Onto the Train Station (Devi and Aemi)

Aemi was sitting on the train silently, looking out into the distance. She was half way to the Asian Branch headquarters, and she was already getting bored out of her mind. She sighed in annoyance, having nothing to do. As scared as she was to head out to the Asian branch, she let it slip past her for the time being since she had nothing else to think about.

Devi slid the door to the car open, taking a quick look around. The girl in the exorcist uniform caught her attention and she sighed in relief, closing the door behind her. "There you are," she exclaimed, "I wasn't sure if there were just Finders standing around, or if there was another exorcist on the train." Evoking no response out of the younger girl, Devi sat down, extending a hand out to her. "I'm sure you've heard that there were two exorcists transferred to the Asian Branch. I'm your partner. My name is Devi." She held her breath, hoping to be accepted.

Aemi watched as the girl who had a familiar crest on her jacket walked in, seeming relieved. She blinked for a moment as she continued staring, listening as she spoke. She then saw that she had held her hand out, and explaining how she was her partner. She wasn't sure how to react at first; she had only been told by the Generals that she was going alone. She knew that she was most likely not lying though, since she seemed nervous herself. She reached out her hand, shaking Devi's gently as she nodded, "Ah, I wasn't aware that they were sending the exorcists together," she tried to sound pleasantly surprised. Knowing how she usually lacked emotion, she didn't want to make the wrong impression, "I'm Aemi."

She exhaled, relieved that Aemi had said something and had generally accepted her. Feeling like she could relax now, Devi sat down on the bench across from the other exorcist. No words were exchanged between them for quite some time. While Devi would shift her weight sometimes, Aemi remained motionless, which added to the tension in the room. Usually, Devi was used to these situations, she wouldn't talk to anyone she met for the first time unless she was spoken to. However, she thought that, because Aemi was to be her partner for a while, she should get to know the other girl. Or at least let her know that she didn't hate her guts. That damn Bookman Jr. was rubbing off on her. "Sooo... What are you looking forward to most at the Asia Branch?"

Aemi watched her for a long moment as Devi had asked her what she would be looking forward to. For a moment, she wasn't sure what, since she had only let her fear of the new fortress cloud her judgement. Truth is, all of her friends had moved to that branch after the European one was destroyed, and she stayed behind to help rebuild it, so she hasn't seen any of her friends since they said their goodbyes. She smiled lightly as she looked down, blushing slightly as she thought about it, "I may or may not get to see an old friend who I care deeply for. Let's just hope he'll still be there. What about yourself?" she pondered.

Devi smirked, catching the faint hint of emotion from the other girl. Excitement filled her as she finally felt like she was finally breaking through. "Ooh! Who do you hope to see!?" She exclaimed. Noticing the strange look. Aemi was giving her, Devi sank back in her seat. "S-sorry... I know that was a little sporadic.. I didn't mean to intrude... Truth is, I'm hoping to see someone that moved to the Asian Branch, also. But I'm also looking forward to the whole travel experience, too." Devi sheepishly smiled, hoping she didn't ruin her chance at friendship.

Aemi watched her for a long moment, laughing slightly as she looked down. She wasn't sure whether to blush more or not, but she felt like she could be open with the other Exorcist. She seemed decent enough and she shrugged, putting off the embarrassment, "I can't really say we were close friends since we talked rarely... he was always away, so we only talked whenever he was back at the European rarely," she sighed, "His name was Allen, actually. He was apparently 'cursed', so I was told to stay away from him. That only made me feel more connected to him though." she touched her face, by her eye that was apparently cursed. She looked out the window for a moment, almost dazed at the thought of him, before snapping back into reality, "Oh--I'm sorry..." she laughed nervously, "What about you? Who are you eager to see?"

The small laugh put Devi at ease. She felt as if the tension between them was dissipating. Her eyes lit up at the mention of her friend's name. "Allen! I miss that kid! We went on a few mission and hung out some back at the European Headquarters... But," Devi paused to laugh and roll her eyes, "my babysitter should be there waiting for me..." She trailed off and gazed out the window, thinking on if she really wanted to see him again or not...

Aemi laughed slightly, "I haven't been on a mission with him, but we talked. And what do you mean by your babysitter?" she tilted her head in curiosity. She thought for a moment, feeling more soothed. She was more calm than before.

An embarrassed smile spread upon Devi's face. "Well, it's kind of dumb, but... My innocence, it's something that the Bookman Clan once owned. Once Bookman and Lavi found out, they put me on surveillance. Sometimes both of them would watch me, but it was mostly Lavi." Despite the annoyed sound that she made, the smile never faded. "I was around him twenty-four seven. I only recently got a break from him when he was transferred. So through him, I got to know Allen."

Devi stopped, grin fading while trying to recall anything else that she should tell Aemi. She gasped in surprise when she realized something. "Hey! If you stick around, I bet you can get to know Allen better! He's really polite. Quite the gentleman. What do you say?" She smiled again once more, feeling a little triumphant.

