((*dies from writing* )) 

The afternoon sun glistened through the partly clouded skies. A young man, about the age of eighteen, with long flowing, black hair. Closed his eyes with his head pointing upwards towards the beaming light. He sat by a tree in the courtyard area of the Black Order. The place where exorcist of  all skill level seemed to gather. Though for the young samurai, it was rather annoying. 

"Kanda!…Kanda!" a Finder came running towards the, somewhat, peaceful samurai. Kanda sighed with annoyance, as he opened a single eye. "Kanda…" He stopped by the tree, bending over as he tried to catch his breath. "I finally, found you…" The finder huffed. 

The samurai raised an eyebrow and re-closed the eye that he had opened. "Go away…" 

"But…I have a message for you…Komui wishes to see you."

 "Che…" how annoying, that stupid Chinese man probably had nothing else for  him, but to retrieve him another cup of coffee, or to make sure he's precious Lenalee hasn't been outside of her own room. But as duties of an exorcist, he had to go see the head of the Black Order, in case it was actually important. 

The Japanese male, gritted his teeth. Stabbing his sword straight into the ground as leverage to help him stand up. The finder backed away from the tempered exorcist and watched him storm off back inside the Order. 

Kanda became very tense, clenching his fist tightly, putting a death grip on Mugen. He opened the door to Komui's office, only to see the Chinese male, hung over his paper filled desk, dramatically. Kanda's facial ex
pression became very annoyed, he knew it wasn't anything important. "Oi!" he growled, kicking the bottom part of Komui's desk. 

The man jumped in fright. "O-oh…K-Kanda..wasn't expecting you to actually come." The samurai scowled, making Komui become very nervous, he always seemed to have that affect on people. He was so cold hearted, and didn't care for anyone's personal being. "I-I have a mission for you…there might be the presence of an innocence at a circus that takes place in England." 

"…You're kidding…" Kanda gave an unpleased look. The circus was the last place he would want to go, too many cheerful people, also known as clowns.  

"Most certainly am not. It's called 'The Noah's Ark Circus'…I want you to go there and check things out." 

Kanda walked away from the Chinese man, having enough of what that man had to say. He didn't accept his mission verbally, but with his actions.

"Please Leave by tomorrow mor-" Komui was cut off by the slamming of his office door "-ning…"he frowned at Kanda's behavior, and lied his head back down on his cluttered desk.

Kanda stormed back up to his room, yet of course it was probably another pointless  mission. He'd be lucky if there were akuma he could rid the world of. Yet that was probably unlikely going to happen. With his usual "Che…" he entered his quarters and prepared himself for his new mission. 

~--~

It was such a quiet afternoon, quite strange really. Usually something terribly goes wrong in the Phantomhive manor, but today had gone exceptional, well. 

The head Butler smiled, pleased with how the maids had finished their…novice tasks. The tall, slim man, that dressed in all black, walked up to his master's office. In one hand, he held a handful of letters that the boy normally receives from other companies; and in the other hand was a tray with freshly brewed tea.

"Boochan…" he gave a small knock, notifying the boy before his entrance. The demon butler bowed slightly, closing the large wooden door behind him. He placed the tray down on one of the coffee tables in the middle of the room.

The butler walked up to the boy's desk, placing the letters on top of his work. The first one which had the names for 'Smile & Black' in very poor, chicken scratch, handwriting. The butler's ruby eyes, glanced over at the name and chuckled to himself. That nickname was only used by the Circus group, which Joker belonged to. "Hmm~." He hummed, picking up the crinkled up piece of paper. 

"Would you like me to read this one to you, young master?" he stared at the written 'Smile & Black' "Seems like the Circus has missed us." the demon smiled at the boy, waiting to see if he should open it or if his master would rather read it to  himself. 

Yawning, the manor house owner glanced at his desk, seeming to ignore all papaerwork existing there, before grumbling under his breath and leaving the room he currently resided in. Cyril Kamelot wasn't exactly in the best of moods, afterall, He was going to be stuck babysitting the newest of the family for god only knew how long.

The Noah usually held his family in high regard, and he still did, when it came to his adopted daughter and brother by blood. But really... To have to cater for other Noah's during this time, or rather. One in particular... The Earl had them all working like donkeys and he really had no time for all this faffing around.

Walking down one of the manor halls, he sighed, straightening the suit he wore as he walked, nodding to any of the maids he happened to pas.s. It didn't take Cyril too long to reach the entrance hall of his home, and he descended the stairs with another sigh, pausing at the bottom before strolling towards the door.

He had barely made it that far, however, when the door opened of it's own accord and the Noah himself walked in, glancing at the general room and smiling slightly.

"It's not a bad place you got, Cyril."

Wisely was the last of the Noah's to awaken, and had come here of his own accord, something about being closer to the family. Yea right...

Cyril shrugged, then returned the smile, figuring he'd probably get used to this arrangement. Well... He was going to have to if he was going to be somewhat happy the next few days. He watched as Wisely yawned and stretched, opening an eye, smile still in place.

