I want to dedicate this story to DGMLover12564. Thanks for your support! I kinda got down to writing this piece because of your last review. You're great!
-o0o-
Allen jumped back and skidded through the pavement a couple of feet before coming to a stop just at the border of the veranda they had previously destroyed during their fight. He brought his sword up, in front of his chest, just in time to block his opponent's strike. Both men stood there trying to push each other backwards, beads of sweat rolling down their frowning faces and, even if the other man was wearing a black mask over his eyes, Allen knew he was frowning. That was his default expression after all. The thought brought another wave of frustration over the albino's body and he threw his leg forwards in an attempt to trip his opponent but, as he knew it would happen, the samurai avoided it easily by jumping back and Allen took the chance to step away from the edge of the building.
The samurai wasted little time in following Allen and resuming his relentless attack. From the corner of his eye, Allen saw his red headed companion come to, after he'd gotten rid of the butterflies around him. What happened to Tyki Mikk?
The only warning they had that an attack was coming was the command of 'GROW' Lavi shouted before a humungous black hammer smashed the place where the two figures had previously been fighting.
'Lavi!' Allen shouted, annoyed at his thoughtless companion.
Lavi gave him a nervous laugh and a breathless apology before being attacked by the samurai.
The fight continued, two against one, but the man the exorcists were fighting never faltered and never stopped. His devotion clear in each slice of his katana and each step, punch and kick. His eyes were trained on his opponents, reading every single move and thoughts even. It helped a lot that he already knew their techniques, their strengths and their weaknesses. He had only twitched once when Allen had called his name in the early stages of their fight.
'What's taking so long, Kanda?' a female voice called from the wide staircase. The woman was also wearing a black mask over her eyes, lined with silver and dotted with gems. A big, ostentatious, golden crown was comfortably sitting on her curly mass of long hair and she was wearing a red dress embed with jewels and golden thread. She looked like the queen she was supposed to be. 'Finish them off!'
'Yes, my Lady (1)'
As he said that, Kanda invoked his innocence and, with his upmost speed, slashed at the pillars supporting the ceiling right above the two young exorcists in front of him.
Seeing through his move, Lavi pulled Allen away from the impending danger and to the weakened veranda, and then he extended his hammer and retreated. The stone and wooden structure of the remaining veranda gave way under the weight of the massive hammer and finally fell taking the red headed exorcist's innocence with it.
Kanda frowned and tched sheathing his katana with seething anger. Deciding that it wasn't worth it, he turned to his queen, quickly making his way towards her. As soon as he reached her, he bowed his head and offered his arm to her in an invitation to escort her out of the wrecked room.
His arm wasn't grabbed like he had expected though. Instead a stinging pain assaulted his cheek and the impact made his head turn to the side. The black mask that covered his face fell to the floor with a clatter that raped the otherwise deadly silence. Kanda's eyes were wide for a total of three seconds, before he closed them and bowed to his queen, his bangs hiding the pained expression and utter defeat.
'I told you to finish them off.' The woman said in an icy tone that most definitely did not belong to that person and oh, how he hated it!
'Yes, my Lady.'
'Do not come back until they're dead.'
The clicking of her shoes was the only indication the samurai had that the queen had retreated to her chambers.
With a shaky sigh and an equally trembling hand, Kanda picked up the fallen mask and covered his eyes once again. He steadied his breathing and left the room in order to follow the two exorcists that had probably cost him his queen's life. The red carpet where his fist had been supporting his bowed body now had three round stains that would most likely be dry by the time he came back. A pair of pristine and expensive black shoes stepped next to them and a twisted, cruel grin split the owner's face in two.
-o0o- Three weeks prior -o0o-
The chill of the morning did nothing to cool his overheated skin as the muscles on his arms flexed in preparation for his attack. He observed his training partner with an impassive face as she also measured his next move. He smirked and moved. His speed was matched only by the person in front of him as she managed to parry and counter attack in a flow of movements he had taught her years ago.
'You have improved.' Kanda panted.
'Thanks.' Sol wheezed.
There was a slight movement on their feet and both counterparts jumped to attack each other again.
