the last request

chapter2

Snrk!*

Allen snorted in his sleep as he tossed and turned, having bizarre dreams that had been plaguing his sleep for almost a week, now. He had not yet uncovered the source of these dreams, nor could he make out any distinct figures, but he knew that it couldn't be good. Tonight would be different, though.

"*giggle!* Hi, Allen!" Came a girlish voice from behind Allen, who turned around, starting to activate his Crowned Clown, but realizing that he just had a normal arm, now.

"Relax, sweetie…" Road said sweetly, kissing Allen on the lips without waiting for permission, or even to blackmail him first. "I'm not here to hurt you. It's like last time we met. I come in peace."

"And you're gonna leave in pieces if you don't tell me what you want, right now!"

"Ooh… So scary. But can't we just enjoy each others' company without having an ulterior motive? We're friends, after all, right?"

"I don't make friends with Noah!" Allen sneered angrily, furious that he couldn't activate his anti-akuma weapon. He would have to keep his temper in check for now. The problem was that he remembered full well what happened last time. He had sex with Road, a definite taboo for an exorcist… Well, having sex was no problem, only if it was with a Noah. Of course, he had killed her afterward, so perhaps he had made up for his bad deed. Nonetheless, Road's words still swam in his head. He had felt the same way she did before he joined the Order. He had been losing hope for humans. There was so much evil and hatred in the world, and that hatred caused Akuma to be born. He had begun to despair that the war with the Earl was already lost. But then he found people that he truly loved, and wanted to protect. But what if he hadn't? Would he have become like Road? Evil, hateful and nihilistic? He may never have been as powerful as Road, but his personality could have been the same.

"That's too bad. And after we made love and everything. You told me you loved me. You weren't lying, were you? You sounded so sincere."

"I-I didn't ever expect to see you again, Road." Allen said quietly, blushing upon remembering this. "I hoped that saying that would help your death be a little bit easier. Was I wrong?"

"No. I didn't mind dying at all, having heard you say that, even just once… Even if you didn't mean it. I knew you were lying. But part of me wanted so desperately to believe it, that maybe I convinced myself afterwards that it was true." Road said softly, a tear spilling over her eye and sliding gently down her doll-like cheek. Allen felt guilty, now, that he had told such a lie.

"I'm sorry, Road. I-I didn't mean to hurt you. B-but where are we, anyhow?"

"You didn't hurt me. It's my fault for thinking I could ever be good enough for someone like you."

"Road!" Allen said, shocked at how downbeat she was being. "Please don't say that!"

"So what?" Road said, her eyes suddenly ice cold. "You'll promise to love me and take care of me? To make me feel like maybe I'm not such a worthless person after all? Like maybe my life did have some purpose other than causing people pain? Don't make promises you can't keep…" she said icily, glaring at Allen. But before she could finish her rant, she burst into tears, falling to her knees, sobbing hysterically. Allen ran over to her, kneeling down and embracing her tightly.

"Allen!" She sobbed. "I-I-I just wanted you to love me! Is that so wrong! Is it wrong to want to be able to live a normal life, be a normal person, fall in love, get married, have children, grow old and die, just like anyone else! Because of my ancestry, I'll never be able to die! You gave me the chance to at least feel death's embrace, but even now, I'm not dead… Not really. I'm alive inside you. I'm completely at your mercy, right now, and I know that if you start to get tired of me, you could just kill my memories and be rid of me forever! At least with the Earl, and the Noah, I had the benefit of knowing that I had people who cared about me! Even if they didn't know me as they should, I had forever to be with them! Now what do I have! A tenuous place in the back of your mind that I could lose at any time!"