at her.

“Stupid sprout.” He grumbled. “Fine. Some of my men have been getting attacked, and we have no fucking idea who the hell is behind it.” Allen blinked.

“So...you want my help?” She asked. He nodded.

“One of my...associates told me to come to you. Thought it was an idiotic idea since you’re with the cops, but now it looks like you might be our best shot at finding out who the hell is attacking them.” Kanda explained, crossing his arms. Allen’s eyes narrowed.

“Why should I help you? It’d benefit me and my fellow detectives if slowly the Black Order was wiped out. And theoretically, if I did help wanted criminals, and my boss found out, I could lose my job. So, how would it benefit me if I helped you instead?” Allen asked, staring at him. Kanda sighed, not saying anything for a few minutes.

“Che...so annoying. I’ll tell you whatever the hell you want to know. But only after you help me. How’s that?” Kanda said. Allen stayed quiet, contemplating her options. Her phone suddenly went off, startling her. She took it out of her pocket, realizing both Lenalee and Link had been trying to reach her.

“Crap! I forgot about that!” She muttered.

“Give me an answer tomorrow,” Kanda said, standing from the stool. Allen looked at him.

“How in the world am I supposed to get in contact with you?” She asked. He smirked at her.

“I’ll contact you first.” He replied. Frowning, Allen sighed and turned back to her phone. “Oh, and Moyashi.” He called, making her look up again. “You look good with red.” For some reason, Allen’s cheeks heated up. She slapped them, wildly shaking her head.

“No! Bad thoughts, bad thoughts!” She exclaimed. Her phone continued ringing. “Oh, crap!”

Chapter Text

Life had a weird way of messing with people. One day, someone could know what to expect when going to work, or completing their everyday routine. It was normal. They were used to it. But the next day, their routine could be disturbed, causing them to panic or freak out. Depending on how big the disturbance, the reaction could be anything. That’s how Allen felt at the moment. Her mind kept drifting back to what Kanda said to her at the bar the day before. She was offered an opportunity to help people. She didn’t like the idea of knowing that people were being attacked and possibly killed (even if they were apart of the mafia her and Tyki were after), and not doing anything about it. But if the captain found out she was helping a criminal, she could lose her job.

She’d also lose her only way to find her father’s murderer. Sighing, Allen ran a hand through her hair as she wrote up a report of yesterday’s events. She left out speaking with Kanda. Thankfully, neither Lenalee or Link asked her about who she had been talking to. Tyki came up to her desk, looking at her. “How’d it go?” He asked. Allen sighed.

“It was a dead end. None of us found any information.” She lied, adding in a frown for extra effect. Tyki gave her a frown if his own and sighed.

“Why the hell would he give you a clue, only to lead you to a dead end?” Allen shrugged. “Are you sure you didn’t see anything ?” He questioned. “You might’ve overlooked something.”

“I’m sure we looked for whatever we could. As for Bakanda giving us a clue- what?” She asked, noticing Tyki raised an eyebrow at her.

“Nothing, I just didn’t realize you gave the criminals you were after nicknames.” He replied. Allen turned red in embarrassment.

“It’s only because he gave me a stupid nickname first!” She exclaimed, defensive. “He keeps calling me beansprout, and I thought it was only fair!” Tyki blinked, before bursting into laughter. “Why are you laughing?! Dammit Tyki, it’s not funny!”

“He calls you beansprout, eh?” Her partner chuckled. “That’s a good one. I’ll have to keep it in mind, beansprout .” Allen glared daggers at him, and Tyki walked away, trying to quiet his chuckles.

“Karma’s gonna come after you, Tyki! Just you wait!” She shouted after him. Alma looked at her.

“Why am I going to go after Tyki?” He asked. Allen pouted in response.

“Not you Alma.” She sighed, going back to work. Shrugging, Alma went over to his desk and sat down. As Allen worked on the report, her phone went off. She stared at it, grabbing it and turning it on.

Unknown number

Oi, Moyashi you have an answer yet?

Allen frowned a bit, cautiously glancing around before answering him.

You

How did you get my number, Bakanda?

Unknown number

I’m apart of the mafia, dumbass. I have my ways. Now do you have a damn answer or not? 

Allen carefully thought about what he said. Did she want to risk everything, just to help a criminal? It went against what she stood for, but it’d help her in the long run. Sighing quietly, she typed a response.

During her lunch break, she slipped out of the office and made her way to the bar from the day before. She made sure to hide her badge, not needing to be recognized. She didn’t have time to properly disguise herself, so she pulled the hood she was wearing over her head. Allen glanced around and eventually spotted a dark-haired ponytail in the corner. She made her way over to the ponytail. “Please tell me why you thought meeting here was a good idea,”  Allen said as she sat down in the seat across from him. Kanda looked up at her, frowning.

“Shut up.” He grumbled. “Che, nice hood. Definitely not suspicious.” He commented. Allen rolled her eyes.

“It was the best I could do on short notice. Trying to go somewhere is sort of difficult to do when you’re a well-known detective and you have features that...stand out.” Allen sighed, crossing her arms. “So? Tell me about these guys that are getting attacked.” Kanda nodded. He passed her his phone, letting her go through the pictures he had.

“These are pictures from the scenes where the attacks took place. Some of my men were killed, but not all of them. There wasn’t any sort of pattern to it, it’s like whoever attacked them didn’t feel like finishing the job.” He explained. Allen frowned as she looked through the pictures.

“Maybe they were trying to send some sort of message to you. Most times when a serial killer leaves some victims alive, they don’t do it without a purpose. Wait for a second...what’s that?” Allen questioned, zooming in on one of the pictures.

“Che, that’s another thing. There’s a bloody cross drawn on either the body or a building next to them. Besides that, there’s no other fucking clues left behind by this guy.” Kanda said, eyes narrowing. Allen sighed, frowning. 

“Are these crosses only drawn on the killed victims?” She asked. Kanda shook his head.

“On the ones that were left alive, it was drawn on their wrists.” He replied. Allen handed his phone back to him, crossing her arms once more.

“This sounds familiar…” She mumbled. “We had a case like this two years ago. The killer’s victims were randomized, no connection between them at all. One or two victims were left alive, but they never saw the killer’s face. All they saw was a cross.” Allen explained. “We never caught him. It’s been a cold ever since.” Kanda frowned.

“Che, great. So we’ve got an unsolvable case on our hands then.” He grumbled.

“Not necessarily. There has to be something we overlooked in the case a few years ago. There’s no doubt a connection to those murders and your men being attacked.” Allen replied. She glanced at her phone. “Shoot, my lunch break is almost up.” She frowned. “Um...I can grab the file and we could go over it if you want.” She offered.

“Seems like our only option, Moyashi,” Kanda said, crossing his arms.

“Alright. The next time I’m free is Friday. It’d probably be a good idea to go somewhere more private than a bar…” She said. Allen frowned. “I’m already going to regret this.” She mumbled, pausing. “But I doubt you’d want me to seeing where you live, so we’ll meet at my place.” Kanda scoffed.

“Sure that’s a good idea sprout? You never know if I’ll kill you in your sleep.” He said. Allen rolled her eyes. 

“You seem to forget I’m a detective. I know how to protect myself.” She replied, standing up. “And somehow, I don’t think you’d do that.” She gave him a small smile before walking away. Kanda watched her go, taken by surprise. This girl was really something.

Chapter Text

Friday came around faster than Kanda thought it would. Lavi had been annoying him ever since he met with the sprout earlier in the week. The stupid rabbit kept teasing him about the detective, and not even Kanda’s usual threats worked on him. It so damn annoying. Reever tried to get in between them on multiple occasions, not wanting to deal with any more of their members dying. Komui was increasingly worried about the number of attacks happening. Everyone was, really. Kanda wouldn’t admit it, but he was slightly worried. He was more angry than worried though. Once he and the bean figured out who the hell was attacking his men, he planned on paying them a special visit, even if it means getting scolded by Komui. “Yuuuuu!~” Lavi exclaimed, a grin on his face. Kanda looked up from the file he was studying, glaring at the male.

“Che, shut up. You’re always so damn loud.” He grumbled, placing the file he was holding down on the desk he sat at.

“Well, unlike you Mr. Grumpy pants, I’m always cheerful!” Lavi exclaimed, making Kanda roll his eyes. “Anyways, I have good news about that information you asked me for!” He added, sitting down on the chair in front of Kanda’s desk. Kanda looked at him with a raised eyebrow, prompting him to continue. “I was able to hack into the security system nearby and got the footage we needed,” Lavi explained.

