This story will contain spoilers from the latest chapter of the manga and everything before. You have been warned.

Final Melody

Chapter 1

Loss

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The small town was still. The dark blood that was splattered against the stone houses still shone fresh in the moonlight. Fog crept through the town, wary, like a stranger in an unwelcome place. It's tendrils slithered around corners, curling into alleys and streets until the whole town was encased in a mantle of haze.

Broken bodies were in heaps, faces still alive with a their final sentiment. Each face was different, from the young child's – in her hand a headless doll - to the old man and woman locked in death's sweet embrace, yet they all carried the same emotion.

Fear. Raw, intermit fear. Their eyes still glazed and wide, once reflecting the grin of their murderer. Mouths open in a senseless scream that struck no chord of remorse. Hands still clenched near their chests in a futile attempt to protect their souls from slaughter.

Their tormentor was nowhere to be found, leaving naught but a trail of blood spatter and destruction before he had vanished into the night. Had their been any survivors, perhaps they would recall hearing the broken sound of his bubbling laughter as he partook in the slaughter of those who had left him all by himself -- abandoned, betrayed.

While these details may be gruesome, there are people who must write it all down. Every death, every face, every war, nothing more than statistics, nothing more than history.

Two figures emerged from the fog, moving quietly. One figure was considerably taller than the other, taking long strides while his partner seemed to glide along beside him.

The taller man walked with the cocky swagger that could only come from a young age and an important title. He surveyed the town with a gleaming emerald eye, one hand tucked in his pocket and the other dragging through his mop of dark red hair. Appearing unimpressed, he crossed his arms, tucking his hands by his side and squeezing tight, all the time cursing the coldness under his breath.

His companion had his hands folded inside the sleeves, his head bowed low. While appearing docile and timid at first glance, upon closer inspection a pair of eyes glinted from under a wrinkled brow.

"You could at least pretend that we're on a mission." The Bookman growled, his feet shuffling along.

Lavi scoffed and slipped his hands behind his head. "Give me a break, old man. It's not like I can't handle it."

"The last time you said that, you destroyed half a town." Lavi made a derisive noise as if to say 'It was only a town, they can rebuild it'

The Bookman straightened, eyebrow cocked. With completely ridiculous speed for someone his age, he reached upward and snagged his companion's ear in a punishing grip.

"Show respect to your elders."

"Ow! Hey, watch it!" The redhead cried while his arms flailed, trying and failing to escape.

"Don't give me cheek." The nails dug into the soft flesh of the ear, causing the tall man to howl in pain. "Junior."

The old man released the ear and continued walking, 'Junior' following behind him, rubbing his ear in brooding silence.

They walked around the town, examining every inch of the ruins, occasionally peeking inside broken windows to see a family curled up inside their homes, dead. The mist swirled around their feet, leading them through the town like an otherworldly hound. Lavi walked ahead of his elder, hands still tucked behind his head, though a solemn air had long replaced his nonchalance

They stopped in the town center where a large, crumbling church loomed to the north of the square. Rubble was piled high. A pale hand hung, lifeless, from between the two stones. Lavi turned his head away, his throat uncomfortably dry.

"How many do you count?" The smaller man asked.

"521."

"No, 522." The Bookman corrected him. "Did you count the priest?" A clawed finger pointed towards the church. Impaled on the cross was a small man in dark robes, his blood dripping onto the ground.

"You need to work on looking everywhere, Lavi." His mentor knelt, long fingers reaching inside his coat and pulling out pipe and matchbook. A brief flame burst into life before behind doused in a breeze. Lavi's small laugh was quelled instantly with one look from the Bookman. Another match was lit, this time reaching the pipe and lighting the herbs inside. The man took a long drag, exhaling deeply. "Start your assessment."

Lavi's hand went to the holster on his leg, pulling out a small hammer. He began to throw it up and down, catching it without sparing a glance as he paced around the square. "Town name: Salk. Logging town. Dead: 522. Cause of attack is Akuma, judging from damage and death toll either five or six level ones or a few level two and a level three. No sign of Innocence so most likely a random attack or someone called a Lost One back. No survivors found."

His pacing stopped as a stone rolls from the top of a pile of rubble. Both men are on their feet in an instant, fighting stance balanced. The redhead's hammer now doubled in size.