"You contacted your brother I take it?"

The older Noah nodded. "Naturally."

~~~

Another uneventful day, or so the Earl Ciel Phantomhive seemed to believe as he sat as his desk, eyes gazing through the huge window of the manor that lay just behind his chair. He was paying little to no attention to anything on the outside, his mind somewhat numb from all those forms he'd had to read through, and knowing his luck, there were probably more on the way.

Almost as though reading his thoughts, his Demon Butler, Sebastian, knocked on the door with a gentle tap, before entering the room and pas.sing over all those new letters on him.He only caught a glimpse of that "chicken scratch" writing before Sebastian took it.

A sinking feeling had made it's way into the young Earl's sotmach at the sight of that letter. The last thing he wanted to do while he was feeling sluggish was go anywhere near that Noah's Ark Circus. Hell. He wouldn't want to go back there even if he was feeling perfectly fine...

His stomach sunk further when Sebastian confirmed his thoughts.

Sighing, he nodded at his butler to read, as he took a sip of the hot beverage the Demon had brought into him alongside the letters. Well, the tea made him feel a little better, atleast.

His bright blue eye focused on Sebastian as he awaited the reading of that letter. Hell... He seriously hoped it was just a greeting...

"Will you stay for the show?" The ringmaster asked cheerily, clapping Edward on the shoulder with a grin. Edward gave the man a polite nod of his head.

"I'd be honored. Will your little clown be performing?"

"Of course! He's the favorite act; has been for the past two weeks!" A hot blush crossed Allen's unusually pale cheeks at the ringmaster's praise. Edward chuckled. "Take a seat in the front row, mister Elric! We've got a great show planned for tonight! It won't disappoint!"

---

And it didn't.

'For a small circus these guys are pretty good...' Ed found himself absorbed in the current act, watching the trapeze artists fly past as a laugh slipped past his lips. His mother had taken him to the circus once before she died; he remembered it being about as small as this one, with hilarious clowns and more laughs than a barrel of monkeys. But this...this was different. Things felt more serious.

The trapeze pair took a bow and the ringmaster took his place in the center ring, adjusting his hat as the audience showered him with applause and whistles of approval. "Before our next act, I would like to bring out a budding star to ye all for your approval! Come on over here, little one." He gestured behind him and out from behind a flap of tent material stepped the ever-formal Allen Walker, a jingle of bells accompanying his otherwise quiet entrance. His face was painted a deathly white to match his colorless hair, which was tipped with all the colors of the rainbow in no particular order. A skintight black suit with rainbow accents and a row of stars cut from the left arm and leg covered his thin frame, and his arms, legs, and neck were covered with a variety of ribbons and otherwise delicate accents. Around his waist was a purple sash and a gray and pink-striped ribbon that hung down to his knees and was tied on his right side. A matching pink and gray ribbon was tied up in his hair, binding strings of purple, green, and yellow stars beside his right ear. The scar on his left cheek had been emblazoned there in black, and his other eye had been covered by a large black star. His usual cheery smile was there, but Edward noticed that he was still very tense in his movements.

'I wonder what's making him so nervous...' Edward frowned. Allen seemed like such a sweet, innocent child. What on Earth could be haunting him so?

Allen smiled and bowed for the audience, then straightened himself and asked, "What then should you have me do? Shall I juggle for you? Shall I play the flute? What would you ask of your clown?"

Behind that smile was something ugly, Edward reasoned. He would have to get the boy alone after his show.

---

Knock knock.

"Yuuuuuuuu~!" The door to Kanda's room was unceremoniously knocked inward, revealing a chipper redheaded exorcist with an eye patch who had obviously just woken up from a long night's sleep. "I stalked you all the way here from Komui's office~ So this is where you live, eh?" He glanced around the room for a moment. "Anyway, did he give you a mission? I'm bored as all get out, so I'd like to accompany you. Old man panda is off on a mission of his own collecting data, so I figured I'd best not be useless here~"

Lavi yawned and gave a luxurious stretch. "We also need to look for Allen. He hasn't returned from his last mission. I'm starting to get anxious; he's been gone for weeks, no contact from Timcanpy or anything at all."

((Allen = not your typical clown. I don't like the thought of seeing him in an outfit like Mana's. D: So I made my own for him. *shot*))

He leaned back against the door, staring out into the abyss of his room. "What a boring mission" he thought. With a heavy sigh he pushed himself off the door and walked over to his bed, resting Mugen by the bed post. Kanda twitched at the sound of knocking on his door, followed by a very familiar annoying voice. 

