AN: Finally got around to writing a -man fic! I'm so excited, this is such a great manga! Anyway, this is set early on in the series, as most of you would notice since their still travelling by trains instead of by the Ark.
Warning(s): Rated a strong T for violence, character deaths (mostly OC), some non-graphic mature content and dark themes.
I hope you enjoy!
The Akuma that Wasn't
I
The Exorcist Headquarters
If there was one thing Allen Walker was know for it was his appetite.
Now, he was also a very good exorcist and a good, honest (if not gambling), lovable person but when he gobbled down twelve portions of helpings and asked for a refill, those things tended to fade into the background.
It was this sight that had greeted one Kanda Yuu when he walked into the cafeteria one day, his already sour expression now caught between a disgusted scowl and an irritated sigh.
He marched behind the white-haired boy and hauled him up by the back of the collar before the younger male had the time to either protest or finish his fifteenth plate of food.
"Kamui wants to see us Moyashi, so I suggest you stop stuffing your face with food and get moving!" he empathized his statement by dropping Allen to ground and turning on his heel. He did not slow his pace or turn around as he stomped over to the Chief's office, knowing that Allen was probably trotting right behind him, complaining all the way about him being an insufferable jerk.
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II
Within the office of Komui Lee
"Ah good, you're both here." said the Chief of the Exorcist Headquarters when both Kanda and Allen came through the grand double doors of his not-so-grand office. The room looked more like a paper factory than anything else.
"Quit with the chit-chat Komui." Kanda snapped irritably, but Komui was ever unfazed by his tone.
Komui sighed, like it was a spoiled child at the other side of his desk and not an experienced warrior. "Honestly Kanda, try to lighten up once in a while." At the murderous glare he received, he merely shrugged "Alright, alright, let's get on with it then."
Kanda was starting to think certain people at Headquarters were immune to his "if you don't shut up I'm going to kill you" glares. Coincidentally, those people were also the most annoying.
Komui cleared his throat, bringing attention back to his person. "To be frank, you two are going on another mission together," he smiled to himself "as you've probably deduced yourselves."
Allen chuckled, somewhat bitterly though he hid it well by scratching the back of his head self-consciously "Well, you do tend to pair the two of us often enough."
Komui just gave another shrug, but it was clear he was enjoying this immensely "It's not my fault you two work so well together, just don't try to kill each other please. That would take so much paperwork to cover." He trailed off with a hint of despair in his voice as he looked around at the white paper carpet and five-foot stacks of documents.
Kanda suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Fine." he grunted. Besides, the runt wasn't the one he wanted to strangle at the moment.
Komui pushed his glasses up his nose with a smile, which only served to disgruntle Kanda further "Now, about the Akuma you'll be chasing, it's actually rather unusual..."
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III
Aboard the train
"A string of mysterious murders?" Allen questioned as they went over their mission files on a late train (one they had jumped aboard on, with Allen whining to himself all the while). Kanda did not shift his gaze from beyond the window of their compartment, he just grunt in the affirmative. Allen was usually the one to look into the details, Kanda was more interested in defeating the Akuma anyway.
"It could be a simple wild goose chase Sprout, I wouldn't get my hopes up." he grumbled. His mood was still very foul, but since the red-haired source of his ire was probably hiding in some dark corner back at Headquarters, he'd have to wait to hunt the brat down.
From the other side of the compartment, Allen chuckled – that same airy, overly polite chuckle he always used. It irritated Kanda to no end. "Heh, you're right."
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IV
At the Police Station
When they got to the Police Station of the town in which the attacks had taken place, it was well into the morning. The clock in the Head Captin's office had just chimed nine-thirty several moments ago.
The Captain himself, a middle aged man with a well-trimmed mustache, was staring at them skeptically. "So, you say your exorcists, correct?" he drawled, one of his thick eyebrows was already lost somewhere in his hair. Next to Allen, Kanda growled.
"Yes, we did." Allen confirmed before Kanda decided to snap, or rather snap someone's neck. "Our Chief was informed about the murders and sent us to investigate."
The second eyebrow rose to meet it's counterpart in the man's shaggy hair "And he suspects that... the supernatural is involved?"
"You never know." Allen felt immensely uncomfortable the longer they talked. The man obviously didn't believe them, or at least doubted their credibility, and frankly he was making Allen feel like a moron.
The man sighed, and it was obvious he was still in doubt, but nonetheless he said in a wary tone of voice: "Well, the papers are all in order, so you might as well look over the crime-scenes."