Minutes passed in silence as the duo was still, listening for any hint of life.

"You shouldn't be using your hammer." The Bookman hissed at Lavi. "It's not recovered yet."

"It's not like I could just go on a mission without a weapon." Lavi retorted, tilting the hammerhead away from his mentor to hide the large cracks on it.

The old man scoffed but the sound died in his mouth as a groan echoed through the square. Lavi shifted his position slightly, his head tilting towards the sound. "In front of the church." His breath caught as the image of the little pale hand flooded into his mind.

Abandoning all pretence of silence, Lavi ran forward, the hammer growing again. "Junior!" The Bookman called out after him but his apprentice wasn't listening.

Swinging his hammer back Lavi brought it across the pile of rubble, sending stones flying. He worked quickly, swinging back and forth, debris flying in every direction while his master watched, his dark eyes wary.

Casting aside his weapon Lavi began to pull at the smaller stones, pushing them aside. Pale-white skin shone through the stones as he continued to unearth the body. Panting he pulled his arm across his damp face, the Bookman wandered over, a foot slipping from underneath his robe and shoving a stone aside. Peering at the body his eyes widened and he backed away, tripping over his own feet.

"What is it?" Lavi asked, watching the Bookman slide a hand into his coat, closing around his Innocence. A muffled giggle came from the body, stealing Lavi's attention away from his mentor.

The rubble shifted slightly, Lavi leaned closer, narrowing his eye. The hand shot out, closing around his throat. Hands scrabbled at the fingers closing around his neck. His eye bulged as the stones shifted and the giggling grew louder.

The protuberant belly, the sinfully innocent eyes boring into his and the wings covered in lifeblood. A Level Four.

He was losing conscious now, ragged gasping tearing his throat, all the time those eyes watching at him, no mercy in them. He grit his teeth, struggling harder than before but the Akuma kept smiling, tightening its grip.

Something whistled by Lavi's ear, embedding itself in the Akuma's eye. The demon blinked, going cross-eyed to see what the object was. Lavi recognized it right away. Turning his head in the Akuma's suddenly relaxed hand he saw the Bookman standing on the roof, mist churning around his poised figure. A scroll was open in his hands, the needles glinting in the dull moonlight.

Nails dug into the soft flesh of Lavi's neck, as the Level Four reached up with it's other hand, plucking out the needle. Blood dripped from the wound, sliding down snow-white skin onto Lavi's cheek. He flinched, the liquid burning his skin.

With a cruel jerk of its arm, the Akuma threw Lavi to the ground. Upon impact, the Bookman's apprentice curled into a ball, choking forcefully, his now-throbbing back not helping. Blinking away tears and fighting off unconsciousness, he glanced up to watch the Level Four and his master face-off.

The world spun, he closed his eyes, a hand cupping over his mouth, trying to keep himself from throwing up. As gravity returned to its stationary setting he heaved himself to all fours. He coughed again, bile and blood dripping from his mouth. Wiping it away, he risked another glance at the scene overhead.

Neither combatant had moved, the Akuma scrutinizing the small man, the needle tumbling around its fingers. The Bookman keep his head low, watching for even the slightest hint of movement.

It all happened too fast. Lavi's mind had no time to analyse the situation. A blur of white and the Level 4 had the Bookman in its hands, tilting its head to the side and inspecting the small man with the same cruelty children have when they receive a new toy.

Every sound was amplified. The groan of the Bookman's bones as the Level 4 squeezed. The tongue flicking out, sliding over pointed teeth. The Bookman's grunts as he tried to escape.

Another wave of nausea threatened to overcome Lavi. He doubled-over, shaking uncontrollably, his eyes clamped shut as the sounds wormed themselves into his mind.

Then, like the shatter of a whip through the pounding of his blood, the sickening crack of bone breaking. The sound echoed around the hazy square. The Akuma cast aside the body, now nothing more then a broken toy, and turned its greedy gaze onto Lavi.

The green eyes flew open. His body stopped shaking. A trembling hand picked up the hammer that was lying a few feet away, new resolve calming his trembling hands.

The Akuma's smile falters slightly as its prey begins to glow dully. It watches as the human's fingers tighten around the hammer. Blank round eyes blink watching the transformation with interest.