It was just his luck to be bothered by the red-head, bookman-to-be, nuisance. Kanda glared at he person who intruded, when he was just about to escape from the rest of the world. Why wouldn't people just let him be…everyone would be happy that way. 

He eyed Lavi, who walked around his room…the room no one ever dreamed of entering. Yet it was typical for Lavi to stalk Kanda around, he was so nosy. "Che…baka Usagi…next time you use my first name, I'll cut out your vocal cords." He growled. Oh how much Kanda hated his fisrt name, most normal people never even dared to use it; but Lavi was bold enough to tease the easily tempered exorcist. 

The Japanese exorcist grew annoyed at the slightest of things, such as Lavi was going to come on the mission with him. Kanda frowned at the thought…never once could he enjoy a mission by himself. He always had to drag some one else, which slowed him down And of course, the red-head would mention the disappearance of the exorcist he loathed…that only added more to his list of annoyance. Kanda could careless where that white-haired kid was at, he'd be more than happy if the kid got lost for good.

But of course, Allen and Lavi were the best of friends. It was only natural for the red-head to want to send out a search party for the kid. A search party that he didn't want any part of "Go find moyashi on your own, Usagi…I rather not deal with him."

~--~

It was such a nice day, not too cold yet not too warm. He exhaled a puff of smoke from the cigarette he had just lit prior to Cyril summoning him. His brother was so needy for family attention. The tall Portuguese male smiled and shook his head. It would be so unlike Cyril, if he hadn't called Tyki to stop by; and the Noah was obliged to go…since it had been awhile since they've seen each other last. Tyki stretched out his arms above his head, maybe Cyril had something exciting to tell him. The Noah had felt pretty lazy lately…even at his 'part-time job' at the mines. 

Things just never seemed the same as they used to be. He let out a long yawn and walked up to the estate that belonged to his one and only brother by blood.  He stopped by the main door, taking one last drag of his cigarette, before he threw it down and grinded it into dust with his foot. Tyki invited himself in by walking straight p*censored*ed the door, as if nothing was there.  "Ne…Cy-' he stopped mid-sentence, when eyeing his new family member Wisely. What the hell was this guy doing in here. 

His train of thought left him, slightly dumbfounded at the sight. "Umm…hello?" He blinked and tilted his head, glancing over at Cyril. Giving him a look that read, why was Wisely here.

~--~

He chuckled slightly, as he swiftly opened the crinkled letter. The handwriting was beyond awful, Sebastian could barely make things out. Maybe Joker was just in a rush or something…or he just had terrible handwriting.  On top of the handwriting, Joker didn't speak very well grammar…it became slightly confusing to Sebastian.

The butler read the letter a few times over, before telling his master what it actually said, because it took him all the times he read it to actually understand what Joker was saying. "My lord…he's basically asking us to come back for a few days." Sebastian smiled "It might be good for you." Smiling he placed the crinkled letter down in front of the boy, in case he wished to read it for himself. "You do need to get out more often, young master. But this is up to you." Sebastian bowed slightly and waited for Ciel's reply on this whole situation. 

Sighing, the older Noah could only watch as his guest made himself perfectly at home. After a couple of minutes, one of the manor maids walked into the entrance hall, bringing a number of resreshments for Cyril and his "cousin", placing them on a small table that lay on one side of the large, extravagant room.

"Thankyou." The tall man replied, watching the maid leave then turning back to Wisely, who currently was looking through the selection of pastries brought to the table. Running a hand through his hair, he focused his eyes on the younger Noah.

"What exactly brings you here then?"

"Let's just call it a family visit. I'm getting smothered when around the Earl." The mind-reading Noah then proceeded to take a pastry, shoving it in his mouth and leaning back in the chair he had occupied upon entering the manor.

Cyril raised an eyebrow, interrupted from replying by a very familair, and currently, very welcome voice. Turning to look at the door, the Noah grinned at the sight of his brother, someone he pretty much willing to welcome into his home with open arms.

"Tyki! Nice to see you-"

"Tyki, eh?" Wisely mumbled, throwing another pastry into his mouth, Cyril glancing over his shoulder as Wisely lifted a hand to Joyd in greeting. This was going to prove interesting. Afterall, it wasn't often Wisely spent time with his other family members. Heck, he hadn't even been here that long. Ah well. Better late than never~