Training with Sol was always a strenuous physical activity and, after a week without his innocence, Kanda welcomed it. He had missed Mugen dearly after they all came back from the ark. Sol had been extremely pissed with him and she refused to talk to him until HQ was attacked by that level four akuma. After that she yelled even more at him for fighting the bloody thing without his innocence, calling him and the Baka Usagi "a pair of reckless fools". Their time together after that had become a bit more physical than Kanda even expected and the thought of it still made them blush.
It was only when the both of them were lying breathless and exhausted in the middle of the training ground that Kanda and Sol decided that some breakfast was in order. So, after a quick refreshing shower, both teens met at the cafeteria to feed their growling stomachs.
'Sol, my friend!' Lavi called from the table he was sharing with Allen and Lenalee.
'Morning Lavi.' She greeted with a grin. 'Allen-kun and…Link-san…?'
'Good morning, Sol-chan.' Lenalee chirped happily only to be ignored once again by Sol.
Kanda tched and the atmosphere became a lot darker. It was a fact that the Caribbean girl hate the Chinese, so why did Lenalee even tried was an utter mystery to Kanda.
'So, Yu, you got Mugen back I see.' Lavi commented in an attempt to break the silence. The use of Kanda's first name got him a dark glare and death threat.
'You haven't got yours back I see.' Sol asked Lavi.
'Yeah, Luna said they're having a hard time fixing it since a few bits got downloaded into the new ark when we fell down.' Lavi explained. 'Luna looks a lot better now, you know, with all the Tapp incident and all…'
'Yeah. The whole department was shaken up after he…Johnny was the closest one to him anyway. I hope he's ok.' Allen lamented.
'I happen to have baked a cake this morning, if anyone cares to try?' offered Link in a polite gesture, showing off his very delicious looking cake.
'Kanda-san! Sol-san!' Chaoji called from the entrance to the cafeteria waving a hand in the air. 'Komui wants to see you!'
Before they opened the door to Komui's office, Sol pulled Kanda by the front of his sleeveless top and kissed him square on the lips effectively stunning the samurai. As soon as Kanda recovered from his shock, he kissed her back just as fiercely. They were still getting used to the lovers part of their relationship.
'What was that for?' he asked her in a softer tone than he would normally use.
'Just felt like it.' Sol answered with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Kanda didn't feel the need to pry though. If it was important, Sol would let him know sooner or later.
If Kanda had asked her about it, he'd probably dismiss Sol's uneasiness as anxiety after the Noah's Ark incident.
'You're going to Spain.' Komui announced. 'I sent finders to a small village where the appearance of akuma was reported, to make sure there was innocence activity but the finders failed to report back.'
The exorcists nodded their understandment and received the briefing files from Reever.
'There's barely any information here.' Kanda noted. The lack of details bothered him more than he cared to admit.
'Unfortunately, due to the circumstances, that is all the data we were able to retrieve. It is for that purpose that we built his!' Komui announced sounding incredibly proud of his new invention, showing a golem to the pair. 'This is what we call a wireless golem. This beauty doesn't need to be connected to a phone for you to be able to call HQ!'
The Chinese man released the flying black golem and activated it but as soon as the little round piece of machinery extended its wings it malfunctioned.
The golem started vibrating in mid-air and then flew towards Komui. The supervisor didn't have time to capture the black menace before it shredded his coat and his shirt, leaving his chest bare for the world to see. After Komui, the golem flew at all speed in Reever's direction. The scientist tried dodging it behind a pile of reports and other papers but it hardly did anything to deter the little failed gadget.
As soon as Reever was relieved of his jacket and shirt it was Sol's turn. She saw the winged shredder come at her with wide eyes one second and the next second it was vibrating madly in the middle of the floor, his right hemisphere severed from his left in a clean cut made by Mugen.
'Stupid supervisor!' the furious man yelled.
''Sup. Komui! There are more discreet ways to kill a person than packing faulty machinery into their supplies!' Complained Reever.
The pair left the room before their supervisor tried to help them even more.
-o0o-
The trip to Spain was just a boring and uneventful as any other trip. Train, then ship and then train again. The landscape outside the windows changed from forests to ocean and to forests again, until they reached the south of the peninsula where the predominant type of tree was the olive. Kanda and Sol spent a lot of time simply sleeping since not even the mission briefing could serve them as a distraction this time. The uneasy feeling Sol had experienced before still lingering in her mind.