Suddenly Lavi jumps, flying past the Akuma. The demon's head tilts back, watching the hammer blot out the moon.

The head contacts the ground, forming a crater below where the Akuma was hovering. Lavi fell to the ground, breathing heavily, one hand holding onto the shaft of his weapon, the other, clutching his throbbing side.

Dust settled around him revealing the huge crater. The ground quivered. Lavi gripped the hammer with both hands, preparing for the attack.

The fog billows around him as he waits, restless in the wake of battle.

Suddenly he felt the hammer start to slip upward. Without even a whispered command the hammer began to shrink. Lavi blinks in surprise, his concentration breaking and the hammer stopped withdrawing.

White hands close around the iron cross at the tip of the hammer. Lavi tries to pull it out of the inhuman grip but to no avail.

His feet left the ground and, still holding onto his hammer, he slammed into a building, sliding down the stonewall. His feet hit the ground, left ankle landing on an odd angle, twisting itself. Blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth as small stones fell all around him.

He scrabbled for his hammer, crawling away the square, dust making his eyes water and lungs tighten. His hand brushed some rubble aside and upon closer inspection he found what remained of his hammer.

It was in pieces; he reached out, touching the iron cross. He yelped as pain bit into his palms. Glowing white-hot, the tip melted away, leaving behind nothing but his Innocence.

Before he could grab it, something slammed into him. He flew across the square, skidding on the cobblestone. His shoulder smashed into a wall. He could hear the Level Four laughing. Cursing, Lavi flung himself into the nearest hiding spot, the crumbling remains of a wall.

Moments –though it seemed like hours to the young Bookman- dragged by as he sat against the wall his back grinding against the stone, waiting for another attack.

When he dared to breath he tried to shift his position, placing his palms on the ground, trying to keep his twisted ankle as still as possible.

Hands pressed on the dirty floor and were removed quickly as stone wormed their way into his skin.

Lavi doubled over in pain as the adrenaline rush flowed out of him and his hands began to throb. He pushed them against his sides, his teeth grinding from the effort of keeping quiet. The blood was trickling down his arms, soaking through his shirt.

Trying to keep his panting quiet as possible he listened. "Come on out little exorcist." Sings the Akuma, cackling quietly. "You can't hide forever." Lavi slides down the wall, his knees going weak.

His breathing calmed as the pain became a dull pounding. He peeled one hand off his side, biting his lip to keep quiet. Trembling, he brought the hand to eyelevel

.

Deep cuts were embedded in his palms, oozing blood. Lavi curled his hand into a fist, fingertips digging into the wound, each beat of his heart sending another pulse of pain and trickle of blood. Slowly, he eased himself up the wall again, feeling each brick dig into his back. A broken window was just at his head, when he could just see over the sill he stopped, emerald eye searching for the Akuma.

It was sitting on top of a pile of rubble, it's legs crossed and hands tapping to a melody only it could hear. "I smell your blood, exorcist. It's only a matter of time before you come out." The Level Four chirruped, smiling sweetly.

Lavi hid again, breathing deeply, his mind working frantically. He had no golem to call headquarters with, the Bookman refused to travel with one because of protocol. He couldn't escape; there was no way he could run back to the Order with a twisted ankle. His hammer was broken; he had no weapon to use against the Akuma.

His head fell back against the stone, trying to work on the highest survival rate. His chances weren't looking too good. Minutes wore on as situations played themselves out in his head, all ending his bloody death.

He chanced another glance around the corner, hoping against hope that something would jump out at him as an idea. Something glittered at the edge of the square. Squinting he realized what it was. His Innocence lay in the shattered remain of his hammer, blinking dully at his through the curtain of fog.

Calculating quickly he guessed that it was a good thirty paces away. That was if he was travelling without a limp and no Akuma was watching the square.

A bird screeched in the distance, it's caw reverberating around the broken town. Lavi watched as the Akuma's head turned away from the square for a moment.

A distraction. The idea seemed foolish; so many things could go wrong but at a time like this reliability wasn't a huge factor.

Slowly he reached up to his forehead, sliding the dirty headband off, strands of red hair slithering into his wounds. Lavi tugged the small knot on the headband, ripped the fabric in two and wrapped it around his palms. Holding one end in his teeth he tied it off, the added pressure dulling the pain slightly.