~~~

Ciel blinked a few times, grumbling under his breath as his Butler read the letter a number of time, the Earl feeling more sick with each reading. As far as the boy was concerned, unless the letter was absoloutely urgent he refused point blank to return to the Noah's Ark Circus.

He leaned his head on a hand, the elbow resting on the polished wood of his desk, papers piled on one end, open folders on the other. He looked at the other letters Sebastian had brought, immediately seeing that none of them were really all that important.

He sighed. Why the hell did Joker want to see them back?... He looked at Sebastian, placing both hands under his chin.

"Is it important?... I'm not trailing all the way to that Damn Circus unless it's urgent. I don't do leisure visits..."

The memory of his last stay had him shuddering inwardly. He'd really rather not...

~(Hm~ I may bring Lenalee back into it. xD)~

"Eh~?" Lavi pouted, crossing his arms and puffing his cheeks out like an angry eight year-old. "We have to find him! But do what you want, Yuu-chan~ I'm still going with you on your mission. What else is there for me to do but record things?"

The redhead chuckled, his single green eye sparkling happily behind a shock of his fiery hair. He never took Kanda's threats to heart until Mugen had been drawn. He grinned and rested his arms behind his head, leaning back against the door frame with a casual yawn.

"Don't you ever want to get out, Yuu? To enjoy life?" He asked, his posture stiffening slightly as he became more serious. "Ever since...what happened with Alma Karma, you've been a little off-beat." ((SPOILERS!!! :D))

He hated bringing that up, but someone had to. Kanda just was...acting weird.

---

Edward found himself absorbed in Allen's motions. The boy had a natural stage presence, gliding along through the ring like he was a part of it, feeling the presence of the audience around him. The state alchemist couldn't help but chuckle: though Allen was so formal earlier, now he was clowning around out there like he wasn't that quiet, blushing boy standing before him a mere thirty minutes ago.

And just like that...it was over.

"EXORCIST!" Something burst into the tent through the opening where the animals came in; it appeared to be human, but was covered in thick black armor and its form was twisted and mangled. It gave a cackling howl, revealing a set of sharp metal teeth that were oozing with someone's blood. Edward was instantly on his feet, hands poised in front of him.

"What the hell--? Walker! Get out of there!" He barked over the clamor of the frightened audience behind him. Allen paused in his movements, keeping the flute raised to his lips like he had been frozen in time. Ed immediately rushed down into the ring, then paused as he caught the boy's face out of the corner of his eye.

His left eye was glowing a sickly red, and a calm smile had spread over his pale features. "Don't fight it, mister Elric." He said softly. "It's an akuma. Only an exorcist can defeat one."

The creature lunged for the ringmaster, eagerness glimmering in its bloodied eyes. Before anyone knew what was happening, Edward slid in front of the portly man in a flurry of blue military fabric, and the thing had bitten down on his right arm.

Silence. The audience had fled to the outside of the tent. Allen stood, horrified, waiting for the virus to spread over the state alchemist's body and turn him to stone. But nothing happened.

"You picked a bad guy to fight, whatever you are!" A defiant look spread across Edward Elric's face. "Didn't you hear that the Fullmetal Alchemist was in town?!" The boy withdrew his arm from the creature's jaws with an awful screeching of metal, drew back his fist, and landed a solid punch between the thing's eyes, sending it reeling backward. The state alchemist let his gaze land on the silver-haired child to his right, then raised his mangled arm and clenched his hand back into a fist.

"It's fake," he murmured, watching the stunned akuma with defiance burning in his golden gaze. "Don't worry. I can't feel any pain: it's made of metal. That's where I get my name. I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric, a high ranking soldier and alchemist of the people. That's what I'm here for, to do my job. I suggest you do yours; find us an exorcist and get this thing the hell out of here!"

"Che…." he couldn't seem to shake Lavi off. Unfortunately he would just have to suck it up. Kanda sighed mentally, he really didn't want a teammate for such a stupid mission. And it also looked like he was going to be dragged to find the exorcist who irritated him the most. Kanda tensed his fist, he really wished that Lavi would just leave him alone for once in his life. Kanda turned his back against the red-head looking at the single large window in his room, that was a pink and blue tint. He would love to enjoy life, if there was actually something to enjoy. 

His eyes winded in anger. The comment about Alma Karma did not help the Japanese male with his anger issues. Even though Alma wasn't the main reason why he was so messed up in the head. No, …the main reason was far more complicated than his childhood friend that he had to murder. 

Kanda was about to wring Lavi's neck for acknowledging such a person. "I would shut up if I were you, Usagi…" He growled, turning around with a dark look in his eyes. An evil aura began to fill the room, when picking up Mugen. He forced it up against Lavi's jaw, preventing the red-head to open his mouth. "Or…I swear I'll cut out your tongue." he hissed, as his angered filled eyes stared directly into Lavi's single green one.

~--~

Tyki still had a confused look on his face of why Wisely was here. He shook his head slightly to shake it off and smiled at his brother. "How's my brother been?" the Noah placed his hands in his pockets and watched the newest member to stuff his face in with pastries. 

Tyki rolled his eyes slightly at Wisely "and hello to you too." 

"Ne so…what made you bring me here on such short notice." turning his gaze back to Cyril. He had to have some reason, other than the fact that he just wanted to meet up once again. 

~--~

It was typical for his master to refuse to go to such things. "My lord…"Sebastian placed a hand on his own chest "What if there was something to inspect on while we were there." The butler picked up the letter once more, glancing over it for the last time. 

"It's rather strange for them to call us back…don't you think?" he sealed it back up and placed it on top of the other untouched letters. Sebastian continued to ponder why Joker would send such a random letter inviting them back. His ruby eyes focused on the names that were imprinted on the letter. He knew Ciel hated 'The Noah's ark Circus' and for a good reason too. 

The butler let out a sigh, "I'll give you some time to think it over, boochan."