As soon as the exorcists arrived at their destination they were welcomed with silence. The villagers at the coastal town of "Pacífica" either avoided them or just plain ignored them. Kanda couldn't care less seeing as the only thing he wanted was to get the innocence and leave. According to the report, the finders all disappeared from their inns after they'd gone and see the ruins of the castle in the forest next to the village. There wasn't any sign of battle or anything that could indicate akuma attacks.
Being fluent in Spanish, Sol had tried asking the villagers, but really, what could a girl do if all you get from the inhabitants are glares and threats? Even the inn keepers had shooed them away from their inns at the mention of the castle or the finders. The pair of exorcists was about ready to give up and storm their way through the ruins, finders be damned!
Until a young pair of teenagers tried to rob them that is.
The two unfortunate boys had ran past them and knocked Sol over Kanda, taking a hold of their travel bags and pulling them away from their owners however they didn't know Kanda's short fuse was already at the end of its life already. Before Sol could even try to stop him, the dark haired samurai had summoned his Hell's Insects effectively catching the thieves. The boys were a screaming heap on the dusty floor, trying to untangle themselves from their theft and each other. Kanda slowly walked up to them, hoisted them by the neck of their vests and gave them a freezing glare that made them stop their struggles.
'¡No fui yo!' (I didn't do it!) One of the teens screamed. He seemed to be the younger of the two, his hair was a messy mass of dirty blonde, he had freckles on his cheeks and his eyes were the darkest shade of green either Kanda or Sol had ever seen. '¡Él me obligó!' (He made me do it!)
'¡Mentiras! ¡Él fue quién me obligó a mí! ¡Mátelo a él!' (Lies! He's the one who made me do it! Kill him!) The other teen screamed trying to kick his friend. The older boy had shoulder length dark hair, tan skin and dark brown eyes. A small scar ran over the bottom of his left eye and he had a ring pierced on his ear that vaguely reminded the exorcists of their friend Baka Usagi.
Both teens proceeded to try and kick the other while slowly slipping from their vests in an attempt to escape. Kanda however, wasn't having any of it. He harshly brought them together making them hit their heads against the other. The youngsters winced and kept still rubbing at their heads and screaming bloody murder at the samurai who was now smirking with satisfaction.
Sol rubbed at her temples and sighed. Then she addressed the teens with an evil smirk. 'A mi sirviente le encantan los jovenzuelos ladrones como ustedes. Especialmente al desayuno. ¿Sabían que él es un akuma?' (My servant loves youngster thieves like you. Especially for breakfast. He's an akuma you know?) The exorcist rejoiced at the terrified look on the boys' faces, the pale shade telling her that her little lie was working. Kanda didn't like the tone Sol's voice had taken and the fact that he didn't understand what she was saying didn't help his frown lighten.
'¡Por favor, señora, no deje que nos coma!' (Please, ma'am, don't let him eat us!) Begged freckles.
'¡No le íbamos a gustar mucho, nuestra carne es dura y sin sabor! ¡Tampoco tenemos mucha!' (He wouldn't like us very much, our meat is hard and tasteless! We don't have much of it to begin with!) Argued scar.
'¡Tenemos siete hermanas y ocho hermanos hambrientos esperándonos en casa! ¡Por favor tenga piedad!' (We've got seven sisters and eight brothers starving, waiting for us at home! Please have mercy!) Continued freckles.
Sol stared them down for a total of five seconds before she broke down laughing shocking, not only the teens, but Kanda as well.
'¡No teman! Somos exorcistas de la Orden. Solo venimos a investigar las ruinas del Castillo.' (Don't be afraid! We're exorcists of the Order. We came to investigate the ruins of the Castle.) Sol finally explained with a smile. The teens visibly relaxed and looked at each other in bewilderment and then at Sol.
'¿Que quieren con nosotros?' (What do you want with us?) Scar asked and both boys paled when the evil glint in Sol's smirk returned.
Kanda liked that attitude better.