“Fucking finally. What’d you find?” Kanda questioned.

“Well, before you paid him a visit, Mr. Lvellie had another visitor. Their back was to the camera the whole time though...all I could see was brown hair.” Lavi replied, a frown on his face. Kanda sighed, nodding.

“It gives us something to work off of.” He mumbled. Lavi suddenly looked at him making Kanda frown. “Why the hell are you looking at me like that?” He questioned.

“Why don’t we see if Walker will help us with this too?” The hacker questioned with a grin, making Kanda glare daggers at him.

“No way in hell. The stupid sprout is already risking too much in helping us with one of our problems, don’t get her involved in another one.” He protested, surprising Lavi.

“I’m surprised Yuu, she’s really growing on ya, huh?~” Lavi teased, grinning.

“Shut up!” Kanda shouted in response, done with the annoying rabbit’s ridiculous teasing. His phone chimed and he glanced at it. On his screen was a text from the Moyashi with her address. He then looked over at Lavi. “Get out.” He said, motioning to the door. Lavi pouted but stood up to leave making Kanda smirk. Guess the idiot learned from last time.

“You’re no fun, Yuu!” Lavi whined before leaving. Kanda rolled his eyes, looking back at his phone. He had somewhere to be.

Honestly, Allen still isn’t sure why she offered her house for them to meet up. She knew they couldn’t exactly meet out in public while discussing a long string of murders. People could overhear and panic. Or, she could be recognized, and she really didn’t want that. Rumors would spread and would most definitely reach the station. She’d had to make up some sort excuse and lie to her friends. It was all too complicated for Allen, and she wanted to avoid complications. But that doesn’t answer why she had to invite Kanda, a member of a highly dangerous mafia, to her house. Well, it was too late to question and regret her life decisions now. There was a knock at the door. Allen pushed herself up from the couch, looking over at Tim for a minute to tell him to stay. She went over to the door, seeing Kanda on the other side. She unlocked the door and pulled it open. “Surprised you didn’t get lost.” She joked.

“If any of us would get lost, it’s you, Moyashi,” Kanda grumbled, entering the house. Allen closed the door behind him with a frown.

“For the last time, my name is Allen, you-” She cut herself off, sighing. “Forget it. Once this whole mess is over it won’t matter if you remember my name or not.” Allen said.

“Oh? Why’s that?” Kanda questioned, turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow. Allen smirked at him.

“Because you’ll be behind bars.” She replied. Kanda gave her a smirk of his own.

“That so? You sound quite confident for a detective that’s plenty of opportunities to bring me in.” He said, still smirking. “If I were you I wouldn’t declare something like that, especially since I think you might change your mind by the end of this.” The male taunted, making Allen cross her arms.

“I have a hard time believing you since I’m loyal to my job, and the people I work to protect.” Tim barked, making the two adults look at him. Allen smiled a little, going over to the dog. “Oh, right, it’s time for your food.” She said, giving him a small pat. “I’ll be right back. I got the case I mentioned from work. It’s over on the counter over there.” Allen explained, pointing at the counter in the living room. Kanda nodded, walking over to it. He grabbed the file and began looking through it. As he was, something caught his eye. He shut the file for a moment, instead staring at the unraveled scroll of paper in front of him. He stared at newspaper clippings, photos, maps even. There were thumbtacks and red strings covering the whole paper. “Alright Tim, you’re all set!” Allen chirped happily with a smile. “Did you find the file, Bakanda?” She asked, looking over at him. The smile slipped off her face when she noticed what he was staring at. She moved to stand next to him. “Ah, sorry. I forgot to roll that up…” She apologized sheepishly.

“Your father?” Kanda questioned. Allen slowly nodded, eyes glancing at all the information.

“As you probably gathered, he was murdered. The police never figured out who did it, but I’m determined to find out who killed him. So far I haven’t found out anything new though.” Allen sighed, crossing her arms as she frowned. “He was a good father and an even better detective. It’s because of him that I got off the streets...that’s why I can’t figure out who would want to kill him. I still can’t find any new evidence that could lead me to the killer. It’s almost like it was covered up.” Kanda looked over at her, an unknown gleam in his eyes. Allen suddenly waved her hands dismissively. “Sorry! You came over to look through this case, not hear my sob story!” The detective apologized, sheepishly smiling.

“Che, it’s fine, sprout. Let’s get working.” Kanda mumbled, grabbing the file and sitting down on the couch. Allen moved to sit next to him, eyes following as he opened the file and spread everything out on the table.

“Hold on.” She said before getting up and dragging a whiteboard over. She grabbed a marker before turning back to see Kanda’s bewildered expression. “What? You’re telling me you don’t have a portable whiteboard that you can write out details on?” Allen asked. Kanda scoffed.

“Not everyone is as weird as you, sprout.” He replied, making Allen pout.

“Whatever, just start giving me information to write down.” She said. With no more arguments, Kanda gave her dates of the crimes, who was killed, who was kept alive, and the alibis of possible suspects. When they were done, she stepped back, crossing her arms. Kanda stood up from the couch, disturbing Tim, who had been resting by his feet. He walked over to her, staring at the board. “There’s no pattern to victims. Not even with who was kept alive...and as we learned during the investigation, none of these people had any connections with one another.” Allen sighed, frowning. Kanda frowned as well.

“There’s still that damn mystery of what those damn crosses mean,” Kanda grumbled beside her. Allen was silent as she read through the information again.

“I have a theory...and it might be a little far fetched…” Allen said, turning to look at Kanda. The male looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Whatever it is, spit it out sprout. Any theory is possible at this point.” He replied. Allen nodded in response, looking over at the whiteboard.

“Do you think the killer could be someone from the Order?” She questioned. Kanda stared at her, frowning. “It’s possible it could be someone that was removed from the Order, and they’re out for revenge,” Allen explained. Kanda shook his head.

“Che, I find it hard to believe. We have a strict policy of not involving civilians in what we do. Killing them included.” He replied. It was Allen’s turn to frown as she looked at him, skeptical.

“I have multiple cases that contradict that very statement. No point in lying to try and make yourself look good.” The detective said.

“I’m not lying, idiot. We don’t bring civilians into our business.” Kanda shot back, glaring at her.

“So explain to me how dealing out drugs to them, robbing them, and murdering them isn’t involving them. I’d love to see how you explain that one.” Allen challenged.

“I’m telling you, Moyashi, that wasn’t us!” Kanda shouted in response. “Those cases you have nothing to do with the Order! The morons that claim to be apart of the Order are fucking liars!” He hissed, leaning close to Allen as he glared. Allen frowned at him.

“I still don’t believe you.” She murmured, stepping away from him as she looked away. Kanda scowled.

“Che. I think we’re done for now.” He grumbled, making his way over to the door. He stopped as he reached for the knob, glancing over his shoulder at Allen. “Oi, I’m not denying we’ve killed people. Those bastards deserved what was coming to them. What I am saying though, is we care just as much about civilians as you do. We aren’t stupid to get them involved.” With that, he left. Allen glanced over at the door, groaning as she plopped onto the couch, half laying on it. She stared up at the ceiling, a frown on her face.

‘Is he really lying? Or is it someone else…?’

Chapter Text

She stared at her phone, open on her messenger app. She stared at the contact name, guilt pooling in her stomach. Memories of a few days prior were still fresh in her mind. Sighing, she sat up, gripping her phone in both hands.

You

I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just assumed and accused you without listening to you first.

Why was she doing this? She was a detective! There was no point apologizing to a criminal for accusing him of things he most likely did. Allen groaned, falling back onto her bed. Her phone next to her as she stared at the ceiling. Maybe she felt guilty because of how he sounded before he left. She knew it was stupid, feeling bad for just doing her job. But for some reason, Kanda was different than other criminals. Sure, he was a jerk and infuriating, but she got the feeling there was more to him than what he led people to believe. Maybe that’s why she felt bad. He didn’t seem like a bad person that other people painted him out to be. The chime of her phone brought her out of her thoughts.

Bakanda

Whatever. Meet me here

He added an address to his text, surprising Allen. She sat up, reading the text. Quickly, Allen got changed into something more presentable than her pajamas. Once she was done, she looked over at Tim, frowning. She didn’t want to leave him alone, but she wasn’t sure where exactly where Kanda wanted her to meet him. She suddenly smiled. She dialed a very familiar number, waiting for him to pick up. He picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” Alma questioned.

“Hey, Alma. I need you to do me a favor. Are you free today?”