Running down one of the corridors of the Black Order, Lenalee Lee came to an abrupt stop outside Komui's office, breathing heavily as she pushed open the door; To be greeted, naturally, by her brother.

"Brother- I heard your giving Kanda the mission to look for Allen-kun?" She held a clipboard to her chest as she watched Komui appear from under the endless piles of papers. Ones that he never seemed to complete.

"That's right-" He started, not finishing his sentence before Lenalee was out of the door, running back the way she had come; The clipboard forgotten back in her brothers office. Like Lavi, the chinese exorcist was worried over Allen not returning, not to mention... She wanted to get out of the black Order for a while.

Skidding to a stop just outside Kanda's room, she blinked at the scene, Kanda weilding Mugen pretty much in Lavi's face. She pulled a disgruntled face, then walked into the room with steely determination and a pout.

"Kanda!... What are you doing?"

~~~

 Cyril sighed, then shrugged at Tyki's question, looking over his shoulder at Wisely. Truth be told, there hadn't been an urgent reason... The Noah simply wanted other company besides the youngest of his "family" on the gene side.

"No, urgent reason." He said with an innocent smile as Wisely finally stopped hoarding the pastries, leaning back in his chair and waving at Tyki. Cyril shrugged again, then turned to Wisely. "No funny business either while your here... Just clearing that up.." He mumbled.

"Funny business? S'that supposed to mean?" The younger Noah asked, eyeing the pastries again.

"No mind reading..."

~~~

Grumbling under his breath, the Earl of Phantomhive cursed silently, his gaze resting on his demonic butler, slight agitation evident in his eye. Sure. Sebastian had a point... Just why would Joker call them back?...

Then again... That was something Joker would do. Sighing, Ciel stood from his chair, picking up all the other letters and looking through them, ensuring none of them were of any importance. Once he'd as.sesed each letter, he dumped them all into one of his deskl draws before walking towards the door of the office.

"Fine. We'll go see what he wants... But if it's just a leisure visit... We're coming straight back here. I don't have time to hang around in some, Circus."

If Kanda was expecting a look of fear to cover Lavi's face, he was not getting what he wanted. Lavi narrowed that single eye, studying his comrade's face with intensity, reading the feelings hidden behind Kanda's usual mask. He was a Bookman, after all, and reading and transcribing was his job.

"I know you're broken up about it, Yuu," he murmured, resting his hands against Mugen and pushing it away from his throat. "But you need to let these things die. What happened to Alma Karma was not your fault." The redhead was no councelor, nor was he a mind reader; he was simply a Bookman-in-training trying to get by. It was, however, all too clear what was running through Kanda's head at this point.

Even in the face of a very angry Kanda, Lavi was unflappable. The redhead gave a low chuckle and patted Kanda's head, then glanced over at Lenalee and gave her a warm smile. "We're heading out on a mission, Lena-chan~ Just ignore what happened back there, yeah?"

---

The ringmaster stepped through the spare tent, carefully picking his way through the sleeping people. 'Where's that little clown...?' He thought, examining the sleeping tightrope walkers with a frown. 'He better not have run off...we can't go anywhere without a clown...! And he was going to rake in tons of money for ut!" Frustrated and sleepy, the rotund ringmaster retired to his private tent for some rest. He'd find his clown in the morning.

Or would he?

---

"Where exactly are we going?" Edward panted, running a hand through his sweaty golden hair. The clown said nothing, forging forward through the darkness with an obvious route planned in his head. Edward frowned; what happened back in the circus tent must have somehow upset the young man.

~*"*~

"We don't have to look for an exorcist," Allen Walker smiled before taking his place in front of Edward, silver eyes flashing in the fading light. Before Ed could open his mouth to ask more questions, the boy was covered in a heavy white cloak with a fluffy hood, and a set of deadly claws had covered his left hand, as though they had appeared out of thin air.

And just like that, he was gone, and the sound of metal on metal filled the tent. Flustered, Edward fell back and watched the boy do battle with the thing he had called an akuma.

~*"*~

"We needed to get away from there..." Allen mumbled. "That ringmaster is just looking for more ways to make money. He'd use the Crown Clown in a freak show if it raised more money for him."

"What a jerk."

His angry gaze, glanced over at Lenalee. Not really expecting for her to show up at his door, at that moment. Kanda ignored the fact Lenalee was there, she was the only one he couldn't fight back or threaten. He looked back at Lavi as he spoke. Being forced to lower Mugen down by his side. Kanda curled his fingers into a tight fist, clenching his jaw at the name Alma Karma. 

He wished for Lavi to stop repeating that name, it irritated him to no end. A sickening feeling, sunk deep into the pit of his stomach when Alma was mentioned. The red-head thought he was helping the Japanese-exorcist by counseling him and his past; but little did he know it was actually hurting him more. 

He looked away, glaring at the nearest ob
ject. Kanda needed to forget about the past, it was meaningless to keep dwelling on what happened. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath, as he tried to calm himself down. 