Satisfied with the makeshift bandages he glanced around the floor, looking for a stone. Still moving carefully he gingerly picked a hand sized rock from the ground. Gripping the stone in his hand Lavi slide up the wall, and peaked around the corner of the crumbling wall.

His red hair got in his eyes momentarily causing him to curse its length. He needed his eye for what he was about to try. A light wind blew through the town, once again causing his vision to flicker.

Growling, his other hand reached up, yanking his hair back off his face while the rock-ridden arm pulled back, trembling slightly.

His one eye searched for a target, settling on an unbroken window to his left and to the Akuma's right. Gritting his teeth his arm swung forward, hand releasing the rock.

The rock arced, only remaining in the air for a few seconds before falling to the ground and clattering across the square.

Head flicking in the direction of the noise like a falcon, the akuma swooped from its perch, diving for the building where the rock had landed. It began tearing the stone apart; looking for the exorcist while the real thing stumbled out of his hiding space, limping as fast as he could towards the Innocence.

It was agonizing. Pain shot up his leg every stride, he lurched forward every few steps, his hands flying out and colliding with the ground painfully before he would steady himself and begin again. His eye never left the Level Four's back, waiting for the instant it would realize that its quarry was right behind it.

He picked up the Innocence, glad that it had cooled down. Then he stared at it. He hadn't planned this far ahead; he wasn't expecting the rock to work.

Lavi glared a the Innocence again, his ear still waiting for the telltale cackle of the Akuma. His hammer wasn't going to repair itself, so that was out of the equation.

Think. You're the Bookman's apprentice. Just think, what did Lenalee do with her Innocence? It clicked; holding the Innocence in mouth hand his mouth started tugging at the knot, pulling the bandages loose.

The bloodied clothes fall to the ground and the glowing Innocence sits in Lavi's palm, somehow keeping blood-free. Here goes nothing. His palms screaming in pain as Lavi forces the Innocence into them, willing it to melt into his blood.

"Found you." Whipping around he found the Akuma's head inches from his, he back-pedalled wildly. The Akuma sauntered towards him, a jagged grin on its lips. "Ready to die, exorcist?"

Lavi didn't know why he did it. There was no strain of logic in the world in the world that could explain it. He pulled his fist back, relying on instinct alone, and sunk it right into the Akuma chest.

He heard his fist shatter before the pain hit him. There was a blinding flash; Lavi and the Akuma were both thrown back, Lavi skidding a few feet while he heard the Level Four smash through several walls.

Lavi struggled to his feet, shaking his head free of dizziness, chasing after the holes in the wall. His eyes fell upon the body of the Akuma, its wings were broken and its legs were at odd angles. He held his breath, watching for any sign that the Level Four was still fit for a fight.

The body twitched then went still. Lavi stood over the demon's body, his hand bleeding red onto the white body. Slowly, a hissing sound could be heard coming from the body. Lavi turned his face away, coughing as a malignant smell wafted off the Akuma. Wiping his watering eye, he turned back to the body, which was slowly turning into dust.

A boot reached out and prodded the pile of remains before letting out a sigh. It all came back to him in one wave of pain. Every rib throbbed, his fist was bleeding all over the stone, bruises were forming on every inch of his skin and his pounding skull felt it like it was about to explode any moment.

Footsteps echoed in the square as he stumbled towards the Bookman's body. It was unbearably slow, every part of him was screaming for him to fall over and black out. Anything to make the pain stop.

Still cradling his broken hand to his chest Lavi's other hand unzipped the Bookman's coat before slipping inside. He rummaged around, apologizing to his master a hundred times over under his breath. Withdrawing his hand he held the crushed Heavenly Compass, more importantly, the Bookman's Innocence.

Tucking his mentor's Innocence away he observed his own Innocence. It still glowed even through the blood and dirt it was covered in.

Through a haze of pain Lavi slumped to his knees. His head tilted towards the sky before keeling over sideways, the Innocence rolling out of his limp hand.

Author's Note

My first D. Gray-Man story and first story that wans't Avatar: The Last Airbender! Let's hope the author gets better soon, I'm dying for the next chapter.