Crossover

A day out

Lavi had pancakes and eggs ready for everyone as they came down. He knew their coffee order and had the right cups spaced around the table. He was wearing Karen’s apron. Instead of having it around his neck he had it folded in half and tied at his waist. It was red with large sunflowers over it. His one good eye danced with glee.
“So, Kanda, Allen come on, you gonna make a move or not?” Lavi sat beside the boy. Allen took a big gulp of the coffee.
“Not.” He said. “Not only is he like the only friend I have ever made, but he is my bosses son.” This got the others interested. “Oh right forgot to tell you. The dojo Kanda has me working at is his dad's well step dad's. He hasn’t said much about his real dad.” Allen went on. “Only that he split about eight years ago.” He added as his siblings were all curious.
Nai was bouncing in his seat, coffee cup in hand. Lavi reached for the cup. “I think you have had enough.” Nai jerked the cup out of reach laughing manically.
“My coffee.” He said in a pretty good impersonation of Golem. The others at the table laughed. He bounced and started singing “coffee coffee coffee" as a knock pounded on the door. Lavi leapt up to open the kitchen door. The three dark brothers stood there.
Gareki laughed at Nai. He pushed past Kanda to get to his friend. He took the cup out of the smaller boys hands. “You've had enough. Be good and I will take you to build a bear.” He teased. Nai instantly sobered.
“Who would want to build a bear?” he asked a mixture of fear and curiosity on his face. “That sounds disturbing.” He added when Gareki didn’t answer.
“No, not a real bear, silly.” He looked to the older teens for help. Shion had shifted to protect Nai. Allen stood with a scowl on his face that would rival Kanda's any day.
“You're joking right?” Gareki said. “You've never heard of build a bear?” he looked around helplessly. Only blank stares met him from the white haired teens. Rat looked bemused, and Kanda was playing keep away with Lavi. It was the red haired teen that came to his defense.
“They have never been to a mall before, mate.” He said. Gareki sighed in defeat.
“It’s a place kids go to make stuffed animals, teddy bears and such.” He explained. Nai grinned.
“Oh, that sounds like fun!” he exclaimed. Gareki laughed, knowing he had to take the kid now.
“You seriously never been to a mall?” Rat asked quietly to Shion. The other boy shook his head.
“Never. We've heard of them and they sound fun.” He added when Rat looked at him in disbelief.
“Are you sure you didn’t grow up in a cage?” he tried to joke. The boys stiffened.
“Whoa, where’d you hear that?” Lavi asked. Allen looked to Shion.
“Yeah, we did, actually.” Shion said. He pulled Nai to him.
“Shion?” Nai looked up to his brother. A frown covering his face. Shion playfully ruffled his hair. “Its like you said, little man.” He spoke softly. “You don’t like lying to Gareki. We might as well tell them the truth.” His smile was sad.
“And what, get them killed too!” Allen yelled. “I’ve been busting my ass to keep us safe!” he screamed. Shion locked eyes with him. His tone remained calm.
“And you think I haven't?” he asked. Nai hugged Shion tighter. Allen turned away in disgust. He folded his arms and leaned against the table looking down at his feet. Shion knew he was thinking. He rushed forward.
“We're  genetically built assets to the government. A place called the Black Order created us in a lab. Nai's hearing is just one thing we can do. Lavi and I have exceptional intelligence, Allen, well Allen is the best of us all.” He looked at his brother.
“Allen, we, I can't keep Nai from a life. He really likes Gareki. Let the kid have a friend.” He pleaded.
“I was.” Allen spoke to his feet. He looked up. One eye was normal, the other was glowing red. “I was handling it.”
“You've been running for five years now. Barely staying a step ahead.” Bookman stated he was still sitting at the table calmly drinking his tea. Karen stood beside him fidgeting with her hair.
“Karen's not your mom, right?” Gareki asked. He tried to reach for Nai, but let his hands drop when the boy flinched away.
“I am the woman who donated eggs to have them be born. I didn’t know what they were going to do to them. I was a scientist. Once I realized what they had done to my boys, I helped them escape.” Her voice was steadier than her hands. She rubbed them around each other as her eyes darted around from one boy to the next.