~--~

Tyki became disappoint on the inside. He kinda hoped that Cyril actually needed him for something, but should've known it was just a "family reunion" type visit. The noah rubbed the back of his neck, kind of getting an awkward moment feeling. Though he shouldn't, but perhaps it was because the mind reading Noah was here.

His thoughts weren't safe, even if Cyril told him not to read anyone's minds. Tyki didn't feel comfortable with the thought of someone being able to invade his own head. He cleared his throat "So how long will you be staying with us?" trying his best to be as polite as he could to the new member of their family. 

~--~

He smiled, pleased with his master's decision to go. It wasn't everyday Sebastian got to convince his master into doing things he didn't personally want to do. 

"Yes, my lord~" the demon confirmed his master's wishes. He chuckled slightly, his master was always the same. He never was fond of being social, he always wanted to be alone. Leaving it up to Sebastian to drag the boy out of the hole he lived in.  

Sebastian tailed the boy, "Shall I retrieve your coat, young master?"

Blinking, Lenalee eyed Kanda warily before shrugging slightly. Well... As long as he hadn't actually killed anyone yet. Besides, she should have been used to this by now. Glancing back at the red-headed Bookman, she walked into the room, coming to stand by her fellow Exorcists.

"I know, Lavi. I'm coming with you." She said, looking at Kanda with a steely resolve in her eyes. It didn't matter whether the angry japanese Exorcist refused, she was going anyway. She, like many of the Order, was concerned about Allen's whereabouts; Dissapearing shortly after his mission... That idiot seemed to like making people worry...

She shook off the thought, sighing and glancing around at the other two. "Ready to go?... I don't want to get pulled up by brother on our way out..." Which, she thought, was very probable if Komui realized where she was about to go.

~~~

"You shouldn't be in such a hurry to get rid of me. It might be worth your time my being here." Wisely replied to Joyd, about to take yet another pastry when Cyril quite promptly covered the ground from where he was standing to Wisely's table; Stealing the tray away from the mind reading Noah and placing it onto one of the other small tables a little further away.

"I have no clue." Cyril said, looking over his shoulder at his younger brother as Wisely pouted, leaning forward and placing his chin on a hand.

"Your ignoring me-"

"Anyway Tyki. I hope you'll stay a while..." The older Noah smiled. It had been quite a stretch of time since his brother had stayed, afterall, and he didn't particularly want to be alone with his new guest.

Yawning and leaning back in his chair, Wisely placed both hands behind his head and looked up at the detailed ceiling of Cyril's manor house. "I lied~ I didn't come here for no reason... Well... I did initially, but I do know something that might be of use to you... You in particular, Joyd."

At this, the oldest Noah allowed his gaze to fall on Wisely. "If it's pointless crap-"

"Oh... Now you pay attention to me."

"What is it, Wisely?"

Wisely looked away from the ceiling, his eyes falling onto his two fellow Noah's, a knowing grin on his face as he spoke to them.

"I believe I may know the current location of that Exorcist, Allen Walker."

~~~

Ciel snorted under his breath at Sebastian's obvious glee at managing to get him out of the house. It was always this way, the Earl being stubborn about attending any sort of "pointless" social event, the Butler constantly trying to break that barrier, sometimes succeeding and then proceeding to be overly cheerful about his evident success.

"Of course." The young Earl replied, glancing over his shoulder at his Butler. He still didn't particularly want to go... Unfortunately... He had little choice now that he'd already given in to Sebastian's whims.

Ah well. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad... Figures, however, that single thought that consisted of the Joker immediately killed whatever existed of Ciel's hope. No doubt Joker would find a way to keep him there...

Sighing, Ciel resigned himself to what he was about to do. It'd all be over, eventually, or so he could hope.

Lavi grinned. "Good! One more set of eyes to help us find that little stinker! I can't believe that Allen's been captured or anything...that seems unlikely." He quickly took Lenalee's arm and grabbed Kanda by the sleeve and began dragging them off down the hall. "Let's go get this done! Finally, I get to get out of here for a decent period of time!"

---

When they finally had a moment to rest, they both sat down in a patch of tall gras.s and laid out on the ground. Both were panting from exhaustion, and Edward swore he couldn't feel his human leg he'd been running so long. The soldier glanced over at his exorcist companion; Allen was tense, his silver eyes staring up at the flickering stars with unease. Frowning, Edward allowed himself to relax and let down his steely mask. "I'm Edward Elric, clown. You're safe with me, y'know. I won't let anything bad happen."

Allen looked grateful, his silvery eyes lighting up a bit at the alchemist's words. "I thank you for that, mister Elric..."

"Just 'Edward' is fine," Ed chuckled, his golden eyes burning bright beneath his sunshine-colored hair. Allen gave a small laugh in the back of his throat, a slight smile gracing his unnaturally pale lips.

"All right, Edward."

