"Remind me next time, Allen..."

Lavi rested his head in his left hand while lazily putting a full spoon in his mouth. The redhead knew challenging Allen was a bad idea. Good grief, the kid was able to eat for 20 people! What was he thinking? That he could've beaten the little eating monster?
Lavi's stomach hurt, and he had a need to throw up... again. Every single human being was staring at him with worry in their eyes. Allen offered to call it a tie, but the stubborn redhead just waved off while saying some reassuring thing, like "I'm fine" or "No need to worry, I can eat more". For another half an hour Lavi blankly stared in an opposite wall, and stuffed himself with at least 5 more plates of food. And then he finally collapsed on the floor.

***

Lavi woke up in his room, the silver-haired boy sitting next to him and sleeping. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and mind. The fresh memories swam out on surface, making the redhead stretch out his hand and facepalm himself.

What was that for? Overeating... Was I that bored?

A light sigh passed his lips.

"Remind me next time to find some other source of fun, Allen." Lavi said to still sleeping Exorcist.

Rikki walked up with Lenalee beside her. They were both carrying trays with cups of coffee on them. "If it isn't Lavi and a sleeping Allen. What did you do this time, baka usagi?" Rikki said. Her eyes narrowed dangerously everytime she looked at Lavi while they filled with worry everytime she glanced at Allen. Lenalee had put her tray on the table and was trying to wake Allen up while Timcampy was resting on Rikki's hair.

Lavi smiled as the two walked in. He sat up on the bed and frowned a bit at Rikki's statement.

"Well, nothing worth mentioning, I guess." Lavi wasn't really thrilled with past events, and tried to avoid answering Rikki's question. "What are you two doing here?"

"Getting coffee for the Science Department," Rikki answered while turning to Allen who had finally been woken up by Lenalee. She smiled at him and asked, "What were you and Lavi doing, Allen-chan?" She knew that Allen would answer her question even if Lavi tried to give her a vague unsatisifying answer.

Lavi jumped quickly on his feet and put an arm around Allen's shoulder, pinching his cheek like a little kid.

"Allen and I have some things to talk through, right Allen?" the redhead pulled on a grin and pushed the sleepy exorcist out of the room. "We'll talk later, Chibi Rikki!" he yelled over his shoulder.

***
Lavi managed to assure Allen in not telling Rikki about the previous events. As he finally got rid of every worried person, he found himself lying on a bench in an empty mass hall, bored to death.

Rikki yelled, "Don't call me that!" after Allen and Lavi. Lenalee chuckled and picked up her tray of coffee. She beckoned Rikki to follow, and the two left the mess hall. Rikki of course in a bad mood, and Lenalee with a smile on her face. A smile that Rikki wished would shine a little happiness on her sour mood, but that didn't happen.

-------------

Rikki walked back in the mess hall balancing two trays on her hands. Lenalee had stayed in her brother's office while Rikki volunteered to take the trays back to Jerry by herself. She regretted that discesion now that she was almost to the cheif. She could hear him sing as he cleaned the dishes from earlier in the day. Rikki trudged through the hall. She stopped when she spotted red hair. She put the trays down and stalked over to Lavi.

She had her bow in hand, and her favorite black arrow was already fitted. She stalked over to the Bookman Apprentice and aimed the arrow at his head. She gave a small fake cough to draw his attention to her while she pulled the string back on her bow.

Lavi turned his head slowly towards the coughing sound and fell down on the floor when he saw Rikki pointing an arrow in his direction, hitting his head in an edge of a table.

"Wh-wh-what a-a-re you doing, Chibi Rikki?!" the redhead's brow started twitching and a terrified smile appeared on his face, as his eyes were becoming wider and wider in every second. He instinctively reached for his hammer, but on his surprise, it wasn't there.

S***, have I lost it??

Rikki's gin widened. "I would stop calling me 'Chibi Rikki' if I was you. It is only making things worse," she purred out. Her grip on the bow didn't relax, but she readjusted her aim. Her black arrow still pointed at Lavi's head, but she now had it aimed right between his eyes.

"Now... I have something I want to know. Maybe... I'll spare you and give you back your hammer if you answer..." Rikki's eyes glinted with a mischevious light as she stared down at Lavi. It was one of the rare times when Rikki wasn't glaring at him. It wasn't the even rarer time when she actually got along with him though. "So... will you answer the question, baka usagi with the missing hammer?"

Her grin turned into a smirk. "What were you and Allen doing earlier, baka usagi?" she asked with the smirk plastered firmly on her face, and her eyes full of annoyance. She had been dying to know what they had been doing since she and Lenalee found them earlier. She figured this was the only way she would find out.

Lavi's brow twitched once more before his eyes shut close in annoyance.

"Y'know, Chibi Rikki, you have some serious anger management issues. And striking me down with your Anti-Akuma weapon will bring no good to you." the redhead's eyes slightly opened as he lifted his head up, while thinking out loud. "That Komui freak knows to be really tough on people." Lavi's face turned blue as he remembered all those Komurins the freaky scientist'd made. And the one that chased after him. The thought gave him the creeps. The redhead suddenly curled into a ball and started sobbing.