“Depends...what’s this sudden favor?” Alma asked, sounding suspicious.

“Could you take Tim for the day?” She questioned. The line was quiet for a few seconds.

“I could, yeah. Can I ask why I have to take him today?~” Alma inquired teasingly.

“I’m um...meeting with an acquaintance.” She answered, searching for Tim’s leash. Alma hummed.

“An acquaintance you say? Can I-”

“Ah, bye Alma! See you when you get here!” Allen exclaimed quickly, her cheeks tinting red in embarrassment. She quickly hung up on him, not wanting to hear his teasing. She let out a breath of relief when the call ended and gave Timcanpy a small smile. He simply looked up at her, one ear pointed up as he tilted his head. 

Allen was surprised when she arrived at the address Kanda sent her. She had been expecting a place similar to Maria’s Grave. But instead of seeing a bar, or a shady looking place, she stood at the entrance of a coffee shop. Shrugging, she opened the door and stepped inside. She looked around for Kanda as she stepped on the line to order. For some reason, Allen smiled a bit when she saw him. Weird. Shrugging it off, she ordered when it was her turn, and smiled in thanks as she put money in the tip jar. After, she made her way over to Kanda.

“Let me guess, your coffee is as bitter as you?” Allen teased as she sat down. She saw that the male had a mug with a dark liquid in it. She couldn’t help teasing him. Kanda looked at her, an unamused look on his face.

“Che, shut up.” He grumbled. Allen giggled a bit. For reason, she thought back to his words a few nights ago. She frowned.

“Um...Kanda...about what I said on Friday…” She started quietly.

“Didn’t you already apologize, idiot?” Kanda grumbled, frowning. “Move on already. That isn’t why I had you meet me here, sprout.” He said. Allen blinked, looking at him.

“It’s not..?” She asked. “There wasn’t another attack, was there?!” Allen exclaimed a bit too loudly. Other people near the two stared at them, making Allen blush in embarrassment.

“Would you keep it down, idiot? And no, there wasn’t another attack.” Kanda grumbled. “An informant of mine told me about a big important party coming up. He said it might be a good idea if we go undercover and try to find out what information we can.” He explained. Allen slowly nodded.

“How can we be sure that any information we find will even be related to the attacks?” Allen inquired. “Is there any solid evidence that a suspect is even at this party?”

“We got an anonymous tip from somebody that there’s a suspect there that’s an enemy to the Order. Apparently, he has an obsession with crosses and he’s a very impactful crime lord.” Kanda replied. Allen sighed and looked at him.

“Well, it won’t hurt to see and find out. When’s this party?” She asked.

“In two weeks.” He answered, taking a sip of his drink. Allen nodded, crossing her arms.

“Alright. I’ll need the date so I can take off. And if we’re going undercover, I’m gonna have to fabricate an identity…”

“Che, don’t bother. The idiots at the Order are already taking care of that.” Kanda replied. Allen looked at him in surprise.

“They are?” She asked. He nodded. “Okay...then the only thing left is to find a disguise.” Kanda looked at her.

“Oi, Moyashi.” She hummed in response. “You still have that wig you wore when we met at the bar?” He questioned. Confused, Allen slowly nodded her head.

“Lenalee practically insisted that I kept it. Why..?” She asked. Kanda smirked.

“Didn’t I tell you? You look good with red.” His smirk widened when the girl in front of him went red and she choked on her coffee.

They stayed at the coffee shop for a few hours, just chatting. Allen felt quite relaxed in Kanda’s company, which she still found strange since he was a wanted criminal. But while Allen listened to Kanda talk about a book series he liked, or listen to him talk about how much his adoptive father doted on him, she slowly stopped looking at him as a criminal. She looked at him like he was just another person. Kanda was the same way. He stopped looking at her like she was his enemy. She wasn’t, not right now at least. At the moment, while she talked about her friends, and brought up old memories of her father, she was just another person that he could talk. That he didn’t have to be a hundred percent guarded with. It was...nice.

“Oh, I didn’t realize how late it was! I should probably start heading home.” Allen said with a small smile. She stood up from her seat. Kanda did too.

“Moyashi-“

“-Allen, Bakanda.”

“-I’ll give you a ride home.” Allen looked at him in surprise.

“You don’t have to, Kanda. I don’t mind walking.” She argued. Kanda rolled his eyes.

“Che, stop being stubborn.” He grumbled, grabbing her hand. Allen stared down at their hands, noticing how gentle his grip was.

“Kanda, really! I don’t want to cause you any trouble!” She tried. Kanda scoffed.

“I offered. Now shut up.” He grumbled. Allen couldn’t help it. She smiled a little and rolled her eyes. Kanda dragged her over to the parking lot, and they stopped in front of one of the vehicles.

“You’re kidding...right?” Allen questioned, staring at the dark-colored motorcycle. Kanda looked at her, cracking a small smirk. He let go of her hand, walking over to the motorcycle.

“What? Afraid of riding with me Detective?” He asked teasingly as he grabbed a helmet. Allen rolled her eyes, easily catching the helmet the mafia member tossed her.

“Of course not, Bakanda.” She replied. Kanda chuckled, sitting down on the motorcycle. He put his helmet on before looking at the girl.

“Then get on.” He said, holding out his hand for her. Allen hesitated for a second putting the helmet on before slowly reaching out and grabbing his hand. She climbed on behind him, letting him take her arms and wrap them around himself.

“Hang tight.” He said, starting up the engine. Allen nodded, leaning on his back. With a confident smirk, Kanda began driving. Allen had her eyes squeezed shut, feeling the wind blow her hair. “You can open your eyes y’know, Moyashi.” Kanda teased.

“It’s Allen!” She exclaimed, but slowly opened her eyes. She lifted her head slightly to look around and she stared in awe. They were going so fast! The wind felt amazing, blowing her hair and ruffling her clothes. Everything went by quickly, buildings and cars becoming a blur. “Whoa...” Was the only thing Allen could say as Kanda drove. The man chuckled at her amazement.

“You’re probably the only person out there this amazed by riding on a motorcycle.” He commented, glancing in the mirror to see her pouting. He found it cute.

“S-Shut up! It’s only because I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before!” Allen exclaimed, tightening her hold on Kanda.

“You get used to it,” Kanda stated as they approached a light.

“It’s definitely different from driving a car,” Allen said, causing Kanda to chuckle again. Hearing his chuckle did weird things to Allen’s stomach. The rest of the ride was silent as Kanda drove her back to her house. When he arrived, he slowed to a stop and let her get off. She gave Kanda a small smile of gratitude. “Thanks for the ride, Bakanda. I appreciate it.” Kanda scoffed.

“Yeah, yeah, Moyashi.” He replied. Allen smiled at him again before heading to her door. She watched as Kanda gave her a two finger wave and drove off. When she entered her house, Alma, who was there dog sitting Tim, never mentioned the small smile lighting up her face.

Chapter Text

Two weeks go by in the blink of an eye. Throughout the two weeks, Allen and Tyki bring in some criminals that either tried to steal some stuff, mug people for money, mostly petty crimes. The only downside to so many arrests was the amount of paperwork. Though, Link seemed willing to help. Though, Allen wasn’t sure if begging Link to do some of her work was him willingly giving her help or not. So, things were going pretty slowly. The day of the undercover mission, Allen got a text from Kanda about the mission and told her he’d meet her at her house. Not giving it much thought, she shrugged it off. After work, Allen made her way to her car before driving home. She pulled up to her house, stepping out of the car. She made her way to her door, grabbing the doorknob. Allen looked down at it in surprise, noticing it was unlocked. “Huh? I usually lock the door…” She mumbled, confused. She narrowed her eyes, suddenly on guard as she slowly opened her door. She cautiously entered the house, looking around.

“Moyashi.” A voice stated, making Allen yelp in surprise. She looked over at him, frowning.

“What the bloody hell, Bakanda?!” She exclaimed. “Why did you break into my house?!” Kanda stood up from where he was sitting on her couch, walking over to her.

“Che, I didn’t break in. I let myself in because you weren’t here to do it.” He retorted, crossing her arms. Allen sighed, looking at him.

“Kanda, that’s still breaking into my house.” She grumbled, pressing her hand to her forehead. Shaking her head, she placed her bag down by the door. “Never mind. What time are we leaving?” Allen questioned, looking over at him.

“Twenty minutes,” Kanda answered. Allen nodded, making her way to her room.

“I’ll be out in ten. Then we can go over the whole false identity thing.” With that, she closed the door to her room and began getting ready.