-o0o-
The forest next to the castle ruins was one of the darkest ones Kanda had ever travelled through. The dense foliage made the way a lot more difficult that it was needed and the hidden path caused both exorcists to miss a step or two more than once. The two captives that were guiding them remained quiet the whole way either for being too scared to say anything to Kanda or for being too scared to alert any dangerous animal or akuma hiding in the forest. They had been pretty adamant that something bad was hiding in the green expanse of trees when Kanda had tied them up and made them guide them to the castle ruins. Sol had wanted to release freckles when he started to cry.
The boys had explained that a week prior to any finder coming to the area, the forest they were trying to cross was nothing more than a bunch of olive trees and some eucalypts around the castle ruins, but one morning, after a particularly stormy night, the village woke up to the sight of trees they couldn't name.
The party sent to investigate never came back.
That was when the finders started to appear and, one after another they all went missing the night after they had come back from the ruins, all gone without a trace of their existence.
The walk to the castle took the party most of the day and Kanda finally decided that they could release their captives. Kanda expected them to hightail out of there as soon as the ropes were off them, but they didn't. Instead they turned to Sol with sombre expressions and resumed their annoying babble in that foreign language. Oh, how Kanda hated not knowing what they were talking about!
'¿Si encuentra la inocencia que busca, que hará?' (If you find the innocence you're seeking, what'll you do?) Freckles asked, his head bowed and his eyes hidden by his messy mop of hair.
Sol looked from him to Scar and back, their gloomy expressions and questioning glances making her feel uneasy. 'Nuestra misión es recuperar la inocencia.' (Our mission is to recover the innocence.)
Scar frowned. '¿Y si la inocencia ha poseído a una persona?' (What if the innocence has possessed a person?)
Oh! Though Sol, so that's how it is… 'Entonces tenemos que encontrar una forma de extraer la inocencia, a menos que la persona sea compatible. En ese caso la persona viene con nosotros.' (Then we have to find a way to extract the innocence, unless the person is compatible. In that case the person comes with us.)
The explanation made Freckles look up and both boys' eyes widen in horror.
'Por sus reacciones debo deducir que ustedes saben más de lo que nos dijeron antes.' (From your reaction I must deduce that you know more than what you've told us before.)
It was Scar's turn to speak. 'Nuestra hermana está en el Castillo.' (Our sister is in the castle.)
'What the hell are they saying, shrimp?' Kanda asked, obviously annoyed at being left out, his hand twitching next to Mugen and a pulsing vein appear in his frowning forehead.
Sol ignored him in order to ask the boys something else in Spanish and Kanda started a chant of "must not kill" in his head.
'Cuando nuestro padre desapareció, nuestra hermana menor vino al bosque a buscarlo. Nosotros la seguimos adentro del castillo, pero no la encontramos.' (When our father disappeared, our younger sister came to the forest to look for him. We followed her, but we couldn't find her.)
Sol smiled at them. 'No se preocupen. Así que tengamos la inocencia, el efecto que ella tiene sobre las ruinas y el bosque debe desaparecer y, si su padre y hermana siguen con vida, ellos mismos volverán a casa.' (Don't worry. As soon as we have the innocence, the effect that it has on the ruins and the forest should disappear and, if you father and sister are still alive, they'll go home on their own.)
The boys smiled, nodded and turned to leave. Sol watched them go with a hard squeeze on her chest.
Once again she chose to stay silent. If she would have said something this time, Kanda would have believed her as he also felt something was terribly wrong with this mission.
They looked at each other and, after Sol took her time to explain everything the boys had told her, they made their way carefully to the broken wall of what surely would have been a majestic castle once.
As soon as they crossed the stone barrier, they were met, not by the ruins they could clearly see from the outside, but the intact and pristine version the castle had most likely been centuries before. They looked back at the hole in the wall they'd come from and found a solid and very tall stone wall, on top of which several men dressed in metal armour were walking along its length and keeping an eye out for intruders. One of the guards descended the stairs and bowed before them in respect.
'Bienvenida a casa, Majestad. Me alegra ver que se encuentra bien.' (Welcome home, Majesty. I am pleased to see you're safe.) The man said. '¿Puedo preguntar, su majestad, sobre la identidad de su compañero?' (May I inquire, your Majesty, about the identity of your companion?)