Kanda had remained silent. Now he was beside Allen. “What’s with the eye?” he asked. Allen glared at Shion. “it helps me focus, think of it as a scope on a rifle. I can zoom in see things far away.” He said. His eyes never leaving his brother. “and I can do this.” The room exploded into motion. Allen stepped forward reaching out with his discolored hand. It shot across the room toward Nai and Shion. Shion had moved at the same time pushing the small boy behind him with one hand while reaching to meet Allen's hand with the other, he never touched it.
Lavi had jumped over the counter in front of Shion. He held an oversized hammer in his hands. It is what Allen's hand caught on. “Allen stop this!” Lavi cried. He was pushing Allen's hand back with all his body. “Shion cares for your safety just as much as you do!” he cried.
“Maybe even more.” Bookman spoke up placing his napkin down beside his now empty plate. “Since he is able to see what Allen missed.” Bookman stood, he really wasn’t much taller standing than sitting. “These boys have a father trained in martial arts.” He pointed out. “It wasn’t until after you told them this that, Shion spilled your secret.” He placed a withered hand on Allen’s shoulder. “Your brother is the strategist, let him lead you Allen Walker.” He said in the boys ear. Allen withdrew his hand. It turned back to normal as did his eye.
“Now, young Nai is in need of a fun day. Take him to this mall of yours, Gareki. The boy is still the same boy you liked when you first met him. Lavi take that hammer and keep an eye on them all.” He turned to walk away.
“I was planning on that!” he muttered.
“What? We don’t get to ask any questions?” Gareki asked. Bookman waved a finger.
“After you show the young boy a fun day. Then you may ask questions.” He walked upstairs to his room. The boys filed outside. Kanda had borrowed his father's truck. They fit easily in the double cab.
As Kanda pulled away, Gareki started talking to Nai. “I don’t remember my dad well. I know he was big, like Kanda. I was eight when my parents split.” He said. Kanda's mouth became a thin line. Rat twisted to look out the front window, past Lavi who was by the door. Allen and Shion had the doors in the back with the younger boys between them.
“He used to drink. He would be out all night, come home in the early morning. He would pick stupid thing to hit us over. Like if we weren’t awake waiting for him at three a.m. or the dishes weren’t taken out of the dishwasher. Kanda and Rat and mom took most of it. I got good at reading him, knew when to stay away.” He was clasping his hands together tightly in his lap as he spoke.
“We all have secrets.” Kanda said looking in the rearview mirror at the younger boys. “Let's not dwell on the past. Just tell us what we need to be watchful for to keep you safe.” He said. Shion pulled his phone out when they pulled into a parking space at the mall.
He showed them a picture of a tall man with long red hair. The side of his face was covered with a phantom of the opera mask. He held a gun pushing up the brim of a black hat. He wore a long black coat with gold embroidered throughout it.
“This is Cross Marian. He used his DNA to father us. Adding in gene splicing technology and other things to trigger different parts of our brains and bodies.” Shion said. “He was a scientist from a place called the Black Order. Since running away, he's been trying to get us back.” He let them all look at the phone.
“Wait, only one man? If this Black Order is such a huge threat wouldn’t they send more than one person after you?” Gareki asked. Shion looked to Allen.
“Shion and Lavi have a theory that he was working on us as a side project.” Nai said.
“We think the main order doesn’t even know about us.” Shion added.
“Which is why only Cross is hunting us.” Lavi put in.
“To kill us before his superiors find out what he's been doing.” Allen summed it up.
“Got it.” The other boys chorused. They got out of the truck. Gareki and Nai were in the center. The others spread out over the parking lot. They moved along keeping an eye on each other.
They pared off but kept each other in site. Lavi went with Gareki and Nai at Allen's urging. Allen and Kanda took the higher floor while Rat and Shion walked along the middle one. If either team wanted to go into a store they gave a hand signal. The others would mill around to watch the entrance of the store.
Rat and Shion were on the level with build a bear. “Oh!” Shion exclaimed at seeing it. He picked up a deflated grey rat. “It looks just like you!” he laughed. Rat shoved him inside the store. “Then stuff it.” He ordered. With a wide grin Shion did. Rat laughed at how ridiculous he looked among the kids in the place. He put a squeaker in it so that when you hugged it, it sounded like a mouse. They put it in a box but Shion took it out. He kept squeaking it at Rat.
“Knock it off before I throw the thing in a garbage cam!” Rat growled.
“You're mean.” Shion scolded. “I named him Mercury, like your eyes.” He said. Rat laughed.