Kanda had been petting Timcanpy when he heard Allen’s door open up. She walked into the living room, wearing a purple dress. It went down a bit past her knees, and the sleeves of her dress ended at her elbows. It complimented her nicely and seemed to take Kanda’s breath away. “Bakanda?” Allen questioned, blinking. “What? Sh-Should I change into something else?” She asked, feeling embarrassed. Kanda suddenly scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Che, you look stupid no matter what you wear.” He replied, frowning. Allen pouted at him in response.

“You’re a real jerk, Kanda.” She grumbled quietly, sitting down on her couch, Tim curling up beside her. Her eyes drifted over the male beside her and couldn't help taking in his appearance. He was wearing a dark blue suit jacket with a light blue undershirt and a dark blue tie. He also wore dark blue slacks and dress shoes. Kanda grumbled something under his breath. “Anyways, about our identities for the evening, who are we?” Allen questioned. Kanda glanced over at her.

“Che, that damn rabbit thought it’d be fucking funny to make us a married couple. So, we’re Mr. and Mrs. Claude.” Kanda explained.

“A-A married couple?!” Allen exclaimed, eyes wide as her cheeks went red. Why was she so embarrassed by that?! Her and Tyki had pretended to be a couple times while undercover before. So why did she find it so embarrassing when she learned her and Kanda would do the same? Kanda glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Problem, Moyashi?” He asked. Blushing still, Allen shook her head. He stood up from the couch, sighing. He glanced at the time on his phone. “Let’s get this over with. Let’s find what information we need and get the hell out.” Standing up as well, Allen nodded.

“Right.”

The party was full of rich looking people. Waiters went around holding trays of glasses filled with champagne. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, lighting up the large room. Allen stared at the different paintings on the walls, surprised by the mansion the party was being held in. She felt out of place standing among the crowd of fancy looking people. That was a feeling she got even when she was younger. She did live on the street growing up, so maybe that was part of the reason. “Oi, Moyashi.” Kanda murmured, leaning close to her ear. “Don’t stray away from me, got it?” He questioned. Allen was suddenly aware of how close he was, and slowly nodded. He leaned back, smirking a bit. “Good. I probably wouldn’t be able to find you again in the crowd since you’re so short.”

It took all her willpower not to step on Kanda’s foot. But they were supposed to be acting like a couple, and Allen didn’t want to attract any attention to her or Kanda. They needed to blend in with the crowd, not stand out. Instead, she looked at Kanda and tightened her grip on his arm. “What was that, dear ?” She asked, an innocent smile on her face. Kanda winced at her tight grip, biting back his irritation. Before he could say anything in response, Allen glanced around, eyes narrowed. She suddenly pointed somewhere. “Hey, isn’t that the enemy you were telling me about?” She questioned. Kanda glanced over at where she was pointing and quickly swatted her arm down.

“Don’t point you, idiot.” Kanda hissed. He glanced over in that direction once more. “Che looks like you found him.” The man they had been looking at was dressed in a white shirt with a light brown vest and dark brown pants. He had long red hair that reached his mid back. The most noticeable thing about him was the cross hanging from his neck. Allen frowned a bit.

“Cross Marian...who would’ve guessed? Still kind of hard to believe that the owner of a simple bar would be a powerful crime lord.” The girl commented. Kanda clicked his tongue.

“For you, maybe.” He retorted. “You probably like to see the best in everyone like a naive fool. But that’s moronic, Moyashi. You can’t trust everyone so easily. You need to assume they have an ulterior motive, that they always want something.” The male grumbled, a frown on his face. Allen looked at him, not certain how to handle or even respond to what he said. Sure, she’d been warned before about being too kind, or too trusting. But never how Kanda warned her.

“Even you?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Kanda looked over at her, an unknown emotion cutting through her when she looked into his eyes.

“Even me.” He mumbled in response. Allen stayed quiet. “Stop wearing your heart on your sleeve, idiot. It’ll lead to your own downfall.” She began to realize what that emotion she felt when looking at Kanda was. It was pain. She noticed how he seemed to speak from experience. The words sounded too meaningful and heavy with emotion to be just simple advice. Allen looked at him, slowly reaching out and grabbing his hand. He looked at her with a small glare, and she smiled.

“Thanks for your concern, Bakanda,” Allen whispered.

“Aw, don’t you look lovely tonight!~” A woman cooed, walking over to them. Allen blinked, looking over at her. “Newlyweds?” She asked. Allen felt Kanda’s hand tense up, and she discreetly kicked him with her heel.

“A-Ah, yes!” Allen said, nervously smiling. The woman lit up. 

"Oh, congratulations! How did you two meet?” Allen sweatdropped, feeling Kanda’s irritation beginning to grow. If the woman in front of them noticed, she didn’t seem to care.

“Che, simple. I walked over to her and said hi.” Kanda hissed. Allen sighed, giving him a small glare before looking over at the woman with a smile.

“W-What my...husband, means is we actually met at a job we were both doing! And, we happened to run into one another again at a cafe, and things went on from there.” Allen rushed to explain, once more kicking Kanda to subdue him when he started to growl in protest. The woman stood there, asking more questions until she was distracted by something, and Allen took the opportunity to pull Kanda away. “That was absolutely embarrassing!” She exclaimed.

“Che, fucking finally.” Was all Kanda could say.

Throughout the night, Allen and Kanda had both decided it’d be best to split up to gather information. They made sure to stay clear of Cross, still not wanting to bring any attention to themselves. So, Allen walked around, faking a smile as she went past people and listened in on others conversations. She figured she could find some information about the Black Order, or what had been going on with the attacks. There were multiple mafia members and bigshot criminals all over the place for crying out loud! As Allen walked around, someone caught her eye. She glanced over at Kanda, seeing him from across the room. After making eye contact with him, she held up her phone before turning and following the suspicious person. She wasn’t entirely sure what him suspicious. She just had that gut feeling, and Allen listened to her gut. Most of the time. The detective followed him outside to the backyard of the mansion. He seemed to realize he was being followed because he stopped. The two were surrounded by a circle of shrubs, a small water fountain in the middle. The person she’d been tailing stopped right in front of it.

“I see you and Mr. Kanda got the tip I left.” His voice was smooth. Alarms rang out in Allen’s head. Slowly, so that she wasn’t noticed, she got to Kanda’s contact and hit the call button. “I’m surprised, Detective.” He turned around to face her. Her eyes widened as she saw his face.

“Y-You’re...Suman…” She stuttered, stepping back a bit in shock. Suman looked at her, his face blank.

“Surprised?” He questioned.

“H-How? You-”

“Died? Yes, I know. But I think the correct term would be...I faked my death.” Suman replied. Allen frowned.

“Why? How?” She questioned, glancing around for Kanda. She saw that the male had answered her call, so he would probably show up soon.

“I can’t tell you that, it’d ruin everything he has planned,” Suman answered, a small frown on his face. “I’m sorry I have to do this, Detective, after everything you did for my family...but it’s the only way I can make sure Jamie can get the treatment she needs.” Allen stared at him, confused.

“I don’t get it, do what?! Suman, what are you talking about?!” She exclaimed. “This doesn’t make any sense!” The male only frowned, turning away as people dressed in red clothes with masks covering their faces came out of hiding. There wasn’t many, four or five at most. Allen pocketed her phone, looking at all of them. “I guess I’ll have to ask my questions later.” She mumbled as the group of people began to approach her. “Seems like you’re looking for some sort of fight.” One of the people ran at her swinging a punch. Allen dodged, grabbing their arm and lifting a leg to push them away.

“Moyashi!” Kanda exclaimed, running over. He jumped over one of the shrubs and landed next to her. “What the hell is going on?!” He questioned, finding himself involved in the fight now as well.

“Someone who I thought was dead actually wasn’t dead, and I think he’s working with whoever is attacking your men?” Allen offered, yelping in surprise as someone tried to punch her face.

“Che, what a fucking surprise,” Kanda grumbled. At one point during the fight, the two were back to back, both fighting with a person. They had effectively knocked out three people and were dealing with the last two. While they were fighting, Kanda noticed a few things about the sprout. She was in no way shape or form weak or fragile at all. He was momentarily distracted as he watched her easily flip her opponent over on their back. That was really all he got to watch, however, for his own opponent was about to strike. He quickly refocused and knocked them out within minutes. He let out a sigh of irritation when everything was over.

“I think I’m done with going to fancy parties for a while.” Allen joked with a small grin. Kanda rolled his eyes.