Sol tried to compose herself before she answered. 'Me temo que se equivoca. Yo no soy quien piensas que soy. Mi compañero y yo somos exorcistas; vinimos a investigar el local.' (I'm afraid you're mistaken. I am not who you think I am. My companion and I are exorcists; we came to investigate the site.)
The man straighten up and frowned, looking at Sol intently while she whispered the translation to Kanda and the later proceeded to look at the first with an expression not many had ever seen in the samurai's face: utter confusion.
Kanda voiced the question that prevented Sol of thinking any further: 'What the fuck is going on here?'
'He's saying that he thinks is better to go inside.' Sol translated as the man kept fretting that the sun had probably gotten to her during her travels to the east.
Kanda tched and followed the panicking man. They did want to go inside anyway so why refuse the free guide?
The interior of the castle was just as big and majestic as the exterior. The walls were a deep shade of velvet red and the floor pure and massive oak. To their left were several sets of glass double doors that led to a massive veranda made of stone and wood. The entirety of the main hall's walls was decorated with brilliant lights in between massive windows and covering those windows there were velvet black curtains laced with gold and silver. The ceiling was also a dark velvet colour and, right in the middle, where the seams meet, was huge grand chandelier covered in crystals that reflected the light into the walls creating a rainbow of colours that certainly drowned the orange tones of the sunset outside.
The guard stopped right after passing the doubled doors and was promptly met by another man, clad in black that the exorcists correctly assumed was a butler.
'¿Alteza, donde ha estado?' (Highness, where have you been?) The man asked with a worried frown inspecting Sol for any injuries or bruises. '¿Porque trae estos trajes tan asquerosos, Majestad? ¡No importa! El baño está preparado. ¿Quién es este?' (Why are wearing those disgusting clothes, Majesty? It doesn't matter! The bath is ready. Who is this?) The man had said all this in one single breath completely startling Sol and Kanda. The samurai had instantly brought one hand to his katana.
'¡Por última vez, ya le dije al guardia de antes y se lo digo a usted: yo no soy quien ustedes piensan! Kanda y yo somos exorcistas de la Orden Oscura y estamos aquí para llevarnos la inocencia!' (For the last time, I already said to the guard before and I say it to you: I'm not who you think I am! Kanda and I are exorcists of the Dark Order and we are here to take the innocence!) Sol exploded. She was honestly staring to panic at all the people around her calling her "Majesty" and "Highness".
'¡Hermana, has vuelto!' Exclaimed an almost childish female voice from the top of the wide staircase and a short lean girl ran down to meet the exorcists with a hug and an indignant exclamation of '¡Majestad!' from the butler. As soon as Sol took a look at the girl in her arms she realised that indeed they did look alike and all the confusion the people in the castle were making started to click together. The girl had long dark hair, tan skin and eyes so red they looked more like rubies cut out from the most expensive of jewellery.
Sol tried once again to explain who they were. Her explanation however continued to fall on deaf ears and the girl went on and on about the long six years her big sister was supposed to have been abroad on a peace treaty with the desert countries. Both Kanda, whose identity was still a mystery to the princess and the inhabitants of the castle, and Sol were lead to separate rooms where their respective baths were ready for them as well as a change of clothes that looked like they belonged to a completely different century. Kanda found himself wearing the same clothes he'd come to the castle with instead. There was absolutely no way he was ever going to get caught wearing tights!
Kanda took a look around the room that was assigned to him. It looked exactly like a room made for a nobleman with a veranda that overlooked the forest, a double sized canopy bed with silk sheets, crystal lamps and a massive dresser. Looking down the veranda, Kanda realized it was situated immediately above the one they saw in the main hall. He paced through the room for a few minutes trying to analyse the situation at hand. What bothered the samurai wasn't the fact that they had virtually stepped into another dimension obviously certainly created by the innocence, but the fact that they could enter it without a problem. They encountered no akuma or other phenomena in the woods that'd hinder their mission. Only the very annoying behaviour of the people inside the castle could be counted a hindrance. According to Sol's hasty and panicky translations, he'd gathered that the people thought of her as some kind of princess that had been away for years.
He tched again. Yeah, right.