I don't want to see that happening again.

Rikki sweat dropped and lowered her bow. Her eyes had a new gleem to them. She squated down so that she was almost level with Lavi. She put a hand on his back and whispered, "Shh... its alight. There aren't any Komurins around." A small wicked grin was on Rikki's face, but it only lasted a second. 'There will be... very soon...' She patted Lavi's back a few times and deactivated her innocence. She stood up and put her bow back on her back. "Well... I'll go give the tray full of dirty coffee mugs to Jerry. Don't run off, baka usagi!" She then skipped back over to the table that still held the mugs. She had a smug smile on her face. A smile that hardly ever graced the halls of the Black Order.

Lavi raised a finger in the air, and while still calming himself down, said "I would appricate if you stopped calling me like that."

Rikki turned around and stuck her tounge out at him. "Be quiet, baka usagi. Anyway... it fits. Plus Kanda gets to call you that," she told him before turning around and passing the tray of mugs to Jerry. She then turned around on her heel and martched back over to the red-haird baka usagi. She sat down on a table and looked down at Lavi with a small smile on her face.

Lavi sat on the table next to Rikki and put his legs on a chair. He looked at the girl, examining her with his eyes. She was one of a few people who intrigued him. But the redhead was too proud to admit it.

"Well, if you want to put yourself in the same category with some seriousy mentaly disturbed person, go ahead." the redhead gave Rikki a sarcastic smile. The warm eyes shifted on the bow which was safely hanging on girl's back. "Oh! And I would be most thankful if you returned me my hammer." he smiled

Rikki turned and tilted her head to the side. "Mou... that wouldn't be any fun. Would it, La-vi?" she said with a wicked smile appearing on her face. She pulled the hammer out and spun it around with the tips of her fingers. Her eyes shifted to the hammer as she spun it around.

Lavi's eyes widened as his hands reached for the tortured Innocence.

"Hey, hey! Easy with it! That's not a toy you're holding!" he said a bit pissed off. But after all, it was Rikki who held it, so no harm could have been done. Or at least that's what he thought, hoped for. The redhead grabbed his small hammer and put it back where it belonged. "Anyway, don't you have something other to do, but teasing me here?" the redhead narrowed his green eyes and grinned. "Or is it that you like me?" it was his time now to tease Rikki a bit. He stretched his right arm and patted her.

Without thinking Rikki grabbed his arm and twisted it. She turned one of her most deadly glares on the red haird idiot. "This is why you are a baka usagi," she hissed while letting go of his arm. She turned away from him and fell back so that she was laying on the table. "No. I don't like you in the way you are refering too, baka usagi. I like you as a friend. Plus the only other person to hang out with is Kanda," she added once she was comfortable in her new position.

Lavi rolled his eyes and rubbed the twisted hand to ease the pain.

"Sure, sure. If you say so." he said sarcastically and poked her playfully. "So, Chibi Rikki, ever had a boyfriend?" the redhead asked while putting his hands behind his head. It was actually hard to imagine Rikki with someone in that way. Who knows what she'd do to her boyfriend - she might have buried him alive at the middle of the night on some dark place, far away from anyone's eyes, while the thunders furiously stirred the black sky, accompanied with her evil laughter. The thought made him laugh out loud. His imagination was really going wild.
Lavi's green eyes shifted on Rikki, waiting for a reply.

Rikki closed her eyes and let out a small humming sound. "Nope. Can't say I have. I was with Cloud for a long time. First boy I met when she left me here was Kanda. Can't say I've even respected most males after meeting him," Rikki finally replied. She could feel Lavi's eyes on her, but she kept hers closed. Her mind was far away in her memories.

Lavi smiled. "Don't be so harsh on him. Yu's a good guy. He just doesn't know how to express his feelings." his smile faded as he looked away. "As we all know, this world is not so bright and shiny. And Yu knows and understands much more than he wants to show. I guess he's got his own problems he doesn't want to share with anyone. I'm not saying that is an excuse for his behavior. You don't even have to try to understand him. Just give him a break." the redhead shifted his green eyes on Rikki, again, and grinned. "And not every male is like him."

Rikki smiled and muttered, "He would be trying to cut off your neck right now if he heard you call him by his first name." She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She had learned long ago that not all men were like Kanda. A prime example in her eyes would be Allen. He was so kind and gentlemanly. She giggled softly at the thought. "I guess you're right, but Kanda will always be on my hate list."

Lavi smiled full-heartedly. "Of course I'm right. I'm a Bookman." He made a confused face and scratched his head. "Speaking of, I wonder where gramps is. Not that I miss the old geezer." The redhead yawned and stretched. "Well, I'm tired, so I'll be going now. We'll continue this talk later." he got up and headed for his room, waving to Rikki with his back turned to her.

Rikki rolled her eyes and hopped off the table. She landed on her feet with a small thud. She looked around and sighed. She then skipped off toward the kitchen. She had decided she would help Jerry out in the kitchen.

Errol hummed a song while she sway her legs, sitting on a bench. She had just approached the area, lonesome, but not minding that matter. She thought for a minute, what was going around her. If there was anything crucial...But she couldn't think of anything.