“What the fuck were they after?” He grumbled. Allen shrugged, the grin disappearing from her face.

“I’m not entirely sure on that one. Suman was saying some pretty weird stuff before he disappeared…” She murmured, frowning. Kanda looked over at her.

“Suman? As in Suman Dark?” He asked. Blinking, Allen nodded her head. “Che, fuck.” He grumbled, beginning to walk off. Allen hurried to chase after him.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” She exclaimed.

“Just shut up and follow me.” And follow she did.

Chapter Text

As they walked, Allen could tell Kanda was irritated. His fists were tightly clenched, and he kept grumbling under his breath. He was silent the entire he led her to god knows where. She kept thinking about how Kanda reacted to hearing Suman’s name. His reaction made it look as if he knew Suman, and that Suman was dangerous to him. “Hey, what’s going on? Why did it seem like you knew Suman?” She questioned. The question kept bothering her, and she had to ask.

“Che doesn’t matter,” Kanda grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Allen pursed her lips, picking up her speed to walk directly next to him.

“Oh no. You don’t get to do that.” She began, sighing. “Aren’t we supposed to be working together? If you’re keeping information from me, Kanda, that could endanger both of us.” Kanda stayed silent, not saying anything. Allen sighed again, slowly coming to a stop. “Alright, guess I have no choice.” She glanced over at Kanda, frowning. “Suman came to me three years ago looking for help. Apparently, he was being hunted by someone. He’d been receiving threats, not only for him but for his wife and his daughter. At the time, I was just starting out as a detective, and I made so many mistakes during that case.” She let out a small, dry laugh. “We eventually found out who had been sending Suman the letter, but we were too late. When we found Suman, he was dead.” Allen explained, crossing her arms. “And now he isn’t dead.”

Kanda stopped walking, muttering a curse. “Suman Dark was a member of the Order. He was one of our informants in exchange for offering medical services to his daughter. He started acting strange, but no one could figure out why.” Allen looked at him, surprised. Suman was apart of the Order? “Che, three months later disappeared. I’m guessing he disappeared the same day he supposedly ‘died’.” Allen nodded in agreement. “About a week after his disappearance I found out some of our files were stolen.”

“Do you think it was Suman?” Allen asked. Kanda nodded in response. They fell into silence after that, both going deep into thought.

The last place Allen expected Kanda to bring her was a museum. She stared at the entrance in a mix of confusion and awe. Kanda looked at her in amusement as he walked toward the entrance of the building. Stopping in front of the doors, he turned to her. “Oi, Moyashi. Stop gawking.” Snapping out of her trance, she nodded and ran a bit to catch up with him.

The inside of the museum was filled with exhibits and countless artifacts. “No offense Kanda, but what’s the point of taking me to a museum when it’s closed? Shouldn’t we be looking into Suman?” She asked, slightly concerned about what they were doing there. Kanda simply rolled his eyes

“Che, shut up.” He grumbled. He then looked around the main room, obviously looking for something. “Oi! Usagi, get out here!” Kanda yelled. Allen blinked in confusion, not understanding what was going on at all. Becoming suspicious, she began taking in her surroundings, trying to memorize the layout of the room. She didn’t like not knowing what was going on, and her instincts were already kicking in, telling her to be on guard. Was Kanda leading her into a trap?

“Yuu~ no need to be rude!” A voice Allen was familiar with whined. As Allen turned in that direction, her eyes widened in recognition.

“I keep telling you, Lavi,” Said a familiar woman’s voice, “he’d be nicer if you stopped antagonizing him.” With a hand reaching behind his head, Lavi casually shrugged and replied,

“Well, it is Yuu after all.”

The approach of the two familiar figures causes Allen to freeze. Her eyes drifting to the familiar face of the woman and catching a look of guilt flash across her face. Then drifting to the face of the familiar male and catching a childish grin.

Allen, not expecting to see Lenalee and Lavi, paused. “Lenalee?” She questioned, then looking towards Lavi. “ Lavi, why are you here? I thought you were Tyki and I’s informant.”

“Huh, I didn’t think you’d find this place with your sense of direction, Allen-chan!” Lavi exclaimed. Lenalee looked at Allen, catching a moment of suspicion and confusion flash across her face. Realizing Lavi would only make things worse with his teasing, she stepped on his foot, stopping him in his tracks.

Allen felt a mix of confusion and suspicion. She couldn’t wrap her head around why Lenalee and Lavi were at the museum. She still didn’t understand why Kanda brought her there. He wouldn’t plan an attack against her, would he? So why bring her? Allen looked over at Lenalee, watching as the girl never once met her gaze. Was Lenalee hiding something? If so, what? She then looked at Lavi, seeing that same childish grin on his lips. What reasons did he have for being there? Finally, Allen made eye contact with Kanda, seeing him frown. “Kanda, what the hell is going on? Why am I here?” The male was quiet for a couple minutes as if contemplating his reply.

“This closed museum is actually the Black Order headquarters. I brought you here because we need more help than I originally thought.” This only confused Allen more. She pointed to Lenalee and Lavi.

“Then why are they here?” She asked. Kanda crossed his arms, glancing over at the two.

“Usagi, Lenalee.” He prompted. Lenalee was the first to speak.

“It was never my intention for you to find out this way, Allen. I didn’t expect you to figure things out so soon...” She began. Allen looked at her, perplexed. “My name is Lenalee Lee, I’m a member of the Black Order.”

“Name’s Lavi,” Allen looked over at him, an odd feeling beginning to pool in her gut. “I’m the Order’s resident hacker.” Allen felt a sudden strong wave of betrayal wash over her as she stared in disbelief. She kept her emotions in check, clenching her fists. She didn’t reply for a few seconds, her lips set in a thin line. The room was silent as everyone waited for her to reply.

“How could you lie to-“ She cut herself off, taking a deep breath. This wasn’t the time for Allen Walker, this was the time for Detective Walker. Keeping a straight face, she looked at Lenalee. “Why did you do it?” She asked instead, her voice steady. Lenalee looked at the Detective, a frown tugging at her lips. She seemed to hesitate with her response.

“I did it to protect you.”  Was the eventual reply. Allen narrowed her eyes, clearly skeptical.

“That’s always one of the excuses people who’ve been caught in a lie say.” She replied easily. “There was nothing to protect me from, not when I was surrounded by other officers.” Lenalee couldn’t help but flinch at how cold Allen’s voice sounded.

“There was,” Lenalee protested.

“Protect me from what?” Allen questioned, quite skeptical.

“Not ‘what’, but ‘who’.”

“Who then?”

“Adam Earl.” Kanda cut in, making Allen look over at him.

“The Captain?” She asked, completely taken by surprise. “The Captain is a good man and an even better officer. He’s the last person I’d need protection from.” Both Kanda and Lenalee frowned as they looked at her.

“Che, didn’t I tell you that you're too trusting, Moyashi? Stop looking at things like they’re black and white. People are assholes and they’ll stab you in the back. They’ll tell lies and pretend to be someone they aren’t in order to get something from you.”

“Including you?” Allen inquired. Kanda fell silent. She didn’t need to hear his reply to know what he thought. “I guess cooperating with you was a mistake, then.” Allen stated, turning to face the exit of the museum. As she turned around, Lenalee noticed hurt flash across her face for a split second. Lavi blocked her path, gently catching her wrist in a loose hold.

“Whether you want to believe us is up to you. But...look into it, alright?”

“Consider this the end of our partnership.” Allen replied instead, causing Lavi to frown. After she left, Kanda broke out into a string of curses. Lenalee was torn between helping her friends and helping Allen. Shaking her head, Lenalee made her choice. She went to a room in the back and grabbed a file. With it in her hands, she went after Allen.

Allen sat on a bench near the water fountain, wrapped up in her thoughts, trying to process the information she learned. No matter what she thought of, her mind just kept screaming they lied! They betrayed you! It was the only thing she could focus on. Did they really think she’d believe that the Captain was some two faced liar with an ulterior motive? He was the one who offered her a job on the force. He was the one who helped her after Mana died. Biting her lip, Allen shouted in frustration. She shouted and shouted, letting out her feelings. “I’m so stupid! Why, why did I think it was a good idea to trust him?!” Why did being betrayed by Kanda hurt so much? Sure, he betrayed her trust, but Lenalee’s betrayal should hurt her more, right? She was apart of her team, and the girl had been lying to her. So why did Kanda’s lies hurt more? “Dammit! None of this makes any sense!”