Aemi listened to what she spoke about, nodding as she heard that it was Lavi she spoke of. She was familiar with who he was, but wasn't very close to him. She only spoke to him few times, and they were all brief. When she then spoke about getting to know Allen better, her eyes widened slightly as she blushed, "Haha, I don't think it'd be a very professional thing of me to do... since we're there for clearly exorcism reasons alone," she couldn't help but smile to the thought of it though.

Devi noted Aemi smile. "Come ooooonnnnn. One more ally isn't going to harm you... I think you'll really like him!" She cajoled. "Allen is a very friendly person, anyway. I think that you won't be able to evade talking to him, in any sense. Besides, who knows how long we will be at the Asia Branch for... You might as well make some new friends."

Devi glanced out the window then crossed her legs. "We're almost to the station. So will you stick with me?" She asked, looking at Aemi expectantly.

Aemi laughed at her reply as she looked up for a moment, thinking about it. She wasn't quite sure how long she would be staying--that was a fact. When she was told to go to the Train Station immediately, that's all the information they had given her. She sighed for a moment, knowing that she may very well be there for far longer than she hoped. When she heard Devi speak of the train station being near, she looked at her unexpectedly as she asked for her to stick with her. She smiled lightly, nodding, "Sure. I'm gonna need at least one familiar face to stick around with."

Devi nodded, smiling at the other woman. "Great! That makes us a team, then," she said. They sat in a more comfortable silence for a while. Devi -- making a habit out of reviewing information -- went over her and Aemi's conversation. Something caught her attention that made her curious. "So... Aemi... If you barely know Allen, why is it that you want to see him so bad?" Devi tried to hide her smirk. Judging by the blushing done by the other exorcist, she thought she knew the answer. However, deciding against embarrassing Aemi and ruin their blooming friendship, she remained silent.

Aemi smiled at her comment about being a team, laughing as an approval. As their conversation went silent, she continued to think about how she would settle in within the new branch. She was sure she'd see her old friends, but what made her especially nervous was how much more complex their missions were. When she then heard Devi ask about why she wanted to see Allen so bad, she tried not to show too much surprise to the question, but it caused her throat to close up a bit. She tried to think of the key reasons why she was so interested, without making herself look like a freak. "You see... he's known for his curse... well I'm known for mine, too... so I just feel like we would understand each other a bit better than most," she explained before thinking of other reasons, "We only talked shortly, but whenever we did talk, he was always so open and calming to me. It's been a while since I met a guy who isn't so obsessive over war and actually has a bit of chivalry to him... I don't know. It's hard to explain," she laughed uneasily as she started to blush again.

As she finished her explanation, the train slowly came to a stop as other passengers began to walk off toward the exiting doors. She looked forward, seeing that they were at the China stop and she took a deep breath, "Finally, we're here. From what I know, an exorcist is supposed to meet us here and take us back to the Branch... apparently someone we'll recognize out of the blue." she started to head out, making sure that Devi followed.

Lavi was standing on the side of one of the pillars that held the large train station up. His hands were stuffed into his pockets, and his hair covered his face. He seemed rather sullen at the moment, his expression being blank with no trace of curiosity or annoyance. He felt like he was only there, and that was it. When he looked up, as the train from the Istanbul stop had made its arrival, he knew that the two exorcists that were transferring were on it. He kept a look out for two young people... whether they were male or female, and tried to see if they were wearing any exorcism uniforms. As he kept his eye out, he then noticed as a girl with a long, dark blue and white cloak with long, black pigtails had gotten off from the train. She had bright blue eyes and she seemed to actually be smiling. Lavi recognized her right away, seeming slightly surprised that he remembered her. Soon after she got off the train, another exorcist had gotten off after her... another girl. This time, his eyes widened unnaturally as he felt his heart skip a beat. He recognized her black hair immediately, but even more, remembered her mesmerizing glassy eyes that always seemed to glisten to him. He felt like he couldn't breathe--as though this was a dream--had she really been sent to the Asian Branch? He wasn't sure whether to approach them right away; wondering if they were supposed to come to him. He waited for a moment, seeing if they would recognize him.

Devi followed Aemi, a trace of a smile on her lips. The air suddenly changed from being musty to being open and clean. The afternoon sun illuminated the station in a welcoming light. She felt proud of herself, making a new friend in such a short amount of time. She could get used to this, savoring a simple, relaxing day instead of thinking on the terrible war going on.

She and Aemi stopped, looking around for their guide. "They should be here somewhere..." Devi mumbled to herself. Taking a good look around, she spotted a very distinct head of red hair. "Already?" She shouted over to him. "I swear, I'm the Black Order's punching bag, they just want to torture me with you!" She giggled then lead her friend over to where Lavi stood. "Are you our guide, or did you follow me here..?" Without waiting for a response, Devi continued talking. "Never mind that. This is Aemi, and we are the exorcists being transferred here." Taking Aemi's bags along with her own, she shoved them into Lavi's arms. "Now if you don't mind, we'd like to get settled in." Despite her acting mean to Lavi, her eyes never left his, and there was a soft undertone in her voice.