"Where are we going?" Ed raised his upper body, supporting himself with his right arm as he looked down at the exhausted exorcist at his side.

"Any place where I will not be bothered," Allen replied curtly, folding his arms beneath his head and allowing those star-like eyes to close. Ed gave the boy a curious look. As if sensing his confusion, Allen lazily opened his left eye and continued, "There's...something that people want from me. Something very important that I cannot relinquish without giving my life along with it. It is very difficult to explain..."

"So you're wanted for something? A crime?"

"I suppose, if you wanted to call it that...yes. I suppose I am a criminal in their eyes..." Allen's voice wavered with uncertainty.

"Who?"

"The Black Order, for whom I work."

Edward looked even more confused. "Did you do something to offend them?"

"I ran."

"From what?"

"Them," Allen sighed heavily. "There's...something wrong with me. Something inside of me that they mistreat me for...I got tired of it...so I fled after completing my last mission."

((asdfghjkl; EVERYONE'S after poor Allen.))

Unwilling,Kanda began to be dragged down the hall by the red-headed exorcist. It looked like he had no say in the matter, those two were going  to force him on the search for their missing "comrade." The Japanese male frowned, he hated being forced into things he didn't want to do; but it was inevitable with these two around. 

He hung his head slightly, having his chopped bangs cover his eyes. Kanda was displeased with the others, had they not wanted to be with him…he would be able to get his mission over and done with much quicker. Now thanks to them and the missing exorcist; he now has  a detour within the mission, no one knew where the white-haired exorcist could be nor do they know the exact location of where he was when he was out on last. 

It all seemed like a big waste of time, the kid could be anywhere…which only meant that Kanda would have to spend more time with these two. 

~--~

He placed his hands in his pockets, chuckling at Wisely's child-like behavior. Tyki smiled at Cyril, he always did seem to care how long these brotherly visits were "Of course I'll be staying…I've got nothing else better to do." Which was true, his job at the mines could wait, and the Earl hasn't come up with any plans of attack recently.  It was rather disappointing for the Noah; but the least he could do was spend some time with his brother.

Tyki glided over to the left over pastries that the mind reading Noah didn't get the chance to scarf down. Picking one up, he stared at it for a bit. He listened to Wisely speak, not truly paying much attention to what he had to say. Two words caught his attention though, making him come out of his zoned-out phase. Tyki froze, with the pastry half way in his mouth, 'Allen Walker...'

The noah lowered the pastry from his mouth and glanced over at Wisely. "You know where Allen Walker is?"

~--~

Sebastian nodded, walking over to the coat rack in the corner of the room. He picked up Ciel's heavy coat,  and headed back over to his master. The demon held it open, behind the boy, so he could slide his arms into the sleeves. Even if Joker did want them to stay for good, Sebastian was there to say otherwise.

He smiled at the boy, trying his best to "comfort" him in anyways possible.  

Lenalee barely had time to breath as Lavi grasped her arm and Kanda's, before heading off at a hurried pace out of the Order. She had silently agreed with the Bookman when he said it was unlikely that Allen had been caught... But still. What else would possibly keep the silver haired exorcist away?...

Shaking her head, she began to walk beside Lavi without him needing to pull on her arm as they approached the entrance doors of the Order. Again, like Lavi, she was grateful for the excuse to get out of that building, not to mention; She would no longer feel like she was doing nothing when it came to Allen's dissapearance...

Her ex
pression set, Lenalee strolled straight out of the doors of the Black Order, coming to a stop just outside; Glancing at the view, she sighed.

"Any idea where we should start?"

~~~

Finally. Feeling like it was about time his older family started paying attention to him, Wisely merely shrugged and grinned. The information he had may not have been entirely accurate, and actually finding the place Allen resided might prove to be a problem, all things considered.

"That's right, Joyd."

Cyril blinked, placing a finger on his chin as he considered his guest, an eyebrow raised. "What makes you so sure?" He asked, dropping his hand and placing both into his pockets. Well... That would explain why he was here... It wasn't like Wisely to simply pay family a friendly visit...

Wisely tapped his forehead, currently covered by the long bandana he usually wore. "Some people. They get so exited over such trivial things, dont'cha think?"

"Are you planning on telling us sometime today, Wisely?"

"Alright alright." Lifting his arms, the mind-reading Noah stretched over the length of the chair, before allowing both arms to rest on the small table in front of him, scratching a temple with one before replying.

"I saw him in the memory of some random pas.ser by... Atleast I think it was him... He was certainly very colourful, most unlike his usual self" Wisely smiled innocently. "Anyways. Seems your little exorcist has had a change of career... Who knew he'd be so inclined to join the Circus, and as a clown no less... How fitting~"

~~~

Slipping his arms into the heavy coat Sebastian had brought over for him, he shrugged the material over his shoulders before retrieving his hat, laid on a small table not far from the door.