“Allen…” Lenalee was at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. Allen tensed up, turning to look at her. Lenalee pulled her hand away, a frown settling on her face. “I know everything is confusing and you’re hurting...but please, trust us.” She pleaded. She then handed Allen a file. “I can’t give you everything but...in here is evidence we gathered against Adam Earl. Don’t let him see it.” Allen looked down at the file in her hands and then back up at Lenalee. The girl gave her a weak smile before turning around and heading back to the museum. Allen watched her go, feeling conflicted. Sighing, she turned away from the museum and headed home.

“You think it was a good idea to let her go like that?” Lavi questioned, standing beside Kanda. Lenalee entered the museum, walking over to the two. Kanda nodded, crossing his arms.

“It was the safest plan.” He grumbled, frowning.

“Wonder why someone followed you guys…” Lavi mused, looking around as if he were expecting someone to jump out and attack them. ‘I’ll have to tell Komui to increase security…’

“Hell if I know, Usagi. It would’ve fucked everything up if they still thought that the Moyashi was working with us.” Lavi’s eyes landed on Kanda, and he grinned.

“Oh?~ Is someone worried about their girlfriend?~” The hacker teased, making Kanda glare daggers.

“Che, shut up, Usagi! I won’t hesitate to slaughter you!” Kanda exclaimed. Lavi yelped and ran to hide behind Lenalee.

“I’m your best friend Yuu! You would never hurt me!” Lavi cried, hiding his head.

“Wanna test that theory?” Lenalee let out a quiet sigh, watching as Lavi ran out from behind her, screaming. Kanda chased after him, clearly pissed. She hoped Kanda wouldn’t injure him too bad. Lavi still has to survive Komui and his sister complex, after all. After hearing the hacker scream once more, Lenalee sighed again, going to stop them.

“Kanda! Stop attacking Lavi!”

Chapter Text

Alma had known Allen long enough to know when something was up. She was distracted easily, slightly quieter than usual. She was normally wrapped up in her thoughts, writing down random things on whatever piece of paper was near her. Alma had only seen Allen like that a few times, usually when there was a case bothering her, or she was thinking about her father. Normally, when Allen got like that, he’d suggest just lounging around later that day with him and Link, marathoning old movies. He’d get Link to bake a cake or cookies and Alma handled the drinks.

So when he saw Allen mumbling about something and writing on a paper, he raised an eyebrow. She’d been like that for a couple days, not getting as much work done as she usually did. Tim laid down next to her. He glanced over at her a couple of times while he worked on trying to get into someone’s phone for a case. Wisely had approached him about it, saying he needed some help cracking the password. Alma noticed how hard it was for Wisely of all people to admit to needing help. Wisely was very prideful, often making comments about how he could do things himself and how he was one of the best.

“Hey, Alma,” Tyki called, walking over to him. He looked up from what he was typing and over at Tyki. “What’s going on with Allen? I went over to ask her about something and she didn’t even acknowledge I was there.” He questioned. “I was going to call out her name, but she’s in one her trances again.” Alma sighed quietly.

“She’s been like that for the past few days. It might just be the Black Order case. You know how she gets.” He answered. Tyki shrugged, the two males looking over at the detective, who was currently searching something on her computer. “I’ll go talk to her.” Alma offered, standing up and walking over to her. Tyki followed, standing behind him. “Hey, Allen,” He said. Nothing. Sighing, he tried once more. “Allen.”

“Huh? Oh, hey Alma. How long have you been standing there?” Allen questioned, turning around in her chair and looking up at him.

“Not long.” He replied. Tyki moved slightly closer, looking at what was on her monitor.

“I thought we weren’t going to look at Maria’s Grave anymore. Didn’t you say you didn’t find anything there?” Tyki questioned with a small frown. Allen jumped in surprise, looking at her partner.

“Oh, that? I wanted to go over some uh...information for a..report! Yeah, a report!.” She replied, focusing her eyes on her screen. Alma narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

“Alright...we’ll leave you to your...report then,” Alma mumbled, pulling Tyki back to his desk. Tyki took a seat in the chair beside Alma’s desk, crossing his arms. “That was odd, even for Allen.” Tyki nodded in agreement.

“I think we can both agree she’s hiding something from us.” He said, making Alma frown.

“Yeah, definitely.” He mumbled. “I’ll try and figure it out. Focus on whatever case you’re doing right now, don’t do anything to make Allen suspicious of us.” Tyki snorted.

“Speak for yourself.” The detective chuckled. Alma frowned at him.

“I can act normal just fine, thank you very much!” The male objected. Tyki chuckled once more.

“Would you like a reminder of the last time Allen and I sent you in as a decoy? You broke character five times, and cracked under the pressure.” Tyki commented, watching with a smirk as Alma tried to come up with something to reply with.

Finally, he settled with, “Well there isn’t that much pressure this time!” Before Tyki could reply, Link joined the conversation.

“Tyki, Alma, I suggest you both get back to work.” The unspoken or else made the suggestion much more ominous. The two males nodded, returning to their work immediately.

Allen sighed in relief as she watched Tyki and Alma walk away from her desk. She turned back to her screen, staring at the article she was reading about Maria’s Grave. She really didn’t know why she was still looking into the bar. After all, she wasn’t working with Kanda anymore, so there was no point in continuing to investigate it. Her eyes fell on the file Lenalee had given her the night before. She still hadn’t opened it, ignoring it instead. Allen leaned back in her chair, frowning. She didn’t want to look at the file, hell, she hated that it was even in her possession. Why did Lenalee think it was a good idea to give her the file in the first place?

Ignoring both the file and the article about Maria’s Grave, Allen returned to her work. She had a report she needed to finish writing. Picking up her pen, she began writing. Everything was fine for a while, she got a good chunk of her report done. However, her eyes kept drifting over to the file sitting on top of her desk. Allen tried to ignore it and focus on the report, but her eyes kept looking away. She began to grow annoyed with it and eventually gave up. She stood up, file in hand.

Allen looked around as she got up, seeing no one paying attention to her. Quickly, yet as unsuspicious as possible, she made her way to the evidence room. Once there, Allen hid in a corner and looked around for a few minutes to check if anyone was there. After making sure, she looked down at the file in her hands. “Okay, Allen. You’re only reading this so that you can focus on your report. There’s no other reason.” She mumbled as she began to open the file. Once it was open, she looked at its contents. The first case she saw was a murder that took place ten years ago. The victim was a man named Skin Bolic. Skin was one of the officers that used to work with Mana. Allen never really knew if they got along or not since she wasn’t around Skin often. The few times she was, she would usually see Mana giving the man some sort of candy. He disappeared one day, and appeared three days later, dead. “What is this..?”

The next case, however, caused her eyes to widen. “N-No way...that isn’t…” She whispered, reading the victim’s name multiple times. “U-Uncle Neah..?” In front of her was the case of her uncle’s murder. “This doesn’t make any sense...Mana told me he passed away from an illness…” Neah had been quite close to Allen when she was a child. He enjoyed spoiling her with books and other things like that. When he passed away, Allen was heartbroken. “Why didn’t Mana tell me he…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. No longer being able to read anymore, Allen shut the file, closing her eyes and taking a breath. ‘What did I just read?’ As she was about to leave the evidence room, she heard the door open.

“I apologize for the room, but this was the only place we could speak in private.” It was the Captain. Allen poked her head out from behind one of the file cabinets, making sure to stay hidden as she looked at who was in the room. The Captain stood there, a person in front of him. Allen couldn’t get a good view, for the person was blocked by the Captain.

“Don’t worry about it, Earl. I’m thankful you could meet with me.” The person replied. The Captain lightly chuckled with a smile.

“I’m the one who should be telling you that! You’re quite the busy man after all.” Captain stated. “Anyways, is it correct of me to assume you’ve figured out their location?” He asked. Allen’s eyes narrowed. Location?

“I did. Will you be able to have your officers ready by Thursday?” The person questioned. The Captain nodded in response.

“It’s a bit of a short notice, but I’ll see what I can do.” Allen frowned. ‘Today’s Tuesday...which gives him two days to prepare. Prepare for what though?’

“Wonderful. I’ll see you Thursday then.” Allen peeked a bit more, trying to get a view of the person the Captain was speaking with. All she got a shot of was a face covered by glasses, a cross necklace, and nothing more. The person left the room, leaving the Captain behind. She heard him quietly chuckle.