“Whatever.” He tried to sound disinterested, secretly he was very pleased that the boy had gotten the animal. About an hour later, the groups switched floors. Rat and Shion went to the top. Allen and Kanda the bottom with the other three in the middle one.
Nai had seen the animal Shion had made. He grabbed Gareki’s arm and hauled them to build a bear. Lavi laughed. He picked up a troll doll with white hair. “Kinda looks like Allen.” He said. Nai looked at it.
“Only in the morning, ya know, until he brushes his hair.” They laughed. Nai scanned the selections of animals. Gareki picked up one that was a soft white thing with wings. It's eyes were red like Nai's.
“It's you in animal form!” Gareki laughed. Nai giggled.
“You have to get it!” Gareki agreed.
Nai found a black bear that had goggles. He looked like Gareki with the same blue eyes. Once it was stuffed he found a black tee shirt and jeans then a long blue coat to put on it. It really did look like the dark boy. He smiled glad Nai was happy.
Gareki paid for all three animals even though Lavi insisted on paying for the troll. “Aren’t you just going to give it to Kanda?” he asked. The older teens mouth fell open.
“How did you know?” Gareki smirked.
“A talent. I told you I'm good at reading people.” Lavi nodded.
“That you are.”
They all met at one at the food court on the top floor. Nai held down a table as Gareki told him he wanted to surprise him with something. Allen was uncomfortable at leaving the young boy alone. Lavi told him what he wanted and went to sit with the small boy.
Gareki bought Nai his very own pizza. Nai was thrilled. Once they were all together, Lavi plunked the box with the troll in it in front of Kanda. “Gareki and I got you your own stuffed Allen.” He said. Gareki and Nai were giggling together. Kanda opened it. To everyone’s utter shock, he burst out laughing at the doll.
Lavi had dressed it in an black tank top and Hawaiian shorts. Kanda pulled it from the box to show Allen. “Really!” The teen snorted. Kanda put it away.
“This is so going on my trophy shelf.” He said.
“Why would you put it there?” Allen asked innocently. “You haven’t bagged me yet!” There was silence for ten seconds. Then everyone burst out in laughter as Allen and Kanda's faces flamed. Allen was laughing along, but Kanda was starring out into the hall.
“That is the fifth time I have seen that skinny runt near us.” He said. Allen turned. His pale face went even paler.
“Johnny?” Allen breathed out.
“We gotta leave don’t we?” Nai asked sadly. Shion hugged him.
“If it is only Johnny, let Allen talk to him. He looks nervous.” He added.
“Not nervous that guy is petrified.” Gareki said. They all turned to look at a boy not much older than they were. He was short with big round glasses covering half his face. His long brown curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He had on a soft brown corduroy jacket and jeans.
“Allen, be careful.” Shion cautioned. The teen nodded. He stood to walk over to the pacing man.
“How do you know him?” Kanda asked.
“He was one of the scientists from the lab.” Nai said.
“Allen and Johnny would play chess every Friday after lunch. They became sort of friends in a way.” He glanced at Shion.
“I doubt Johnny would do anything to hurt us, but he did work under Cross.” Shion said.
“He hated Cross.” Nai stated. “I think he was just as afraid of him as we were.” They watched the pair circle each other. Allen scanning the crowd for any signs of Cross.
“Not Allen. Allen wasn’t afraid of Cross, he purely hates him.” Shion said as the boy in question lead the scientist to them.
“We need to go now.” He said. Shion and Nai didn’t ask questions. They threw their food away, picking up their purchases and moved in Allen's wake toward the door.
“We cant go out all together.” Johnny said. “Let’s go in pairs, that way he may not get all of us.” The man looked around.
“Allen, Johnny with me. We will go get the truck. Lavi bring Nai and Gareki out. Rat.” He turned to look at his brother.
“Once Nai and Gareki are with you, go. I will get Shion home on the bus.” Kanda nodded.
Allen looked over to Shion. The pale boy swallowed. Allen took his hand. “They can’t get us all. Lavi take Nai, go on a different bus. We have to stay separated.”  Nai hugged his brothers quickly. He took Lavi's hand.
Lavi took his scarf off tying it over Nai's white hair. Allen and Shion flipped up their hoods. The three brothers looked at each other one last time before determinedly turning their backs to each other and walking away. Gareki followed a little behind his friend. Goggles over his eyes, he watched anyone who got too close.