Then there was he matter of the people themselves. They were real living humans, not akuma or illusions. As far as he knew, innocence didn't create humans out of thin air. He entertained the idea that those humans were in fact the missing villagers and finders, but that didn't explain their behaviour at all. Unless they were all suffering from collective amnesia or the innocence somehow confused their brains. As strange as that hypothesis sounded, it seemed perfectly plausible. Maybe the young princess was also a villager. In that case the innocence could only be inside the castle. The positive side was they wouldn't have to search the forest. No matter how big the castle was, Kanda thought of that as an improvement.
He sighed deeply and laid back on the king sized canopy bed with an arm above his eyes. He was way too tired for this. He would certainly have to talk to Sol sometime that night if they wanted to get started. Maybe he would chance a few hours of sleep before he sneaked out?
A knock on the door prevented him from doing that, though and he didn't even have time to stand up before Sol was already barging in with a hurried 'Sorry to come in like this, but I need to hide and quickly!' The next thing Kanda saw was the curly haired exorcist dressed in a red long dress, climbing the canopy of the bed in the same instant the butler from earlier that day knocked on his door and opened it with a curt 'Excuse me'.
Kanda nodded at the man as he bowed to him and talked in perfect English. 'Please excuse my intrusion, estimated guest, but I am currently looking for Princess Adriana. Perhaps you have seen her?'
Kanda narrowed his eyes before replying with a short 'No.' was that supposed to be the person they took Sol for?
'Oh, well, thank you very much and I'm sorry to bother you, estimated guest. I will humbly ask you to please let the Princess know that her sister Amelia is waiting for her at the piano room, if you see her. The Princess has always had a tendency to run away, as I am sure you know.'
Kanda raised an eyebrow, silently urging the man to leave. The butler took a look inside the room once again before he made his exit, closing the door gently behind his back. The dark haired samurai waited a whole minute before peeking through the edge of the canopy to find Sol. The girl was sprawled as much as she could on top of the wooden frame to try and spread her weight and avoid destroying the structure. Kanda smirked as he helped her down.
'Thanks…' she breathed and looked up at Kanda's face, her hands curled between their chests as the long haired man held her gently by her waist.
'What was that?' he asked softly.
'That was Bertram, the butler.' She answered, making a face. 'I am Princess Adriana, apparently and I am supposed to become Queen Adriana in a couple of days during my wedding to Lord Michael.'
That sentence drew a frown from Kanda. 'You're getting married to whom?'
Sol smiled and blushed profusely. 'I am not getting married, Kanda. Princess Adriana is. That is why we have to get that damn innocence and leave this place immediately.'
'I was working on that when you came in.' Kanda whispered, his head lowering slightly and his eyelids dropping.
'I thought you were asleep.' Sol whispered back as her own eyelids dropped and she tilted her head to the side to allow Kanda a better access. With a smirk in place and a fast heartbeat, Kanda brought his lips down to Sol's in a soft caress. Their eyes closed and their arms tightened around each other in order to feel more of the other, to bring close their heartbeats and keep them there. When they broke apart both their faces were dusted a light pink. Kanda's thumb caressed over Sol's bottom lip and he dove for another kiss, this time more passionate and harsh than the previous. He slowly pushed the girl backwards, onto the bed and he laid there next to her with his arms securely around her body and their foreheads touching.
'I feel so tired…' Sol whispered with her eyes already closed.
Kanda kept his silence so as to let the girl sleep. When her breathing had evened out and he was absolutely sure she was asleep he chanced a squeeze and a kiss to her forehead before he too rested his head on the pillow.
-o0o-
The noise at the castle was too much for anyone to be able to sleep through, much less a samurai trained to wake up at the slightest of movements so obviously he was wide awake for a few hours before the butler- Bambi? Beethoven?- knocked on the door again and made his entrance with an apology. The man didn't stop at the door this time though. His long strides were muffled in the carpeted floor as tried to approach the bed where Kanda and Sol were lying. Kanda didn't take it kindly to being rudely woken up, much less to people intruding his room without his consent. In less than a second he had sat up with Mugen on his hand, the tip of the katana barely piercing the skin of the butler's neck.
'One more step and I'll roast you on a spit.' He threatened darkly.
The butler swallowed thickly and retreated to a safe distance from Mugen and Kanda.
'Princess Adriana has a visitor. Lord Michael is here to see his bride.'