“After Thursday, I won’t have to hide anymore.” He mumbled. She saw him about to turn around and quickly pulled herself away from the edge of the cabinet as quickly and quietly as possible. She kept as still as she could, trying to hide her breath. She wasn’t too loud was she? She heard footsteps nearing the cabinet she was hiding behind, and Allen tensed up. How would she be able to explain what she was doing back there? Would she even be able to make a good enough excuse in time? She squeezed her eyes shut as the sounds got closer. They suddenly stopped. Allen couldn’t bear to open her eyes. “Oh, someone left a file out. How sloppy of them.” The Captain mumbled. He picked the file up and put it away. After, he made his way to the door. Allen didn’t relax until she heard the door shut.

She felt her heart pounding in her ears as she stepped out from her hiding spot. Something was definitely going on, and Allen didn’t like it at all. Glancing down at the file in her hands, she made a decision. She pulled her phone out and dialed a number. He picked up after the second ring. “Hello? Kanda?”  

“Che, what.”

“I um...I think I need some help.”

Chapter Text

Kanda sat at a table in a cafe, arms crossed as he waited for Allen to show up. They agreed to meet during her lunch break so they could talk. He kept looking down at his phone for the time, and his eyes kept glancing towards the door. He wasn’t looking forward to see the bean, no way in hell. He didn’t miss her, not at all. When the door to the cafe opened Kanda’s head was already turning towards it before he could stop it. He found himself relaxing as the occupation of his thoughts entered the cafe. She caught sight of him and made her way over. She sat down, placing the files in her hands on the table before placing her hands in her lap.

Things were awkward. Neither Kanda nor Allen spoke. They both avoided looking at each other, Allen taking interest in her hands while Kanda focused his eyes out the window. The silence went on for a while, until Kanda finally snapped. “Che, I’m here, Moyashi. So tell me what the fuck is going on in that head of yours.” Allen jumped in surprise before she frowned.

“My name is Allen, Bakanda.” She replied quickly. “And...I’m sorry…” She apologized softly. Kanda clicked his tongue, looking away from her.

“Che, if all you’re gonna do is apologize then I’m leaving.” He grumbled, standing up to leave.

“W-Wait!” Allen exclaimed, grabbing his hand to stop him. “I believe you.” Kanda turned to look at her, grumbling to himself as he sat down in his seat. Allen let out a breath of relief. “I looked through the file Lenalee gave me before I left, and I won’t lie, it was hard to believe at first. But then I started looking into the actual cases.” She began. Kanda watched as she opened the file, pulling out two reports. “In the actual case files they both say the killers were caught, and the victims were reported to have died in different ways.” She handed the reports to Kanda. “But one case was ten years ago, while the other case happened seven years earlier. So if they were killed the same way, whoever was handling the case might not remember, especially if it’s a different detective.”

Kanda read through the reports, frowning. “So there’s inconsistencies with both reports?” He asked. Allen nodded.

“Both the suspects who were convicted had alibis. But all the evidence pointed towards them.” She said. “Which wouldn’t be possible unless-“

“-unless they were framed.” Allen looked at him nodding. 

“There’s one major connection they missed.” She said.

“Che, which was?”

“They both had a connection to the Captain.” Allen began. “Skin Bolic worked for him, while Neah was a personal friend of his.” Kanda handed her back the reports, watching as she put them back into the file. She went quiet, letting out a small sigh. “To be honest, I didn’t really think the file you gave me was real.” She confessed. Kanda frowned.

“What changed your mind?”

“I was going through the file in the evidence room, when the Captain came in. He was talking to somebody, saying something about getting a group of officers together by Thursday after finding out somethings location. I got a look at the person he was talking to and saw glasses.” She explained. “But that wasn’t what made me start to question him. It was what he said after the person left. He talked about not having to hide anymore.” Kanda frowned.

“Any idea who Earl was talking to?” He asked. Allen frowned.

“Cross Marian, probably. The Captain did say he was a busy man, and I saw a cross necklace hanging off his neck.” She explained, sighing. Kanda sighed as well, crossing his arms. 

“Yuu?!”

Alma had noticed how strange Allen seemed to act when she came back from the evidence room earlier. She kept sneaking glances over at the Captain, and she was unusually quiet as she finished up her work. He watched as she quickly packed up and headed out for her lunch break. Sharing a look with Tyki, Alma stood up and grabbed his things, following her. He made sure to be careful and not to be seen as he followed her to a cafe. He made sure to hide in spaces Allen wouldn’t be able to see him. He ignored the looks of people nearby as he squatted behind a rather large plant pot, peeking out from behind slightly to look at her.

His eyes narrowed as he watched her enter the cafe, following behind a few feet away. He watched as she sat down at a table with a person with long hair. Alma sat down a couple tables away from them, hiding his face with a menu. What was Allen doing with that person? Why was she meeting with them? Are they part of the reason why she’s been acting so suspicious? Frowning, Alma tried to listen in on the conversation best he could from two tables away.

“I looked through the file Lenalee gave me before I left, and I won’t lie, it was hard to believe at first…”

Alma frowned. Lenalee gave her a file? Was Lenalee in on whatever was going on? He strained to hear the rest of what Allen was saying, but could only hear snippets. 

“So there’s inconsistencies…”

‘Inconsistencies with what?!’ Alma bit his lip, risking a glance over at Allen and the guy she was sitting with. He caught a glance at ocean blues and long navy hair before he turned around. Why did that look familiar to him? Where had he seen ocean blue eyes and navy hair before?

“They both had a connection to the Captain.” 

The Captain? Who had a connection to him? Was that why Allen kept looking at him all morning? He pushed those thoughts aside, trying to focus on where he had seen those eyes before. They seemed so familiar!

“....He talked about not having to hide anymore.” Hiding?

“It’s like the old man is hiding us away, running from things he doesn’t want us knowing. It’s fucking frustrating.”

“Don’t be like that, Yuu! Besides, you’re still a kid, just like me! If your dad involved you it might be bad.”

“He isn’t my damn father!” Alma’s eyes widened in recognition.

“...saw a cross necklace hanging off his neck.” Alma stopped listening to the conversation, shocked by his discovery. He jumped up, staring right at his childhood friend.

“Yuu?!” He cried in shock, making a few people look at him. He blushed in embarrassment from all the stares.

“Alma?! What are you doing here?!” Allen exclaimed, clearly surprised. Did he follow her there? Oh no, he saw her with Kanda! That was bad, very very bad!

“Alma..?” Kanda mumbled, causing Allen to snap out of her panic temporarily and look over at the male. He had a look of confusion on his face as he looked at Alma. “Holy shit it’s you.”

“I’m so happy I finally found you!” Alma exclaimed, now standing directly in front of the table. “When you suddenly disappeared that day I thought something bad happened, but nobody would tell me anything!” Allen looked back and forth between the two, clearly confused. 

“Uh...I’m a little lost…” Allen murmured. Alma looked over at her.

“Oh, right! Yuu is the person I’ve been trying to find! He used to live next door to me when we were growing up!” Allen looked over at Kanda. Kanda sighed, crossing his arms.

“Che, annoying little shit kept coming to the house every damn day asking to be friends. He didn’t leave me alone until I said yes.” He grumbled, making Allen giggle slightly.

“But Alma, why are you here?” Allen then asked, curious. Alma tensed, a nervous smile on his face.

“Well, ah...I might’ve been following you…” He slowly admitted.  

“Following me?!” Allen cried in shock. “Why were you following me?!”

“You’ve been acting suspicious and Tyki and I were worried! So, I followed you here?” Alma explained. Allen paled.

“Just like a Moyashi like you not to realize you’re being followed.” Kanda teased. Allen kicked his leg in response.

“How much did you hear?” She then questioned.

“Not much? But why are you meeting up with Yuu anyways?” Alma asked. His eyes went wide. “Have you been dating and kept it a secret from me?!” Both Allen and Kanda’s faces went red. Blushing, Allen pulled Alma down to sit on the seat beside her.

“I-It’s nothing like that! Kanda’s…” She paused, looking over to said male. Kanda shrugged, frowning. “He’s sort of apart of the Order? And I’ve been working with him?” Allen offered as an explanation. Alma stared at her, gasping.

“You’re working with the enemy?! Allen, he’s killed people!” Alma then looked at Kanda. “And you! I thought you were better than to join a mafia !” He hissed the word.

“Che, yeah well it was the only way I could help the old man.” Kanda grumbled. “And the Moyashi is working with me because I asked her to.” Alma frowned.

“And you two met up today because..?” Allen and Kanda shared a look.