Aemi watched as she saw Lavi quickly, laughing slightly. She recognized him for sure, though she never had a real conversation with him. When she was introduced to him, she bowed slightly. She couldn't help, but laugh as Devi shoved both hers and her own bags into Lavi's arms. She wasn't sure how to react, so she stayed quiet, just ready to follow them when needed.

Lavi gave a smug expression to Devi, still not saying a word. He kept his arms crossed as she and Aemi approached him. His lips had slowly curved into a smirk as he began to speak, "Well, miss Devi, if you must know, I was chosen to be your guide back home," his voice was tender, as though there was a bit of relief that came over him. As Devi shoved both hers and Aemi's bags into his hands, he started laughing slightly, "If this is how you treat your guide, I guess I'll just follow behind and let you find the way back. I may have a soft spot for you, Devi... but it's still not very soft. You might wanna choose your actions more carefully around me," he kept his voice low, as if he was trying to sound as though he was in a teasing mood. He wasn't sounding mean at all, actually. He sounded rather sarcastic, yet seductive at the same time. He began walking, still holding their bags, "Follow me, your majesties."

Devi laughed out loud at Lavi being chosen to be her guide back at the European Headquarters. She already missed how Komui knew just how to push her buttons.

"You love me." She teased as she took their bags back. Changing her tone of voice she said, "but seriously. I don't know the way to the Asian Headquarters... I don't know how long Aemi's been awake, but I've been awake since before dawn." She started for what she assumed to be the exit, turning back to her friends to talk. "Come on, Aemi! We have a lunch waiting to be eaten, don't we? Oh, and Lavi." She said his name in a sing-song voice. "You need to find the Bean Sprout, we need to have a conference!"

As soon as Devi turned back around, she blushed deeply. Your majesty? She thought. Soon her mind flooded with thoughts of being treated like royalty by Lavi and then some...

Lavi listened to her, smirking once more as she took her bags back. As he began to walk, he made sure Aemi and Devi both followed, "Oh don't worry, if you guys were to get lost, it'd be on my head. So I'm not gonna let you lead," he began to pick up the pace. He then heard Devi speak of Allen's common nickname and laughed slightly, "Allen, eh? I'm pretty sure I can hook one up then."

Lavi, Aemi, and Devi finally made it to the Asian Branch main doors, and with a small key, Lavi opened it quickly. He looked around for a long moment, and yawned, "Well, dorms are on the fourth floor, so if you want I can...." he trailed off, seeing as Aemi just walked off on her own, as if she knew where she was going, "Never mind for her I suppose. Anyways... Devi, later I need to talk to you in private, if that's okay. I don't care when, just make sure it's either tonight or tomorrow. In my dorm... I'll give you the room number," his tone seemed to change when he spoke of talking in private. He locked eyes with her for a long moment and then wandered his gaze around the hall once more, trying to avoid too much awkwardness.

Once Devi knew the location of the dorms, she was prepared to leave and unpack on her own. However, when Aemi walked briskly past her, Devi slowed, wondering if she did or said anything wrong...

Lavi's voice snapped her out of her concern. Did he say "in private"? She wondered. As she listened intently, she figured that Lavi wasn't kidding anymore. "Y-yeah, alright. We can go now, if you want. To be honest, I'm really not all that hungry. I was simply trying to be polite to Aemi." She let a nervous laugh escape her before looking to the floor and falling into an awkward silence.

Lavi nodded, letting a small smile escape from his lips as he briskly grabbed her hand and began heading toward his room. He lead her toward one of the elevators and opened it swiftly as he allowed himself inside, pulling her in with him. He stayed silent and expressionless within the elevator, and when it finally reached the fourth floor, he exited, motioning her to follow. He tried to keep a straight face, as though he didn't want others to be suspicious of anything. He could see his dorm door at the end of the hall and he began to move more quickly.

Devi struggled to keep up with the Bookman successor. He wasn't saying anything to her, let alone looking at her. After three months of being separated, and this is how she gets treated by him? She has to put her nose to the grindstone so early? This isn't how it's supposed to be... A knot formed in the pit of her stomach out of nervousness.

Even though they were only a few feet away from his quarters, Devi couldn't take it anymore, she had to know NOW. "Lavi, what's wrong, you're acting strange?"

Lavi shook his head to the way that she had spoken to him about acting strange. He laughed awkwardly as he opened the door of his dormitory and he immediately pulled her inside, shutting and locking the door behind them. He shook his head again, sighing as he turned around, grabbing her wrists and slamming her against the walls of his room gently, "Why are you here," he demanded with a strict tone, a look of distress across his face as his eyes watched hers, "You shouldn't be here. Not now. It's too dangerous and you'll get hurt."