Placing it onto his head, he closed his eye and sighed. Well... Atleast he wouldn't have to deal with the "boring" paperwork until he returned... He guessed it probably wouldn't be so bad... That is, as long as his damn Butler didn't start flicking stones at him again...

His face darkened at the thought, before he quickly left the room; Unwilling to let the Demon see that he quite clearly remembered what happened last time...

Lavi yawned, giving the closing doors a polite wave as the finders who would accompany them barely made it outside of them. "I have no idea~" he declared. "Methinks Allen's mission was in London, so...that's not too far. We could begin there and expand our search while Yuu-chan deals with his part of the mission." Lavi gave Kanda an award-winning smile. He wasn't stupid, though he acted like it on a regular basis: he knew Kanda liked to do things by himself.

--~*"*~--

Edward blinked. "That would be dishonorable in the military..." he mumbled. "What did you expect to accomplish by escaping?"

"What do you think?" Allen asked, clearly exasperated by all the questions. "I just wanted to get away...all of the questions, expected duties, verbal abuse from that man Rouvelier...after the other exorcists found out about me, they haven't really treated me the same..." He trailed off, his silvery eyes regarding the sky with a despairing look. He resembled a kicked puppy that had run away from home, Edward thought. How fitting; he was dubbed a "dog of the military" and was feared worldwide for his alchemic prowess and feral nature, yet here he was comforting another dog who had escaped from what sounded like a life of abuse. He couldn't help but chuckle.

Kanda took a slight glance at the red-head. For once in his life the bookman-to-be, actually understood what the Japanese male wanted. Keeping quiet, Kanda followed behind the two as they discussed their plan to look for the white-haired boy. He stared down at the ground, watching every step he took. Thinking about how much he just wanted to get this over and done with. So perhaps, when he came back there would be a real mission waiting for him.

He placed his hand on Mugen, holding it against his waist, as if it was a security blanket. He continued to concentrate on his footsteps. Going into a slight meditative state; blocking out the other two exorcist that were with him. 

~--~

The noah stared at the pastry he had taken. The name 'Allen Walker' always seemed to put him off track. He looked over at the new family member, of course it was only a memory. How recent could that be. Tyki narrowed his back down at the small pastry. His arch enemy had run off to a circus. A small chuckle was caught in back of his throat. He placed the food back on the plate and crossed his arms. 

"Do you know..what general direction this circus is at?" Tyki grinned, it was possible that this would be the chance to catch the kid off guard. Finally, being able to rid himself of that pesky exorcist. He just hoped that Wisely was paying enough attention to answer his simple question. 

~--~

Smiling, Sebastian knew exactly what was going on in his master's head. His last experience wasn't the best, though no one could blame him for it. The demon butler grabbed his long overcoat, that was hanging up aimlessly on one of the closet doors. He placed it on, buttoning the black coat up; all the way to about his neck line. 

The butler followed the boy out the door. Still pleased with his success in getting his master out of the house. Even if it was to the place he, in all likelihood, hated the most. The boy needed fresh air, though. Being locked up in that room all day, everyday, was probably not good for ones health. 

Sebastian placed his hands in the coat pockets, with a smile and shadowed Ciel, to the Noah's Ark Circus. 

Lenalee blinked, then nodded. Sure, starting in London seemed like the best plan, besides,they had no other leads, and if that was where Allen had been last, it made sense. She gazed at Kanda, completely ignoring his leave-me-alone aura that permeated the air.

"Guess you should lead, Kanda." She smiled slightly. it was true, afterall; They had no definate starting point for finding the white haired exorcist, so following Kanda into his mission would probably get them started. She wouldn't really get involved however, afterall, Kanda much preferred to do his missions alone... But still, simply following couldn't hurt.

~~~

 Wisely chuckled quietly at Tyki's face, Cyril coming to sit on one of the chairs not far from his guest. The younger Noah leaned back, scratching his temple with a finger as he closed his eyes for a moment, smiling.

He was almost immediately pulled out of this state however by Tyki's voice. Opening an eye, the Noah focused on Cyril's younger brother before smirking.

"Naturally. It's located somewhere in London, though where exactly I'm not sure. Besides, it's probably already moved from that last location."

Blinking, Cyril glanced between Tyki and Wisely, before focusing on Wisely, an eyebrow raised. "So why tell us?"

"Thought I'd give Joyd another chance at the boy~"

"And you?"

"Ah. No reason. Though I wouldn't mind bumping into the boy myself, after that last headache he gave me." Wisely lifted both hands, rubbing at his temples as he continued. "Besides. I'm hoping to bump into that samurai again. He has an interesting past~"

"You've seen it all already." Cyri retorted.

"Maybe. You don't throw away a good movie just because you've seen it once, however. Not to mention, I'd like to look into the exorcists."

~~~

Grumbling all the way out of the Manor, Earl Ciel Phantomhive glanced over his shoulder as he walked through one of the long, elegant hallways.

"You did call for a carriage, right Sebastian? How far is this Circus?"

~{Braindead. Dx}~