“It’s...a long story…”

Chapter Text

To say Alma was surprised was an understatement. Within the span of thirty minutes, he learned everything that Allen had learned within the past two months about the Order and Kanda. He even learned about the Captain, though that was new information. Allen had asked him to keep quiet about everything. They weren’t sure what their next move would be. Alma agreed, even going as far as to offer his help. Which Allen took him up on. After work, the two had plans to stay a for a few hours to look at things in the evidence room. Then, the next day, they’d meet with Kanda to discuss what they found.

Alma still wasn’t sure what Allen wanted to look into, but he agreed to help anyways. Allen ended up leaving before Alma did, noticing her friend wanted to speak with Kanda. She bid the two goodbye, heading back to the station.

Alma sat in his seat, not saying anything as he kept looking up at his childhood friend and the table. Kanda sat still with his arms crossed, waiting for Alma to speak. Eventually, he did. “You know...I imagined this meeting happening a hundred different ways back when I was studying at the academy.”

“And is this how you imagined it?” Kanda mumbled, glancing over at Alma. Alma lightly laughed, shaking his head.

“Not at all. I’ve imagined just bumping into you on the street, or you’re involved in a case and I meet you that way.” He replied. “But meeting you like this? Finding out your apart of the Order? I never imagined or expected that…” Kanda scoffed.

“Che, figures. You’re too fucking optimistic.” He grumbled. Alma lightly laughed.

“And you’re too blunt with your words, Yuu.” He replied. “But seriously, Yuu...where did you go? I came home from school one day and I went to see you, but when Tiedoll answered the door...he looked so upset and told me you ran away…” Kanda was silent for a few minutes, glaring at the table.

“I did run away.” He mumbled, eventually. “Got fucking tired of people lying to me, and I left.” Kanda sighed, leaning back in his chair. “‘Ventually I ran into Komui and I joined the Order.” Alma frowned a little.

Kanda lived in the house next to him with his brothers Marie and Daisya and their adoptive father, Froi Tiedoll. Kanda was the youngest brother, with Marie being the oldest. Kanda was homeschooled since he could never be forced to attend school. Not only that, but his attitude got him into a lot of trouble at times. Alma was curious about his new neighbor, and wanted to get to know him. So, he went over multiple times, hoping to befriend Kanda. Eventually, Kanda gave in. The two began hanging out, and Alma learned more about the mysterious boy next door.

He learned how Kanda had to move quite often; the longest he ever stayed somewhere was three months. He learned that Kanda’s father loved art, but he also hid secrets from Kanda. Kanda stumbled upon those secrets and he was incredibly angry. Alma didn’t think Kanda ever forgave Tiedoll for keeping those secrets. Kanda had never told Alma what those secrets were, but Alma knew they had to do with Daisya. Daisya had been involved in an accident, and hadn’t survived. Alma guessed there was more to the story, but Kanda never told him.

“I see…” Alma mumbled. “Why didn’t you ever send anything to me? Not even a letter?” It was Kanda’s turn to frown.

“Couldn’t risk anyone tracing it back to headquarters.” He replied.

“And Allen...how does she fit into all of this?”

“The Moyashi? She’s just helping me with a case, one that’s turned into a bigger case than we thought.”

Allen let out a soft sigh as she flipped through files in the evidence room. Work had ended, and she decided to get a head start on looking through old cases while waiting for Alma. She pulled out a box of cases that involved the Black Order, and other cases that she thought the Captain could be involved in. She read through them, pausing to take notes on things that seemed odd or out of place. “Allen, you in here?” Alma whispered, entering the evidence room.

“Over here.” She replied, waving him over. Alma headed over to her, looking around at all of the files she had surrounding her.

“Need some help there?” He asked. Allen looked at him, giving him a small smile as she handed him a box.

“Mind going through these? Most of those files are some of the Black Order cases where people claimed they gave them drugs to sell. A few involve murders they were involved in as well.” Allen explained. Alma raised an eyebrow.

“Why suddenly go through these now?” He asked as he took the box.

“There...was a conversation Kanda and I had a few weeks ago that...made me question these cases. And with everything that’s coming to light with the Captain, well…” Allen trailed off, frowning. Alma frowned as well, nodding.

“I get it, better to be safe than sorry, right?” He replied. Allen nodded in agreement. With that, the two began their research, looking over old cases. They wrote down notes, and spoke about anything suspicious. They worked in silence, unsure of how much time had passed.

“Hey, Alma, look at this.” Allen suddenly stated, ushering him over. Alma placed down the file he was holding and walked over to her.

“What’s up?” He asked.

“I was looking through the Lvellie case, and other cases similar to it, and I noticed a pattern.” She began. “Lvellie was corrupted, and from what we found out, he was involved in a trafficking ring. There’s other cases where a corrupted politician or businessman, or even someone with a lot of influence was taken out by the Order.” Alma nodded.

“Meaning they choose their targets carefully. It looks like civilians are never involved.” He noted.

“Yeah. Kanda did say they never harm civilians. Meaning that other crimes that don’t make sense or don’t line up with these cases can be ruled out from the list of cases we do have against them.” Allen sighed quietly, looking over at a pile. “As for the Captain, I’ve found two more cases that could involve him…” She mumbled.

 “Allen-chan? Alma-chan? What are you two still doing here?” Both Allen and Alma jumped in surprise as they heard the Captain enter the room.

“C-Captain!” Allen exclaimed. Adam entered the room, wearing a gentle smile.

“Doing more investigations I see.” He said, lightly chuckling. He looked around at all of the files around the two.

“If you need us to head home sir, we can.” Alma said. Adam waved his hand dismissively.

“Of course not! I just heard voices in here and wanted to investigate. Which reminds me,” He turned to look at Allen. “Allen-chan, can I talk to you in my office?” He asked. Glancing over at Alma, Allen nodded. 

“Of course, Captain.” With another smile, Adam nodded and left the two. Allen looked at Alma. “If I’m not back in fifteen minutes, head home, I’ll text you after.”

“Okay.”

Feeling nervous, Allen entered Adam’s office. She’d been in his office before, but that was before she learned that the man was lying to her. She wondered about what else he could be hiding. Was she really on the right side..? It was something that had been bothering her since meeting Kanda. The Black Order wasn’t evil. They had good intentions, just had a bad way of doing things. Taking a deep breath, Allen entered Adam’s office. Inside, he was sitting in his chair, holding a cup of coffee. Allen walked in, taking a seat. He pushed a cup of coffee towards her. “What did you want to talk to me about, sir?” She asked, accepting the cup and taking a sip. Adam lightly chuckled, smiling at her.

“No need to be so formal all the time, Allen-chan!” He said. “Anyways~ how’s your progress with the Black Order case?” He questioned. Allen tensed.

“Ah, I’m slowly making progress.”

‘Don’t let him know you’ve made contact with me, Moyashi. Keep him in the dark as much as possible.’

“I still haven’t been able to find Kanda though. I’ve had a few leads, but none of them have turned out to be true.” Adam slowly nodded.

“I see.” He mumbled. “Well, Allen-chan, thanks to a bit of help from the outside, we found out where the Black Order is located. We’ll be taking action against them Thursday night.” Allen’s eyes widened slightly. That’s what they were planning? She had to warn Kanda, and fast. “Although...I think you already knew that.” Adam mumbled.

“What?” She asked. 

“You really are one of my best detectives, I’m surprised it took so long for you to find out. Though, I’m partially to blame. Giving you the case to find Kanda Yuu was supposed to be a distraction until my plans were finished.” He stood from his seat, walking towards the door. “I predicted a few outcomes, but I never predicted you’d start working with him. I thought your sense of justice would outweigh your will to work with him, but I guess I took a risk there, didn’t I? I thought I had a bit more time until you began to realize.” He laughed.

“I...I don’t understand…” Allen mumbled. Adam closed the door, staring at her.

“Your father didn’t either, when I tried to explain it to him he tried to arrest me, said what I was doing was insane.” Adam paused, sighing. “They always did say curiosity killed the cat. And poor Mana just grew too curious…” Allen’s eyes widened and she stood, toppling the chair over in the process.

“It was you! Wasn’t it?!” She cried. “You did it! Mana, he….you…!” Allen exclaimed, swaying slightly. Adam began walking towards her.

“Careful now, those sleeping pills should start taking effect.” Allen brought a hand to her head, holding it as the room began to spin.

“Why...why are you doing this..?” She asked, looking up at Adam. The man smirked cruelly at her as she lost consciousness.

“Why, you ask? Well, wouldn’t you love to feel powerful in a place like this?”