It was Allen's time to look both doubtful and astonished. Komui actually reading and signing documents at the correct date? No, it couldn't be true. It was entirely more likely that the Millennium Earl had taken to wearing ball-gowns and taking dancing lessons than that Komui Lee had managed to go over paperwork that wasn't at least five months overdue.
Allen wiped the shock off his features hastily and turned to follow Kanda out the door. When the older man's hand was already wrapped around the doorknob, the Head Captain called them back:
"Sir, might I suggest you leave your assistant behind? He seems a bit too young to witness such things." the man suggested, his green eyes sweeping over Allen's figure for who-knew-what time since the boy had entered the office.
"He already has." Kanda didn't even pause in his steps as he said those words.
Together, they left the Head Captain in his office, completely bemused and strangely unsettled.
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V
The crime-scenes
Kanda was not a patient man. This, he had proven on numerous occasion and this instance was no different. And like every single time before, it made Allen groan in frustration. Seriously, had the Japanese man ever heard of a break?
They'd scarcely been in the town over a few hours and Kanda didn't seem too keen on stopping any time soon. They'd already been to three of the crime-scenes, the ones that were still fresh enough that no one had come to clean the blood. The other four had already been cleaned and open for public use.
There had been six murders in total. Nothing connected the victims besides the fact that they had all lived in the town they had died in. It wasn't that big of town, so some of the deceased had known each other, but then some were totally unrelated to each other. There didn't seem to be a patter either.
All the people were usually found long after crime had been committed, seeing as four out of six had happened on the streets, with the exception of a young woman who lived alone in a one-story house and a man who'd been found in an abandoned building kids liked to play around. So far, the logical conclusion was that they were all done at night.
The way there murders were committed were same in their foundations. Victims were often gagged, sometimes blindfolded, and there was always a lost of blood involved. Most of them had suffered some sort of abuse before death, ranging from being choked to broken bones and even being raped.
When Kanda had asked to see the bodies, for the first time Allen didn't care if he was called weak or girly. He knew for a fact he'd be sick if he went with Kanda to look over the corpses.
Seeing his expression and the slightly green tinge of his cheeks, Kanda had snorted. He'd been too busy ordering the police officers to take him to the forensic lab to say anything though.
When they got there, Allen was content to sit and wait in the small lobby at the front.
The white-haired teen talked to the attendant and some of the forensics, to gather further information. They hadn't shed any light on the victims' social lives, since they mostly worked with dead people in the lab and morgue. This was looking more like an Akuma by the second and yet his eye hadn't picked up anything. That was strange. Where could the Akuma be hiding?
It was because of this train of thought and conviction that Allen had been so thrown off when Kanda had burst from a hallway some hours later with his characteristic scowl in place, brushed past him with barely a word, sans: "There's nothing for us here."
Allen hadn't even have time to blink before Kanda was out of the building. The word barely registered before he was hot on the older man's heels. "Wha– Kanda!" he yelped when he'd managed to catch up. Kanda however, didn't stop, didn't even slow his steps. Allen hand automatically stretched out to grab Kanda's forearm.
The samurai was faster. The long-haired man had whipped around before Allen could even make contact and was glaring icy daggers at the younger exorcist.
"There's nothing for us here, Moyashi." He repeated, adding the much-hated nickname at the end for good measure. Or because he felt like it. Jerk.
Allen, however, was a bit too preoccupied to correct him. "But the Akuma!"
"Is surely long gone by now." is the icy answer, and then Kanda is walking again, leaving the white-haired boy to either follow him or stand in the middle of the street like an idiot.
Without looking back, he adds "I'm waiting for you at the train station, if you don't come by the time the train pulls in I'm leaving without you."
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VI
On the way to the Train Station
The streets are dark and ominous as Allen crept back towards the Train Station. Half of him hoped he wasn't late for the train, because then he'd have to search for an inn to stay night, and half was kinda hoping he did since at least then he would have to share a compartment with BaKanda.
Beyond the looming buildings around him, the sun was beginning to set. In a few minutes, it's light would be gone for the night.
Allen increased his pace a bit. He still didn't want to be out after dark in this town, it was unnerving him. How could he perceive the threat if he didn't even know it was there? A talk with Lavi from months ago reared it's head, but he more or less ignored it. His mind was still running around in circles trying to figure out why Kanda had suddenly called it quits on the mission.
Maybe it was part of some elaborate plan to lure the Akuma out, or perhaps there wasn't even an Akuma to begin with. But how do you explain the homicides then? he wondered.
Allen frowned, lost in thought.