When the butler didn't leave, Kanda narrowed his eyes and glared at the man to the best of his abilities. 'Noted.' He said dryly. He was honestly impressed that Bernard or whatever didn't run away to a faraway land after being on the receiving end of his fury. Instead he bowed and retreated from the room at a normal speed, closing the door softly behind his back.
The sound of rapid, heavy footsteps running down the corridor made Kanda smirk.
'Bertram's morning doesn't seem to be an improvement from yesterday's evening.' Sol commented and let her body drop back on the bed in a sign that she was so not ready for the day. 'Good morning, Kanda.'
Kanda grunted in response and stood up from the bed, stretching his stiff muscles. Sol stood after him straightening her dress. She gave up when she realised she'd been lying on it for too long for the creases to disappear.
'You look good in red.' Kanda commented in a low tone that Sol wasn't sure was for her to hear. She did, though and she loved it. She stepped up to the dark haired samurai wrapping her arms around his neck in an act of affection and prolong Kanda's faint blush even more.
Kanda wrapped his arms around Sol's waist and pulled her close tom himself kissing her lips gently at first and increasing in passion as the seconds ticked away. He brought a hand to Sol's neck, caressing her jaw with his thumb as they made out for minutes.
The intense feeling of possession their kisses and caresses gave him made something else stir inside Kanda. A much more primal and deep feeling he didn't want to act upon right then and there so he begrudgingly yet gently pushed his girlfriend's arms way away and sighed.
It took Sol two seconds to understand Kanda's reaction. When she did she smiled. 'Let's just get the innocence and get out of this freak show.'
'There's only one problem.' Kanda whispered, absently wondering if his own lips looked as swollen as Sol's did. He decided she looked quite delicious at that moment.
'We don't know where it is or what it looks like…' Sol finished for him.
Kanda tched at the notion. He replaced the strap that had slipped down Sol's shoulder and kissed her again before turning to get his exorcist coat. 'I hope you have Coloso (2) with you.'
Sol grinned widely, stepping on the bed and extending her arm on top of the canopy to pull out her rapier and strap it to her hip. 'Let's just go down and investigate, shall we?'
Kanda smirked and they left the room together but the pair didn't even make it to the end of the corridor without Sol being tackled to the floor by Princess Amelia.
'¿Dónde estabas hermana? ¡No te vi en tu cuarto esta noche! ¡Yo quería dormir contigo como hacíamos antes que te fueras!' (Where were you, sis? I didn't see you in your room last night! I wanted to cuddle with you like we used to do before you left!)
'¡Princesa, por favor entienda! ¡Yo no soy su hermana! ¡Mi nombre es Sol Avila y mi hermana se llama Luna Avila! ¡Las dos trabajamos para la Orden Oscura!' (Princess, please understand! I'm not your sister! My name is Sol Avila and my sister is called Luna Avila! The two of us work for the Dark Order!) Sol tried once more to tell the Princess, but the little bubble of energy was having none of it. She kept babbling about Lord Michael and how handsome he was and how he was surely going to be a great King!
Sol looked pleadingly at Kanda who sighed in utter annoyance and pulled the two apart by the back of their dresses.
'¿Quién es este, hermana?' (Who is this, sister?) The Princess asked, finally taking notice of the other person present. '¿Es tu sirviente verdad? ¿Te conseguiste un sirviente en tu viaje a Asia, verdad? ¡Que fascinante!' (He's your servant, right? You got yourself a servant in your trip to Asia, right? How fascinating!)
'I give up!' Sol cried and added at Kanda's raised eyebrow: 'Believe me, you're better off not knowing…'
Kanda scoffed.
'¡Princesas! ¡Lord Michael las está esperando!' (Princesses! Lord Michael is waiting!) The butler called. Princess Amelia latched herself to Sol's arm and happily pulled her down the corridor and to the main hall where a tall man was waiting, looking outside the window. He was wearing a black suit and a tall top hat. When the man turned around, the whole world seemed to slow down to a frame per minute pace and the exorcists eyes widened in horror.
'Tyki…'
'…Mikk'
'We meet again, Mr. Kitchen Knife.'
(1) I was so dying to make him say that!
(2) Coloso is Sol's innocence: a rapier that she keeps sheathed at her waist.