So lost was he in his fruitless pondering that he almost passed a middle-aged man, well dressed but obviously having trouble walking on his cane, without stopping to offer any sort of assistance. What was wrong with him? If he continued acting so moody, he'd turn into Kanda!
"Um, Mister, you shouldn't be out here. It's dangerous." He said as he slowed down. Suspicion was bubbling somewhere within his chest, but he couldn't just leave a man out in the cold when he could just as easily be killed off. He was already at the outskirts of town, barely a five-minute walk from the Train Station – surely, he could spare some time?
To Allen's surprise, the stranger grinned, wicked and crazed, as he pulled out a silver dagger. "You're darn right it is."
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VII
Where we left off, but not quite
Suddenly, there was a clang and the noise of a struggle as the stranger staggered back with a surprised yell. A clang. An echo, like that of someone's footsteps. Another step. A swish. A gurgle. And then nothing.
"K-Kanda?" it's the only sound that manages to escape Allen's lips, his mind had gone blank for a second there but now awareness and alertness were coming back in shock-waves. His eyes refused to look down on the bloody puddle that was quickly spreading, lapping in minuscule waves towards his feet. His gray irises were fixed on the samurai's back.
Allen didn't need to see Kanda's face to recognize the disdainful expression he must have been wearing. "Che, don't feel sorry for that dirt Sprout, he got what he deserved."
"But he–" the white-haired one stuttered, his voice shook and his eyes are wide, but the other offered him no comfort "he, he killed those p-people?"
"Yeah."
The answer was as simple and brutal as that one word, spoken so casually and without concern. Allen wanted to puke.
He knew what humans were capable of, he'd felt it on his skin, yet it still managed to sicken and horrify him on occasion. But he'd always held-fast to the belief that people were good, that they deserved to be protected, that the Akuma were the monsters–
"Humans aren't saints," Kanda continued, as if he had somehow managed to read the mind of his partner. "This man was a monster, just in a different sense to the Akuma we usually battle."
Just as offhandedly as he'd said those words, just as indifferently as he'd just beheaded a man, Kanda uttered his next. "I've looked into his background. A gambler and a drunk, lost all his money on bets and pleasantries, lives alone at the edge of town. All his victims were people he owed money to, but because he was such a gambler, been in dept for years apparently, most people have lost count. Obviously, he hadn't."
He turned then, his ponytail swaying with his movements "Come on, Komui will want the matter resolved as soon as possible." There's something unreadable, almost unheard and unreachable, behind his eyes. He then walked right past the younger, leaving him with no human shield or distraction from the atrocity on the road.
And maybe, if Allen hadn't been so busy staring at the severed head of his attacker rolling along the cobbled path like a child's ball, maybe he would have realized he wasn't the only one who was unnerved and conflicted by the sight of it.
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VIII
Within the train, again
Later, when they had boarded a train back to Headquarters, Allen still found it hard to speak.
"You killed a man," he said finally, and the words felt foreign even if he'd repeated them over and over inside his head. "because of me."
Kanda retaliated with a trademark scowl and answered just as dispassionately as he ever had. "Don't flatter yourself, I killed him because he deserved to die." Exorcists aren't bothered by death, Allen knew that, because death was at the heart of the trade.
Yet somehow, he found that he couldn't quite get over it.
Allen gulped down the lump in his throat as best he could, but it stayed there anyway. "But did you deserve to have your hands stained by his blood?" he pressed.
No answer. Allen hadn't even realized when Kanda had picked up a book and started reading, but he felt glad that he did, though now he was stuck with only his own thoughts.
A few moments passed, and he couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Kanda?" his voice was tentative, more tentative than it had ever been when speaking to the older exorcist.
A grunt was his only answer.
"Why did you kill him?" it was rather blunt, bolder than he usually was, but whether it was the situation or his own state of shock he didn't know.
Kanda raised an elegant eyebrow at the same time the book in his hand snapped closed "Would you rather that he had killed you?" he asked coldly.
No, he wouldn't. But that's not the point. That wasn't what he was asking.
Allen tried to word it differently "But why did you save me?"
There's a nonsensical shrug from the other side of the compartment, as if the answer didn't really matter. "The Baka Usagi would have never left me alone again, and I do value both my hearing and my sanity." he scowled, his eyes darkening ever so slightly "And when you combine him with Lenalee and Komui, you get one nasty migraine."
They fell silent yet again and yet again Allen found he couldn't keep quiet.
"Hey, Kanda?"
Another grunt, this one a little bit more annoyed than the last. A ghost of a smile tugged at Allen's lips and he almost let it break out. Almost, because the stench of death was still thick in the air.
"Thanks."
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